Winning five medals at the Beijing Olympics, Slovenia places third in the medals per capita ranking. One gold, two silvers and two bronzes mean that Slovenia has one medal per 401,542 inhabitants.
The first place went to the Bahamas, with one medal per 153,725 people, and the second to Jamaica, with one medal per 198,285 Jamaicans.
In the overall medal count Slovenia meanwhile placed 41st among 87 countries winning medals at the Beijing Olympics.
This ranking is topped by China, who won 51 golds and 100 medals altogether, followed by the US with 36 victories and 110 medals, and Russia (23 golds, 72 medals altogether).
Hammer thrower Primoz Kozmus won Slovenia's first Olympic gold in track & field. Silver medals were won by swimmer Sara Isakovic in women's 200 metres freestyle, and yachter Vasilij Zbogar in the laser class.
Bronze medals were won by shooter Rajmond Debevec in the rifle three-position competition and judoka Lucija Polavder.
Slovenian Interior Minister Dragutin Mate met at Otocec on Friday Stanislav Cadjo, interior minister of Republika Srpska, the Serb entity in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The meeting was dedicated to strengthening cooperation in various areas and presenting Slovenia's experience in joining the EU, the ministers said. More »
Slovenian Environment Minister Janez Podobnik signed on Friday a Slovenian-Kosovo agreement on cooperation in surveying with Kosovo's Minister for the Public Administration Arsim Bajrami. Under the deal, the two countries will exchange experience in this area and launch joint projects. More »
Interior Minister Dragutin Mate highlighted positive crime resolution rate statistics, as he presented on Wednesday his ministry's achievements in this term. On the other hand, Mate said that cooperation between the police and local communities could be better. More »
Development Minister Ziga Turk presented the government's achievements in development in the 2004-2008 term on Friday, highlighting the Government Office for Growth as the main engine of economic changes. "These changes greatly enhanced economic growth and reduced unemployment," Turk said. More »
Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Janez Podobnik looked back at the work of his department in the 2004-2008 term on Monday, telling the press in Ljubljana that in "a dynamic period of intensive economic growth" the ministry had managed to preserve a balance between development and the environment. NGOs begged to differ though. More »
Transport Minister Radovan Zerjav presented Wednesday the ministry's achievements in the 2004-2008 term. Zerjav, who was appointed minister in September 2007, said that the ministry focused above all on road transport issues, making it the "ministry of roads". More »
Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant presented the achievements of his ministry in the 2004–2008 term, saying that the term had been eventful and dynamic and that the ministry had done a lot. He stressed that it was also up to the users of public administration services to assess the work performed. More »
The government decided to pay out EUR 15m for the damage caused by a string of recent storms that have wreaked havoc in parts of Slovenia. The money will be taken out of the provisions in the national budget. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa provided a positive overall assessment of the economic development of Zasavje in the two years since the government paid its first visit to the central Slovenian region. Zasavje is catching up with the Slovenian and EU average, he told the press on Wednesday. More »
Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak, who is visiting Beijing with a business delegation, discussed with Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming the untapped potential for trade between Slovenia and China and future investment possibilities, Vizjak said on Monday. More »
This year marks the first in many in which the number of students enrolled in higher education did not increase over the year before, however the percentage of students enrolled in tertiary education keeps growing nonetheless. More »
Slovenian President Danilo Tuerk recalled the devastating storms in Slovenia this summer as he opened the 46th International Food and Agriculture Fair in Gornja Radgona on Saturday. He hailed the government's quick relief effort, but called for action to adapt to climate change. More »
The Virus 912, a light airplane produced by Slovenia's Pipistrel, last week won the US$ 300,000 NASA-funded General Aviation Technology Challenge in the light sport aircraft category at a competition held in Sonoma, California, the company said on Monday. More »
Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa and his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany launched on Tuesday two key motorway sections on each side of the border that connect the two countries by motorway for the first time. The pair used the occasion for talks on bilateral relations, which both said were good. More »
Slovenians in Prekmurje have always preserved the bond and loyalty to the Slovenian nation and believed in the idea of united Slovenia despite differences in culture, religion and centuries of separation, Prime Minister Janez Jansa said on Saturday, addressing the ceremony marking the reunification of the region with Slovenia in 1919. More »
One of the most important writers in the Slovenian language, Boris Pahor, will turn 95 on Tuesday. While the autobiography of the Trieste-based author will be launched on the occasion, celebrations, staged jointly by minority organisations from Austria and Italy, are getting underway on Monday. More »
A bust of Former Slovenian President and Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek was unveiled on Friday in his hometown of Zagorje in central Slovenia. Zagorje Mayor Matjaz Svagan said at the ceremony that Drnovsek "had given his life for independent Slovenia, which is today one of the most successful countries in Europe". More »
The northeastern town of Ljutomer will pay tribute to the 140th anniversary of the first Slovenian "tabor", a gathering which boosted the movement for a single Slovenian state "Zedinjena Slovenija" (Unified Slovenia). The event was a milestone in Slovenia's independence movement. More »
Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel on Thursday reflected on the 40th anniversary of the Prague Spring, saying that the events of 1968 were about the fight for "democracy, human rights and...against brute force and an undemocratic system". More »
Slovenian field star Primoz Kozmus took first place in the hammer throw at the Beijing Olympics with a second round throw of 82.02 metres to bag Slovenia's first ever gold medal in Olympic track and field competitions and first gold in Beijing. More »
Sara Isakovic steamed to second place in the women's 200 metres freestyle to win to win Slovenia's first medal at the Beijing Games and its first ever in swimming at the Olympics. More »
Slovenian yachter Vasilij Zbogar took second place in the final regatta of the laser class at the Beijing Olympics to take second place overall in the competition. Paul Goodison of Great Britain was first. More »
Slovenian judoka Lucija Polavder won bronze in the +78 category at the Beijing Olympics on Friday, earning the second medal for Slovenia at the Olympics and the second judo medal for the country ever. More »
Slovenian shooter Rajmond Debevec won the bronze in Sunday's rifle three-position competition at the Beijing Olympics. The winner was Qui Jian of China, while silver went to Yuri Sukhurokov of Ukraine. More »
Education and Sport Minister Milan Zver and Hu Jiayan, Chinese deputy secretary of General Administration of Sport, signed in Beijing on Thursday an agreement on cooperation in sport. More »
Prime Minister Janez Jansa on Tuesday hosted a reception for the team representing Slovenia at the Beijing Paralympics from 6 to 17 September. Jansa wished the athletes good luck and pointed out that their results were as important as those of Slovenian Olympic athletes. More »
The number of smokers in Slovenia has fallen by a quarter since 2006, a survey commissioned by the Health Ministry has found. The ministry believes this is proof that the ban on smoking in public places implemented in August 2007 is working. More »
Six Slovenian ministers presented to the press their ministries' achievements in the 2004 - 2008 term.
Among the achievements of the Ministry of Finance, Minister Bajuk higlighted reduced public spending, tax reform, the introduction of the euro and the privatisation of NKBM, the no. 2 bank. Moreover, he revealed that the budget surplus would actually reach EUR 240m or 0.65% of GDP, thus exceeding the expected EUR 70m surplus.
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology has achieved increasing investment in education and science also creating better conditions for cooperation between research and business, Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar told the press.
Defence Minister Karl Erjavec was extremely satisfied with the ministry's work, which in the 2004-2008 term made many steps forward in the development of the Slovenian Armed Forces and the Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief.
Labour, Family and Social Affairs Minister Marjeta Cotman highlighted talks with the civil society as the biggest success of her ministry, along with a low unemployment rate, which is at its lowest point since Slovenia gained independence.
Economy Minister Vizjak presented his ministry's achievements stressing that an important step had been made towards making Slovenia's economy development-oriented, although a lot of work lies ahead. "The changing situation on global markets requires a constant adaptation of economic policies," said Minister Vizjak.
The Education Ministry exceeded expectations and goals in the 2004-2008 term, according to Minister Zver, who said that his ministry's key achievement was to make Slovenian students competitive knowledge-wise at the global scale.
The next edition of Slovenia News will be released on 26 August, after a short summer break.
Slovenia was expected to end 2008 with a budget surplus of EUR 70m, but Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk revealed Wednesday that the surplus would actually reach EUR 240m or 0.65% of GDP. More »
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology has achieved most of the goals it had set for the 2004-2008 period. Investment in education and science has been increasing and better conditions for cooperation between research and business have been created, Minister Mojca Kucler Dolinar said on Thursday. More »
Defence Minister Karl Erjavec told the press in Novo Mesto on Tuesday that he was extremely satisfied with the ministry's work in the 2004-2008 term. He believes that in the last four years standards have been set that will also be valid in the future. More »
The Education Ministry has exceeded expectations and goals in the 2004-2008 term, believes Education Minister Milan Zver, who said Tuesday that his ministry's key achievement was to make Slovenian students competitive knowledge-wise at the global scale. More »
Basic wages will increase by 3.9% in August for some 57,000 workers covered by the collective bargaining agreement for the corporate sector, in accordance a deal that the employers and trade unions signed end of May. More »
Presenting on Friday the achievements of the Labour, Family and Social Affairs Ministry in this government's term, Minister Marjeta Cotman highlighted talks with the civil society as the biggest success. "I find this the biggest success, but it was also the hardest part," she said. More »
Minister Andrej Vizjak looked back at the achievements of the Economy Ministry in the 2004-2008 term on Tuesday, concluding that while an important step had been made towards making Slovenia's economy development-oriented, a lot of work remains to be done in terms of adapting economic policies and increasing productivity. More »
The group around pharma company Krka generated revenues to the tune of EUR 469.3m in the first half of 2008, up 20% from the same period last year. Net profit rose 28% to EUR 81.1m, the group's chairman told the press in Novo mesto on Wednesday. More »
The number of crimes dropped 4.2% in Slovenia in the first half of 2008 and the share of resolved crimes was up almost three percentage points year-on-year, criminal police chief Aleksander Jevsek said on Monday. The police registered 44,500 crimes and 21,274 were resolved, Jevsek said. More »
Slovenia has the lowest marriage rate in the EU, but also one of the lowest divorce rates among the 27 EU member states, according to a report from the Slovenian Statistics Office. More »
The seventh annual Sanje (Dreams) festival bringing literature, music and art to the streets of Ljubljana begins on Thursday evening at Zvezda Park. The festival, highlighting the importance of imagination and dreams in today's world, will be opened by Rok Zavrtanik, the director of the publisher Sanje. More »
Slovenian film "Estrellita" by Metod Pevec received an award at the Motovun Film Festival, which closes Friday evening. The film, which examines the life of Bosnian immigrants in Slovenia, was awarded by Amnesty International because it promotes human rights in the most intriguing way. More »
The number of books and other publications published in Slovenia is growing, the National Statistics Office said on Wednesday. In 2007 the number of books and brochures increased by 9.5% over the year before to 5,129. More »
As has become tradition, a group of children from Bosnia-Herzegovina are spending their summer holidays on the Slovenian coast this year with the help of the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More »
The 30th World Parachuting Championships in Slovakia's Lucenec which finished on Friday showed Slovenian strength in the sport, as the Slovenian team returned home with six medals. More »