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None Provided9 The population of Slovenia at the 1991 census was 1,962,606. In 2000 the country had an estimated population of 1,970,056, giving it an overall population density of 97 persons per sq km (252 per sq mi). Slovenes, a Slavic ethnic group, constitute about 88 percent of the republic's population. Slovenes speak Slovenian, the republic's official language. Unlike other Slavic cultures, Slovenes have been heavily influenced by German and Austrian cultures for nearly a millennium. Despite more than 70 years of affiliation with Yugoslavia, Slovene culture exhibits many similarities to Germanic cultures. Slovenian is written in the Latin alphabet—unlike Serbian and many other Slavic languages, which are written in the Cyrillic alphabet—and has many dialects. In addition, most people in Slovenia are Roman Catholic. Ethnic Serbs (about 2 percent), Croats (about 3 percent), and various other ethnic groups (about 7 percent) constitute the remainder of Slovenia's population. In addition, in the mid-1990s Slovenia was home to some 20,000 refugees from the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some 52 percent of all Slovenes live in urban areas, particularly in Ljubljana (population, 1995 estimate, 269,972) and Maribor (103,113), the republic's two largest cities. Many of the remainder live in rural areas throughout the republic, particularly in alpine villages, where skiing is one of the most popular forms of recreation. In the cities Slovenes enjoy concerts, operas, and art galleries. The Slovene government requires that all children attend school between the ages of 7 and 15. Almost all Slovenes over the age of ten can read and write, and 36 percent of students receive postsecondary or higher levels of education. There are 30 institutions of higher education in Slovenia; among them is the University of Ljubljana, which was founded in 1595. Prior to independence Slovenia was the most prosperous of the six Yugoslav republics. However, the wars that took place in the region during the early and mid- 1990s seriously affected Slovenia's economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was $6,052 in 1992, a sharp decline from the pre-independence figure of $8,658 in 1990. Trade with other countries and tourism were also limited by the war, and the large population of war refugees was a further drain on the economy. In recent years, economic leaders have made efforts to turn the economy around, implementing market and bank reforms and promoting privatization. The presence of a non-Communist government since 1990, along with the republic's sound infrastructure and skilled workforce, helped reverse the downward trend. The GDP began to grow in 1993, and by 1995 was increasing at 5 percent a year. Inflation slowed, and unemployment decreased to a rate lower than many countries of Western Europe. In 1998 the GDP had increased to $19.5 billion, or $9,850 per Industry constituted 39 percent of GDP in Slovenia in 1998. The republic's chief industries produce electrical equipment, processed food, textiles, paper and paper products, chemicals, and wood products. Agriculture accounts for 4 percent of GDP, with dairy farming and livestock dominating this sector. Major crops include cereals such as corn and wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, and fruits (particularly grapes). Germany is by far Slovenia's most important trading partner in both exports and imports. The other leading countries buying Slovenian goods are Croatia, Italy, France, and Austria. Exports include electrical machinery, road vehicles, chemicals and chemical products, footwear, and furniture. Tourism is also a major source of revenue, with popular resorts at Lake Bled and in the mountains. Revenues from tourism rebounded in 1994 to increase by 8 percent over prewar levels. The largest number of visitors are from Italy, Germany, and Austria. Slovenia has an excellent transportation network. It contained 19,586 km (12,170 mi) of roads in 1998, and its largest cities are connected by railroads. There are also three major airports and a port at Koper on the Adriatic Sea. In October 1991 the republic released its own currency, the tolar, to replace the Yugoslav dinar (166 tolars equal U.S.$1; 1998 average). In early 1993 Slovenia joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (since renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE). The republic also revived economic contacts with Austria and Italy and established new relations with Iran, China, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. In June 1996 Slovenia became an associate member of the European Union (EU). In December 1997 it was invited to begin the process of joining the organization as a full member. An emerging democracy, Slovenia has adopted many elements of democratic government. In December 1991 the Slovenian government adopted a constitution that guarantees a number of civil rights, including universal suffrage for all Slovenes age 18 and older (Slovenes age 16 and older may vote if they are employed), freedom of religion, and freedom of the press. Slovenia's parliament consists of a 90-member State Assembly, which makes the republic's laws, and a 40-member State Council, which can only propose laws or request reconsideration of a vote in the assembly. Assembly members serve four-year terms, and council members serve five-year terms. The parliament is headed by the prime minister, Slovenia's true head of government, who is elected to a four-year term by the assembly. The country also has a president, who is elected to a five-year term by popular vote. Slovenia has a multiparty system of government. After the 1996 elections, the country's leading parties included the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia (LDS), the Slovenian People's Party, the Social Democratic Party of Slovenia, the Christian Democratic Party, United List, the Slovenian National Party, the Democratic Party of Slovenia has eight trial courts, four appellate courts, and a Supreme Court. The Assembly appoints all judges, including the justices of the Supreme Court. Slovenia has an extensive network of social service programs sponsored by the government, including low-cost medical coverage and retirement pensions. The republic employed an army of 9,550 active-duty soldiers in 1998, with a large reserve force. Conscription begins at age 18 and lasts seven months. Slovenia is a member of the Council of Europe(CE), the Central European Initiative (CEI), and the United Nations (UN). Slovenia also has signed defense accords with Austria and Looking at some of the "book" facts about Slovenia, we also have to look at the "real life" facts that only can be seen through experience. Not only does Slovenia take after some Germanic cultures, today alitle bit of American culture can be seen, at least with the countries youth. They are adapting to our style of dress, music, food, thoughts and ideas. Geographically, Slovenia is a roughly small country. And as the stats above show that it may not seem to be a lot of people living in such a small area, the major cities are extremly populated. So one way that the country is cutting down the amount of high traffic is by importing foreign cars (such as Japanese models), because of the convenience their size. (German cars such as the Mercedes, and the VW do not need to be imported because you can cross the border to purchase However, purchaseing a car such as a BMW, Mercedes may not be so practical, their power is highly demanded because of the mountainious regions in Slovenia, that some Japanese cars may be cheaper and more efficient to keep, they do lack some of the power of these German cars. This is why my company, "Sports Compact," will greatly help those in Slovenia who are now purchaseing Japanese cars. My company is an American based company that deals in after market products for cars, especially Japanese models. We carry a full line of products such as GReddy, HKS, AEM, and DC which are both American and Japanese made. Our products are used as add-ons and replacements on these types of cars to make them have more horse power, speed, and style. Basically in the right combination, they can make any small sized Japanese car perform just as close as to the performance of any high class German automobile. These products that my company offers, will not meet any opposition from traffic regulations in Slovenia because Slovenias traffic and auto specifications on cars are a lot more lenient than those in the United States. This is because most of Europe does not impose a power limit or governer that must be placed on the car to limit the power the car has which the US does require. The other big advantage I will have is that the speed limits are not as strict as they are here in the States. Since my products will allow a car to go faster and push out more horse power, drivers will be able to accelerate faster onthe highways and not have to fear being hit from behind while entering the highway. My company will also be benificial to the younger crowd too. As mentioned before, the youth of Slovenia are now imitating the youth of America. As you can see here in Queens, New York, many young drivers use the products that my company offers. Since you can begin driving at the age of 16 in Slovenia, and with the better financial quality of the country, more and more families are begginning to own more than one car, and are actually starting to buy more Japanese models. Not only for the fact that the youth are conforming to American style, they just like every child, wants to have their own identity, away from their parents. So you can see some cars with wild paint jobs and new sound systems. Knowing the psychographics of about basically every child and especially those of the Slovenian youth, it would be safe to assume that my company will be accepted with open Since most of the products that I will be selling are made for Japanese cars, and are built here in America with some of the Japanese cars, I would team up with a Japanese dealership in Slovenia. First, I would get the alliance with the local dealer to start working on some research if my company would be able to make it over there. I would offer a few catalogues, and a few sample items of the products I sell for them to display and sell in their show rooms. However, their is a noise problem we would run into with our mufflers. Our mufflers that we sell produce a higher sound that would run into problems with Slovenias noise tolrance. But, we also have a soltion for this. Our mufflers come with silencers to reduce the noise but without reduceing the performane too much (their will be a slight change but nothing that will take away the added power from the muffler). Not only will it be a problem locally, but it may be a problem faced that will be dealt with through the EU. If the local dealers are able to keep a steady flow of proucts on sale, it would be safe to open up a local shop. Preferably close to the dealership so the relationship will be seen and the name will be known and recognized that it wouldnt take away from my companys image. Opening my own shop would help to reduce the price of my products. I would no longerhave to ship a few products over seas, which would hike price up, I would make fewer but larger shipments to my own shop and sell retail. The less shipping I would have to spend on the less I would Bibliography:

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