Basic information on the spoken languages and the educational system:

Slovenian is spoken by nearly two million people in Slovenia and by a significant number of emigrants. Slovenian together with the Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian language, makes up the western group of the South Slavic branch of the Slavic languages. In spite of the small size of Slovenia, the dialects of Slovenian are numerous and differ greatly from one another. Scholars do not agree on the exact number of dialects, although most recognize seven or eight major dialects and about fifty individual dialects.

In terms of ethnic structure, the Republic of Slovenia is a relatively homogenous country compared to other European countries. The ethnic structure of the population living in the Slovene territory  has not changed significantly throughout different historical periods. The Second World War was one of the milestones which has affected the numbers and ethnic structure of the population living in the national territory of the Republic of Slovenia. Census data from after the Second World War show reductions in the proportion of Slovenes and in the proportion of members of autochthonous ethnic communities (Italians and Hungarians) in Slovenia, while at the same time it indicates an increase in the proportion of members of the Anew-era ethnic minorities@, namely people who moved to Slovenia chiefly after the Second World War from various parts of the former Yugoslav federation, mostly for economic reasons. The majority (more than 170.000) of these immigrants have been granted Slovene citizenship since Slovenia gained independance.

The Italian ethnic community lives in relatively dense groups in the ethnically mixed territory of Slovene Istria, in de municipalities of Koper/Capodistria, Izola/Isola, and Piran/Pirano. According to the most recent census, 2.500 people declared themselves members of the Italian ethnic community, which forms 0,16 percent of the total population of Slovenia.

The region in which the Hungarian autochtonous ethnic community is settled covers a narrow belt along the Slovene-Hungarian border. In the 1991 census, 10.000 people declared themselves Hungarian, which is 0.43 percent of Slovenia=s total population. In administrative terms, they fall under the jurisdiction of five municipalities: Hodos, Moravske Toplice, Salovci, Lendava, and Dubrovnik. This region is densely populated by the Hungarian ethnic community. The ethnically mixed areas are set out in municipal statutes.

The majority of the Romani live in relatively dense groups in north-eastern Slovenia, mostly in the Prekmurje region while they are also scattered along southern Slovenia along the border with Croatia. The exact number of the Romani population is not known, since censuses have shown that a decreasing number declare themselves Romany.

In the ethnically mixed regions of Prekmurje and Slovene Istria the Hungarian and Italian languages enjoy equal status with the Slovene language on the level of both individual and social use. Slovene and Italian, or Slovene and Hungarian, have equal status in the operation of administrative, national, and judicial bodies. Topographic signs in these regions are also bilingual.

Education and schooling in ethnically mixed regions are constituent parts of the Slovene system of education and schooling. The two models of bilingual education and schooling established in the ethnically mixed regions in Prekmurje and Slovene Istria have been designed as the basis for the equality enjoyed by the Hungarian and Italian ethnic communities, and by their language and culture. In the region of Slovene Istria, schools have operated in Slovene and Italian since 1959; all children learn the second language used in their environment (either Italian or Slovene) from the pre-school level onwards. The model of bilingual education and schooling used in the region of Prekmurje was also introduced in 1959 and is classified as a two-tier model aimed at preserving both languages on an equal basis. One typical feature of this model is that bilingual classes are attended by pupils and students of both Slovene and Hungarian ethnic origin, or in other words classes are held in two mother tongues.

On 25-03-98 Slovenia ratified the European Framework Convention of National Minorities for Italian and Hungarian.

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