Slovenian demographic and public health trends

Slovenia continues to experience significant demographic and labor shifts. Data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS) indicates that the proportion of ethnic Slovenians has fallen below 70 percent. The fertility rate remains at 1.54, well below the replacement level of 2.1. Recent figures show 16,961 live births, marking the third consecutive year with fewer than 17,000 births. Foreign nationals accounted for 19.2 percent of all births, with the highest numbers of mothers holding citizenship from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Labor patterns show high mobility, with approximately 511,800 economically active residents working outside their municipality of residence. Certain areas exhibit high job density; Trzin has approximately 3.5 times as many jobs as local residents, while Mežica is classified as ‘exceptionally working’ because its jobs exceed the local economically active population by at least 16 percent. Other notable municipalities include Šempeter-Vrtojba, Nazarje, Murska Sobota, Ljubljana, and Odranci.

Despite declining birth rates, secondary school enrollment is increasing. According to the Ministry of Education, secondary student numbers rose from 75,786 in the 2021/2022 school year to 86,759 in the most recent period. Officials attribute this to larger birth cohorts from 2008 to 2011 entering the system, rather than immigration. While approximately 500 students from abroad join secondary schools annually via language courses, the Ministry stated this does not significantly impact the total.