Slovenia is situated in southeastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula and is bordered by Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Italy and the Adriatic Sea to the west. The official language of the republic, Slovene, is a Slavic.
Slovenia takes its name from the Slovenes, the group of South Slavs who originally settled the area. Eighty-seven percent of the population considers itself Slovene, while Hungarians and Italians constitute significant groups and have the status of indigenous minorities under the Slovenian Constitution, guaranteeing them seats in the National Assembly. There are other minority groups, most of whom immigrated, for economic reasons, from other regions of the former Yugoslavia.
