About the ILO in Slovenia

A remarkable development story interrupted by the pandemic

After independence in 1991, Slovenia, unlike other countries of the region, embarked on a more gradual transition of the economic system. The main reasons for following such a strategy were the early introduction of some economic reforms in the end of the 1980s, when Slovenia was still part of Yugoslavia, the country’s relatively high level of development, and the rather easy separation from Yugoslavia when compared to other successor states. This relatively smooth transition enabled Slovenia to avoid major shocks and to benefit from steady growth.

Slovenia became the first former Yugoslav republic to obtain EU membership in 2004 and was the first new EU member state to join the Eurozone in 2007. While in the early 1990s, per capita income was 50% of the EU average, it now reaches almost 90%, the second highest in Central and Eastern Europe after Czechia.   Continue reading