The share of young people aged between 15 and 29 in the total population of Slovenia in 2016 was just 15.9%, after falling by 2.4pp in the last five years, the Slovenian Statistical Office announced on August 7.

The ageing population is one of the most serious challenges for Slovenia, and is set to place an increasing burden on the country’s public finances, social care and pensions system. 

The European Commission warned in February that Slovenia's ageing population is a key risk to fiscal sustainability, particularly in the long term, as it puts considerable pressure on the sustainability of the pension, health care and long-term care systems. The Commission’s Slovenia Country Report 2016 points out that Slovenia's population is ageing faster than that of most EU member states, with the old age dependency ratio projected to more than double between 2013 and 2060. 

However, in 2015, the number of pensioners rose by 0.5% y/y which was the smallest increase in the last 25 years, the head of the government’s Pension and Disability Insurance Institute (ZPIZ) Marijan Papez announced on February 29.

Across the EU, the share of young people in the total population 18.3% in 2016, down by 0.9pp in the last five years.

On a more positive note, youth unemployment in Slovenia had dropped below the EU average for both men and women by 2016. The overall youth unemployment rate was 45.3%, compared to 48.3% across the bloc. This was in contrast to 2011, when the rate in Slovenia was slightly above the EU average. 

The data also showed that Slovenians leave home almost two years later than the EU average, with 80.4% of young adults still live in the parental household, compared to 65.9% across the EU. 

On April 1, Slovenia had a population of 2.06mn, or 1,059 less than three months earlier. The number of Slovene citizens decreased while the number of foreign citizens increased to 5.6%, the Statistical Office announced on July 28.