In terms of the area, the Zasavska statistical region is the smallest in Slovenia. With 485 square kilometres it is more than five times smaller than Jugovzhodna Slovenia, the largest one. Zasavska had about 3% of Slovenia’s population in 2023. With a population density of 118 inhabitants per square kilometre, it was the third most densely populated region.
In 2023, the mean age of population in this region was 45.2 years. The share of residents younger than 15 was 14.2%, below the national average of 14.9%. On the other hand, 23.0% of the population was aged 65 or older, exceeding the national average of 21.6%. The natural decrease in this region was among the highest at the regional level, standing at –3.6 per 1,000 population. The share of foreign citizens among the population was among the lowest (7.5%). The mean age of women in the region who have given birth is 30.4 years, the same as in Pomurska and Koroška, with younger mothers found only in Jugovzhodna Slovenija. The share of live births to mothers aged 35 or older was the lowest in this region, at 17.7%, more than 10 percentage points lower than in Obalno-kraška, where it was the highest. The premature mortality rate, which measures the share of people under 65 who died in a particular year, was the second highest among the regions, at 12.1%. Of all 1–5-year-olds, 82.5% were included in kindergartens, matching the national average. The educational structure of the population was less favourable, with 25–64-year-olds in the region having on average a lower level of educational attainment. Namely, 14.7% of the population had basic education or less, while 27.8% had tertiary education. In both cases, only Pomurska was ahead. The region had 32 students per 1,000 population, making it one of the regions with fewer students.
The employment rate in Zasavska in 2023 was similar to the national average; it was 69.4%. The difference between the employment rate for men (72.1%) and women (66.4%) was the second lowest among the regions at 5.7 percentage points. The share of people who worked outside the region of residence was at 53.3% the highest in this region; the vast majority of these persons worked in the Osrednjeslovenska statistical region. The unemployment rate was 4.5%, the second highest among all regions, exceeded only by Primorsko-notranjska, which had a rate of 4.7%. Average net earnings amounted to EUR 1,338, which was EUR 107 less than the national average.
In the Zasavska statistical region the GDP per capita was the lowest, at EUR 16,456, which was 45% below the national average. It also contributed the smallest share to Slovenias total gross value added, at 1.5%. The disposable income per capita in this region was the fourth lowest, amounting to EUR 16,255, which was 2% below the national average. The region had around 4,400 enterprises.
Residents of the region ranked among the most satisfied with their lives, with an average life satisfaction score of 7.9 (on a scale from 0 to 10), the second highest in the country. Only residents of Gorenjska reported a higher level of satisfaction, with an average score of 8. In this region, 13.1% of people lived in dwellings with too few rooms for the number of household members. This was the second highest share among all regions and twice as high as in the Koroška region. Additionally, 9% of households could not afford adequately heated housing, also the second highest rate in the country. The number of passenger cars per 1,000 population was the lowest (550), while their average age (11.1 years) was the same as the national average.