How many people live in Slovenia, and where

How many people live in Slovenia?

On 1 January 2026 SURS counted 2,135,107 residents, 1,074,630 men and 1,060,477 women, at a density of 105.3 per km². The square kilometres behind that figure are in how big is Slovenia. A year earlier, on 1 January 2025, there were 2,130,850, so the population is creeping up slowly. The government gave a median age of 44.1 in June 2023. As a curiosity, the commonest first names are Franc and Marija, and the most common surname is Novak.

Where people live

The central region around Ljubljana is home to 573,209 people, more than a quarter of the country. Next come Podravska, Maribor’s region, with 332,747, and Savinjska, around Celje, with 263,107. At the other end, Primorsko-notranjska, the region of Postojna and Cerknica, has just 53,458 and a density of 36.7 people per km². You’ll also find the split in the regions of Slovenia.

Ljubljana, then nothing over 100,000

Only Ljubljana is a large city, with 293,244 people. The second, Maribor, has 98,097, and no other reaches 40,000, with Celje at 38,175 and Kranj at 38,089. The country has 6,040 settlements, most of them villages and hamlets, and some whole municipalities have only a few hundred residents, such as Osilnica with 326, Hodoš with 335 or Solčava with 493. After Ljubljana and Maribor, the most populous towns are Celje, Kranj, Koper, Velenje and Novo mesto. That’s why I wouldn’t plan a trip around cities but around areas. The 19 places I treat as cities are in the cities of Slovenia. The small villages I like best are in the prettiest villages in Slovenia.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.

Languages, communities and religion

Slovenian is the official language, joined by Italian on the coast and Hungarian in Prekmurje wherever communities are mixed, according to the government. SURS doesn’t publish a recent census with ethnicity or religion in its database, so I don’t give percentages for either, even if you see them on other websites. What you will notice is that several religious feasts are public holidays, such as Easter, the Assumption on 15 August and Christmas. Everything on languages is in the language of Slovenia.

More tourists than residents

In 2025 Slovenia recorded 6,993,930 tourist arrivals, more than three for every resident. Visitors from the UK accounted for 188,257 of them, ahead of Spain with 114,432 but well behind Germany, the biggest market, with 743,428. The contrast shows most in the Alpine villages. Bled has 8,103 residents and had 499,659 arrivals; Bovec, with 3,052 people, had 235,614. If you’re travelling in August it’s worth knowing, because in those villages you’ll feel it, from the car parks to the restaurant tables.

If you would rather have a local show you round, book a guided tour in Ljubljana and choose by the reviews.

Once your dates are set, check which hotels are still free in Ljubljana before prices climb.