Environment at a Glance: Slovenia
Table of contents
The OECD Environment at a Glance Country Notes are designed to support transparent, evidence-based information. They provide concise and descriptive overview of progress across major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity conservation. They feature selected environmental indicators, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The text of this country profile is complementary to and has benefited from the OECD Environmental Performance Review of Slovenia 2026. See the Reader’s guide to the Environment at a Glance Country Notes for more information.
Slovenia is the second smallest OECD country by size and the fifth smallest by population. The narrowing of the gross domestic product (GDP) per person gap to the upper half of OECD countries has gathered pace.
The country enjoys extraordinarily rich biodiversity and landscapes due to its location at the junction of several ecological systems. Its natural endowment has been preserved by a tradition of close-to-natural forest management and low-intensity farming, as well as close co-operation with neighbouring countries.
Slovenia’s only domestic fossil fuel deposits include lignite extracted at an underground mine in Velenje, in the north of the country. Other mineral resources include relatively small quantities of lead, zinc, mercury, uranium and silver. It imports virtually all of its oil and natural gas. Indigenous energy sources – in the form of domestic coal, nuclear power, hydropower, and renewables — satisfy slightly more than half of energy needs.
Energy supply and production-based (i.e. produced within the territory) carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have achieved a relative decoupling from real GDP growth. The per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint, i.e. including emissions incorporated in imported goods) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain below the OECD average, and have slowly declined since 1995.
Total GHG emissions, excluding land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), decreased by 17.6% during 2000-24. GHG emissions increased until 2008, mainly driven by economic growth and the increase of road transport following the accession to the European Union (EU) in 2004. In 2009, emissions from fuel use and industrial processes began to decline as a result of the global financial crisis, to then stabilize in 2017-18. Total emissions dropped in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, rebounded the following year, and have been following a downward trend until 2023.
Transport is the largest source of GHG emissions (37.1% of the total in 2024, excluding LULUCF), followed by energy industries (23.5%) and agriculture (10.6%). Emissions from energy industries fell in 2014 due to the closure of the Trbovlje thermal power plant, and kept decreasing in the following years. The emission trend in the manufacturing industry and construction sector followed the trend in economic growth. Emissions from agriculture, mostly due to enteric fermentation, oscillate annually but are overall decreasing. The LULUCF sector is a net sink, mainly thanks to forests. Since 2007, net removals have been decreasing, mainly due to changes in the national forest policy. Sanitary cut in damaged forests increased by about 50% during 2014-2018, when the whole sector became a source of GHG emissions (Slovenia, 2026).
Slovenia is not particularly well endowed with fossil fuels resources. Indigenous energy sources in the form of domestic coal, nuclear power, hydropower and renewables, satisfy slightly more than half of energy needs (Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office, 2022). Fossil fuels still provided more than half its total energy supply in 2025. The share of renewables in the energy mix has not evolved much since 2000. The share of renewables in electricity production has fluctuated and increased, to reach 39.9% in 2025.
Emissions of major air pollutants have decreased significantly since 2000, especially of sulphur oxides (SOx). However, except for SOx, emission intensities remain at or above OECD-Europe averages, but below OECD averages.
Exposure to PM2.5 remains high, well above the 2021 guideline value of 5 µg/m3 recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Slovenia is a water-rich country and in general does not suffer from water stress. Due to its high spatial variability, certain areas in the southeastern and northeastern parts of the country may experience seasonal water stress during dry years. Even though per person abstractions for public supply are relatively high by OECD standards, total gross freshwater abstractions represent a small percentage of total renewable resources.
Connection rates to wastewater treatment plants remain low by OECD standards, slightly less than 70%, mostly due to dispersed settlements, albeit with a relatively large share of this connected to advanced (tertiary) treatment.
Per person municipal waste generation is just above the OECD average. Municipal waste management has improved considerably in the last twenty years. In 2000 almost all waste was sent to landfill. Now almost half is sent to recycling, the rest is mostly composted or incinerated with energy recovery1.
Per person domestic material consumption (DMC) dropped in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and slowly increased since. Material productivity has increased faster than the OECD average after the 2008 financial crisis, and is now above it, albeit at lower level than the OECD-Europe average. As in many OECD countries, non-metallic minerals account for the largest share of DMC, driven by construction materials.
Slovenia is situated in the southern part of central Europe where four biogeographic regions meet, forming a large variety of eco-regions and habitats. Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in the OECD, with more than 60% of land being used for forestry. There are 514 natural and anthropogenic habitat types that have been identified and documented. Around 15 000 animal species, 6 000 plant species and 5 000 species of fungi have been identified and documented. The degree of endemism is high. Besides agriculture, forestry is the principal land use activity affecting biodiversity (CBD).
The country has already largely surpassed the 2030 target to protect 30% of terrestrial land under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). More efforts are needed to achieve the same target for marine and coastal areas. Only a limited number of sites have strict management objectives (International Union for the Conservation of Nature -IUCN - categories I and II).
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
At around 3%, the share of environmentally related tax revenue in GDP is higher than the OECD and OECD-Europe averages. Like in most countries, most of these taxes are energy based, followed by transport and pollution.
In total, 81.9% of GHG emissions in Slovenia were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate2 (ECR) in 2023. Explicit carbon prices in Slovenia consist of emissions trading system (ETS) permit prices and carbon taxes, which cover 38.4% of GHG emissions in CO2 equivalent. With roughly 36.4% of total GHG emissions, coverage is largest for ETS. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, covered 52.6% of emissions in 2023. About 70% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 equivalent, a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net Effective Carbon Rates are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 32.8% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is on average positive in all sectors (OECD, 2024).
The share of environmentally related government research and development (R&D) budget in total budget has been increasing since 2000. However, at 3.7% in 2024, it remains relatively low by OECD standards.
Slovenia is a minor player in environmentally related inventions, and their share in total inventions is below the OECD average.
Slovenia’s development co-operation focuses on its near neighborhood in the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe, including by sharing its experience of accessing the EU. Over half of Slovenia’s official development assistance (ODA) is delivered multilaterally, and the EU receives almost all of its multilateral ODA. Sustainable management of natural resources, climate change, water management and the transition to a circular economy are among the priorities. The mostly multilateral nature of Slovenia’s development cooperation is reflected in the relatively low shares of bilateral ODA targeting climate and biodiversity, at 17% and 3% in 2022-23, respectively (OECD, 2026).
References
CBD. (n.d.). Country profiles: Slovenia. Retrieved from https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile?country=si
Hockings, M., & al, e. (2006). Evaluating Effectiveness. A framework for assessing management effectiveness of protected areas. 2nd Edition. IUCN. Retrieved from https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/documents/PAG-014.pdf
MAFF. (2021). Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Progress Report on LULUCF Actions SLOVENIA. Retrieved from https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MKGP/PODROCJA/GOZDARSTVO/LULUCF_2020_progress_report_SI.pdf
OECD. (2024). Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down. OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris. doi:10.1787/b44c74e6-en
OECD. (2026). Development Co-operation Profiles. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/slovenia_af9db37d-en.html
Republic of Slovenia Statistical Office. (2022). Energy in Slovenia and the EU-27. Retrieved from https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/news/Index/10321
Slovenia. (2026). National Inventory Document 2026, GHG emissions inventories 1986-2024. Ljubljana: Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, Slovenian Environment Agency. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/documents/656411
Further reading
National data on land take and Corine Land Cover are also available at: http://kazalci.arso.gov.si/en/teme/soil-and-land-use
OECD (2026), OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Slovenia 2026, OECD Environmental Performance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/c6e1f2ed-en
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← 1. The large fluctuations are due to break in time series in 2002 and 2013. Data is incomplete before 2001. Until 2004, data refers to waste collected by the public service system. Since 2004, municipal waste generated also include waste collected separately (covering special wastes such as packaging, medicines and waste candles from cemetery). Since 2013, data include additional waste from special waste collectors. In 2015, the methodology was changed, resulting in an increase for recycling and incineration with energy recovery.
← 2. Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) is the sum of fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradeable permits that effectively put a price on carbon emissions. The Net ECR equals the ECR minus fossil fuel subsidies that decrease pre-tax fossil fuel prices.