Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional republic. The President, as head of state, is directly elected for a 5-year term. The 90 members of the National Assembly (Dravni zbor) are elected for 4-year terms: 88 members are elected by a mixed proportional representation system and 2 are elected by the Hungarian and Italian minorities. Slovenia has numerous political parties, none likely to gain a majority on its own. Free and fair elections on the basis of universal suffrage were held for the National Assembly in 2004. There are 14 women in the Assembly, 3 women in the 40-seat National Council and 1 woman in the 17-member Cabinet. 2 members of minorities serve in the National Assembly, none in the National Council or the Cabinet. The constitution provides the Italian and Hungarian minority communities with at least 1 representative in the Parliament. Other minority groups do not have the same right. The judiciary is independent in law and in practice.

Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the legislation is enforced. Nevertheless, some groups report continuing discrimination.

Police are accused of using excessive force at times, but complaints are investigated and impunity is not reported as a problem. Reports indicate that the public perceives corruption to be a widespread problem. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2005 ranks Slovenia at 31 out of 158 countries.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in law. The media are independent but reportedly represent a narrow range of political views. The government owns stock in companies that are shareholders in major media. Internet access is unrestricted. Free public access to government information is guaranteed and implemented for citizens and non-citizens.

Trafficking in persons is illegal, but reports indicate that Slovenia is a transit and destination country for women and teenage girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. The government cooperates with Interpol to try to stop trafficking. Teenage girls and young women who live in areas with high unemployment are particularly at risk. Legislation now permits protection of witnesses willing to testify against traffickers.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal, but social discrimination is widespread. Cases of violence against homosexuals occur. Members of the homosexual community report verbal, sexual or physical harassment because of their sexual orientation.

Compulsory, free and universal education is provided for ages 6 to 14. An additional 4 years of free secondary education are available and not compulsory. Legislation establishes penalties for parents or guardians who do not fulfil their obligations to ensure that children attend school. The attendance rate is high for compulsory school-age children, and most continue to complete secondary school. Roma children are reported to be in segregated classes in some places and disproportionately attending classes for students with special needs.

In 2004, funding was provided for a programme to expand and desegregate Roma education. Training of Roma facilitators to work in education is also being funded and enrichment programmes in public kindergartens have been established. Anti-bias and tolerance education is taught in primary and secondary schools, and the study of the Holocaust is a mandatory topic in the curriculum.

A 4-year programme begins at age 3. At this level 1% of education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 68%. All 2,651 ECE teachers are women. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 18 : 1.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 14. Primary school begins at age 7 and continues for 4 years. The NER is 96% (49% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 99% reach the last grade of primary school. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 6,884 primary teachers (96% female). The PTR is 13 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 11 and is completed in 8 years. At this level 2% of education is private. 69% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The NER is 95%. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 15,845 secondary teachers, 7,144 (78% female) in lower secondary and 8,701 (64% female) in upper secondary education. The PTR is 13 : 1 in lower secondary and 14 : 1 in upper secondary education.

101,458 students (56% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a Gross Enrolment Rate of 70%. There are 2,524 Slovenian students studying abroad, mainly in Germany (628), Austria (593), Italy (326), the UK (265) and the USA (209).

A 2004 amendment to the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in education or in other state services. Minimum quotas have been established for hiring disabled employees in both public and private sectors. In Slovenia, 0.02% of children are reported as disabled, and they are provided with special programmes. Significant moves are reported to integrate children with special needs into mainstream schools, including into regular classrooms. Reports suggest that the number of children in special schools has fallen by 25%. The opportunities and support services required for special needs children to be mainstreamed are reported to be unevenly provided across the country.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government cooperates with UNHCR in assisting refugees and asylum-seekers. All refugee children are expected to enter the Slovene school system.

Minorities make up about 17% of the population; the largest minority groups are Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks, Hungarians, Albanians, Roma and Italians. 88% of the inhabitants speak Slovene as their mother tongue, and some 9 minority languages are also spoken. Slovenia has ratified and implemented the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as well as the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. It has incorporated the European Charter in education, though in higher education the government does not fund teaching in a regional or minority language. The Italian and the Hungarian communities have special language rights. Minority languages such as German, Macedonian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Czech and Albanian do not have any legal status protection, and speakers of these languages do not receive education in their language. Bilingual education for Hungarian and Italian minorities is permitted.

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern at attitudes and practices that continue to discriminate against the Roma. Many Roma settlements are separate from other communities and lack basic utilities. A European Commission report estimated unemployment among Roma at 87%. Funding has been provided to assist with the codification of the Roma language, at present not standardised, to allow the development of a bilingual curriculum.

Reports do not cite restrictions or violations of academic freedom.

The equal rights of women in law are protected by the Office of Equal Opportunities. Official discrimination does not exist in family or property law. However, women often hold lower-paying jobs than men and on average earn 90% of what men earn.

Sexual harassment is reported as a problem, but it is prohibited and can be prosecuted. Violence against women is under-reported due to the stigma attached to public disclosure. Trafficking in women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation remains a problem.

The minimum age for employment is 15, but rural children often work at a younger age during the harvest season. Urban employers respect the minimum age limit for work, and the legislation is enforced in practice. Trafficking in children for sexual exploitation is a problem. Many trafficked children are Roma or are in transit through Slovenia.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions, except police and military personnel. About 35% of the work force is unionised. The right to bargain collectively is provided and exercised. When unionisation extends to 10% of workers in an industry sector, collective bargaining is applied sector-wide. The right to strike is also guaranteed and exercised. Strikes by police and members of the military services are prohibited in favour of arbitration. Labour laws apply in the export processing zone.

Forced or compulsory labour is prohibited but reportedly occurs among trafficking victims. The minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The law limits the work week to 40 hours