Development Potentials of Rural Areas – The Case of Slovenia

Abstract

Rural areas in the European Union (27 member states) make up 91% of the territory and over 56% of the population (European Commission, 2008). They include a great variety of cultures, landscapes, natural environments, and economic activities that shape different rural identities. Farming and forestry remain crucial for land use and the management of natural resources in the EU's rural areas, and as a platform for economic diversification in rural communities. In Slovenia as well, rural areas represent a significant part of its space and society. Slovenia is one of the smallest European countries, sharing borders with Italy, Austria and Croatia. 2,050,189 people live in a land area of 20,273 km2, for an average population density of 101,1 inhabitants per km2 (January 1st 2011). In 2010, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was 17,560€. Slovenia’s location between the Alps, the Dinaric mountains, the Adriatic Sea and the Pannonian Plain is the reason for the country's diverse climate: there is a continental climate in central Slovenia, an Alpine climate in the northwest, and a sub-Mediterranean climate in the coastal area and its hinterlands. Consequently, landscapes and agricultural production conditions are also diverse, as are the cultural identities of individual rural areas. Based on the 2002 population census, rural areas make up more than 90% of the territory and are inhabited by 58% of the total population (Perpar, 2007). The Slovenian countryside is highly heterogenous, distinguished by various natural conditions and obstacles, and diversified demographic, economic, and social structures (Perpar & Kovacic, 2002).