OSREDNJESLOVENSKA - Economy
Service activities dominant in the capital
Of all the regions in Slovenia, this is economically the most important region, generating one third of the nation's total gross value added (34.0%). Due to the high concentration of service activities of national importance, the region's GDP per capita exceeds the national average by 38.3%. Services sector activity centred around Ljubljana generates 72.3% of gross value added, followed by the secondary sector (26.3 %), while the contribution from agriculture and forestry is only 1.4%.
The wider Ljubljana area is characterised by a very diversified agriculture base, ranging from dairy and beef cattle breeding to poultry and pig farming, as well as to the growing of vegetables to supply the capital. In mountainous and karst areas, dairy farming and beef cattle rearing prevail.
Although there is considerable industry in and around Ljubljana, it is not so predominant as in Maribor, for example. Industry is very diverse, so the severe crisis in the classical industrial branches that struck many parts of Slovenia after independence was not felt so strongly in the region. The most important industrial sectors are the chemical (production of dyes, varnishes and other protective materials in Medvode, Dom?ale and Ljubljana), metal and machine engineering (Ljubljana, Kamnik), pharmaceutical (Lek in Ljubljana), food processing and tobacco (Ljubljana), textile (Dom?ale, Ljubljana) and leather (Vrhnika, Dom?ale) industries.
Service activities of national importance were already highly concentrated in Ljubljana during the socialist period and this trend was further reinforced after independence. Government ministries, the university, cultural institutions, many high schools, the headquarters of the Slovenian Telekom, the Slovenian Railways, the electricity distribution company, pension scheme and health insurance institutions, the largest bank in Slovenia (Nova Ljubljanska banka) and the stock exchange, are all located in Ljubljana. Ljubljana is also an important centre for specialised international fairs, as well as being the largest congress centre in Slovenia.
Due to the high concentration of people and its above-average purchasing power, Ljubljana is also an important trade centre. The head offices of several large commercial groups are located in Ljubljana while foreign trade corporations are also active in acquiring market share here.
The economy of Osrednjeslovenska also has a considerable advantage over other regions due to the presence of a highly skilled and educated workforce, substantial research and development capabilities in Ljubljana and a high concentration of domestic and foreign capital. Much of the potential of these assets has not been sufficiently exploited so far, especially in the area of research and development which has relatively weak connections with the production sector. This partly explains why the region has not been so successful in completing the transition from labour-intensive to capital- and innovation-intensive industries.
The centre of the Slovenian motorway hub
Ljubljana is very favourably located for road transportation. It is situated in the heartland of the country where both lines of the Slovenian motorway hub intersect. These are the European traffic corridors 5 (Venice-Ljubljana-Budapest-Kiev) and 10 (Munich-Salzburg-Ljubljana-Beograd-Istanbul). Therefore, four motorways radiate from Ljubljana as well as two other important roads: the Ljubljana-Litija-Zidani Most road, leading towards the east through the Sava valley and the Ljubljana-Kocevje-Delnice (Croatia) road, leading towards the south-east.
In the plains, a very dense network of local, almost entirely paved, roads exists. Road density is lower in the mountainous western part of the region. Local and forest roads connect all villages or mountain farms with the valleys which is very important for the people commuting daily to work in local centres or Ljubljana. Although Ljubljana has a good network of bus and railway lines connecting the city with the surrounding settlements, the majority of daily commuters use passenger cars. This makes the arterial roads and streets in the city centre the busiest road sections in the whole country in spite of the construction of the 38 km long motorway ring road around Ljubljana. There are 238 600 passenger cars in the region or 485 cars per 1 000 persons which is slightly above the national average.
Ljubljana is also an important railway hub. Here, several railway tracks branch off from the electrified double-track Southern railway (constructed 1841-1857 between Vienna and Trieste). These are the electrified single-track railway from Ljubljana to Jesenice, the single-track railway leading towards Novo mesto and Karlovac and the local Ljubljana-Kamnik line. The Grosuplje-Kocevje railway line is used only for freight transport.
The Ljubljana Brnik international airport, 30 km north of Ljubljana, connects Slovenia with 19 European cities and Tel Aviv. Rivers in the region are not navigable.
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