OBALNO-KRAŠKA - Population
Concentration of the population along the coast
In 2002, 104 200 people (5.2% of the national population) lived in Slovenia's only coastal region. The average population density in the region (99.8 people per km2) is slightly above the national average, however there are big differences between the coastal belt where the density is over 400 people per km2 and sparsely settled karst interior with the density ranging between 20 and 35 people per km2.
Amongst the few regions in Slovenia where the population increased during the 1990-2002 period, Obalno-kraška has experienced the highest increase (+2.6%). The population growth was mostly the consequence of immigration from other regions with positive migration balance increasing even more after 1998. Figures on the natural growth are less encouraging ? the region has the lowest birth rate in Slovenia (7.3 births per 1 000 population in 2002), resulting in a mortality rate (9.4 deaths per 1 000 population) well above the birth rate. But, the number of births decreased by 24.8% in the 1990-2002 period which is above the national average. Nevertheless, with 7.9 deaths per births in 2002, the infant mortality in the region was the third highest in the country.
Despite high influx of immigrants, the percentage of people below the age of 25 in Obalno-kraška is the lowest in the country (26.8% of total population) and the percentage of people above the age of 65 exceeds the national average. As in other parts of Slovenia, the younger population decreased by more than 16% during the 1990-2002 period, while the older population increased by more than 44% in the same period (Slovene average is 36.1%). Ageing of the population is the most intensive in the karst interior, however the average age of the population in all three coastal municipalities is also above the national average.
Among the Slovene regions, Obalno-kraška has by far the highest percentage of persons of foreign nationality (13.5%). Apart from Slovenes, approximately 2 000 members of the Italian ethnic minority (1.8% of the region's population) live in coastal towns and near-by villages. Their rights are guaranteed by the constitution. Both Italian and Slovene are official languages in municipalities where the minority lives.
After World War II, especially after the Free Trieste Territory was abolished, most of the Italian population moved to Italy. At first, immigrants from other Slovene regions were attracted to coastal towns, while during the 70s and 80s, people from the neighbouring Croatia and also from other parts of the former Yugoslavia migrated to the region. Among these immigrants and their descendants, Croats (4.2%) and Serbs (3.1%) are the most numerous.
|
|