International Migrants Day

The International Migrants Day has been celebrated since 2000; 18 December was selected in memory of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on 18 December 1990. The name of the Convention itself shows that employment (work) was recognized as the main motive for migration.

At the beginning of 2018, there were about 250,000 persons born abroad living in Slovenia and they represent 12.1% of the total population. Such a share of immigrants ranks Slovenia 16th among EU-28 Member States. The share of persons born abroad was the highest in Luxembourg (46.5%) and the lowest in Poland (1.8%). Slovenia belongs to a group of countries (together with Croatia, Sweden and the Netherlands) with the highest share of immigrants with reporting country citizenship. The most immigrants with country’s citizenship are recorded in Croatia (due to prevailing immigration of ethnic Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina). On the other hand, in Luxembourg only few immigrants acquire citizenship, mostly due to temporary employment in different European institutions.



In general, 55% of immigrants have Slovenian citizenship, among those who immigrated before independence as many as 94%. At that time immigration from other republics of former Yugoslavia was considered as internal migration. 170,000 persons acquired citizenship of Slovenia in the first eight months after independence. In the last ten years, 15,000 residents acquired Slovenian citizenship, of whom 70% citizens of countries from the territory of former Yugoslavia.


At the time of immigration, 6% of recent immigrants were Slovenian citizens; another 3% acquired Slovenian citizenship within ten years after immigration. One in three recent immigrants is living alone (one-member household). The share of immigrated children aged 0–14 years is 11% (in total population 15%).

Recent immigrants were born in 45 Asian countries, 43 African countries and each EU-28 Member State (fewer than 10 only in Malta and Cyprus, the most in Italy – 2,500). Bosnia and Herzegovina is the country of origin for 43% of recent immigrants. Kosovo is the country of origin of immigrants with the highest increase in recent immigration (twice as many immigrants as before 2007). Thirty new countries of origin appeared after 2007.


On average, the educational attainment of recent immigrants is slightly lower than of those who immigrated before 2008 (we have to take into account that many immigrants from that period could obtain better education in Slovenia after immigration). The prevailing educational attainment for recent immigrants is vocational upper secondary (38%). Markedly fewer recent immigrants obtained higher education, magisterij of science or doctorate of science. One in six employed recent immigrants is working in trade, almost one in two in manufacturing or construction.


80% of recent immigrants live in conventional dwellings (more than 96% of total population). They live in smaller dwellings (20 m2 of useful floor space per immigrant compared to 29 m2 per all occupants of conventional dwellings). One in five recent immigrants lives in a rented dwelling (only 6.4% of total population), and almost one in five in worker’s dormitory or a similar premise for a larger number of occupants.

A typical recent immigrant from 2008–20017 still living in Slovenia

A typical recent immigrant is a man, aged 30–39 years (3 out of 10), living alone (more than 30,000). He is a foreign citizen with permanent residence in Slovenia (53%) with Bosnia and Herzegovina as the country of origin (one in four) and lives in one of the urban municipalities of Slovenia (53%). He is employed (57%), and has vocational upper secondary education (38%). One in three lives in a household with all members younger than 50 years.