Slovenia is a small Cetral European country covering an area of 20.265 km2 and with some two million inhabitants. It borders Austria, Croatia, Italy and Hungary. Slovenia is one of the youngest European countries, having become an independent state in 1991 after the collapse of the Yugoslav federation. Slovenia became the 176th member of the UN and is a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, a participant in NATO's Partnership for Peace, a founding member of WTO and an associate member of the EU. Slovenia is distinguished by the varied mosaic of its landscape which stretches between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps. The melting of the Alpine, Pannonian, Dinaric and Mediterranean worlds, each leaving its own mark, creates a unique countryside, which is for the most part green. It is a largely mountainous country, almost half of it covered by forests. More than one half of the population lives in towns, most of which date from Roman times. The mountain tops rise to more than 2500 metres in height. Triglav (2864 m) is the highest Slovene mountain. The "original" Karst (the limestone region of underground rivers, gorges and caves) which gave its name to all karst areas around the world, extends through a wide belt of south and south-west Slovenia, from Ljubljana all the way to the Italian border. Independent since 1991 Language: Slovene Political system: Multi-party parliamentary democracy Area: 20,256 km2 Population: 2 million (90% Slovenian nationality) Capital: Ljubljana (population: 330,000) Major towns: Maribor (103,113), Celje (39,782), Kranj (36,770), Velenje (27,113), Koper (24,595), and Novo mesto (22,610) GDP per capita: 10,078 USD (1999) Currency: Tolar (SIT), 206.81 SIT=1 USD (March 2000)