SOCIO-ECONOMIC OUTLINE OF THE TWO AREAS STUDIED
Slovenia and border regions

THE GORISKA REGION

The region of Goriska (Gorizia in Italian), the fourth largest in Slovenia, takes up the extreme western part of the country, adjacent to the Italian border. The area is mainly mountainous, especially in the north/centre, but this is not an obstacle to the dense system of communications with the neighbouring Italian Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, which takes advantage of easier access on the southern part of Slovenia. Goriska is as big as the Province of Venice but has hardly more than an eighth of its population, which makes it a sparsely populated region with only two towns having more than 10,000 inhabitants.
Even if the birth rate is very similar to the death rate, it is less than one, a gap that is compensated for by a large influx of new inhabitants. In comparison with other areas in the industrialised world, therefore, the population of Goriska is still essentially quite young (even if the percentage of old people is higher than the national average): this is indicated by the old age ratio, just over 100%, meaning that the number of over 65s and under 14s are substantially equal. The region's labour force is about 6% of the national total, while the 10,000 workplaces correspond to 7% of the number in Slovenia as a whole. The entrepreneur rate is higher than the average for the country, even if the region's contribution to Slovenian added value is only 6%. The unemployment rate, however, is only 6%, half the national rate. The region is mainly specialised in energy production and distribution, followed a long way behind by construction, manufacturing, agriculture and transport; service activities, however, produce more than half the region's added value.

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THE OBALNO-KRASKA REGION

This is the region with the smallest area in Slovenia and is the country's only outlet to the Adriatic. Obalno-Kraska, however, has a slightly higher population density than the national average, and nearly twice that of the neighbouring Goriska region.
The regional capital is Koper, Capodistria, with 47,000 inhabitants: the biggest town in the border area and one of the biggest in Slovenia.
Demographic structure is affected by two factors: a low birth rate (only 0.7 per 100 inhabitants) and a high immigration rate, a sign that the region exerts a certain attraction. The dependant ratio, lower than the national average, is to say the least a good sign, especially with regard to future public expenditure dynamics. There are nearly 10,000 workplaces, about 7% of the total for the country, even if the region is one of the smallest in the country: this is a reason for the high entrepreneur rate (9.4%), much higher than Slovenia's 7.1%.
The labour force constitutes 5.2% of that of Slovenia as a whole, but is slightly weightier (5.3%) in its contribution to national added value. The thorn in the side of the region's economy is the unemployment rate, which is lower than the national average but is still quite high (9.4%).
Being on the coast, Obalno-Kraska is specialised in fishing as well as in tourist activity (hotels and restaurants), mineral extraction and construction. 70% of the region's added value comes from services.

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