The Most Similar Countries to Slovenia

SLOVENIA SIMILAR COUNTRIES MAP

Have you ever wondered how similar or different two countries are? The Country Similarity Index attempts to quantify how similar countries are to each other relative to other countries. The index is a statistically-based way to measure this. It weighs equally five major aspects of countries: their demographics, culture, politics, infrastructure, and geography. The methodology is exactly the same for each country. The research combines 1,000 different data points to arrive at the conclusions.

Slovenia is a European country. It is similar to many countries in the region. The five most similar countries to Slovenia are predominately Catholic. Furthermore, they are all a part of the European Union, although they do not all use the Euro as currency. Four of the top five countries speak Slavic languages and they use the Latin alphabet as well. With the exception of Poland, they were all part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at one time.

SLOVENIA SIMILAR COUNTRIES DIAGRAM

Top 10 Places Most Similar to Slovenia

  1. Croatia is the only other former country of Yugoslavia that is predominately Catholic. Both countries are also in the European Union, although Croatia does not yet use the Euro. Both countries exclusively use the Latin script, however the Slovenian language is slightly different from Serbo-Croatian. The two have also won skiing and rowing medals at the Olympics. Their agriculture is similar as well, since they both predominately produce corn and wheat. However, Slovenia has very little coastline and a cooler climate.
  2. Slovakia is another Slavic-speaking Catholic country in the European Union. Both countries are fairly mountainous, but Slovakia is landlocked. They also use a mixture of coal, hydropower, and nuclear energy to create electricity. Their parliamentary governments are especially similar. Both countries have adopted the Euro. One difference is that Slovakians prefer ice hockey to basketball, volleyball, and handball.
  3. Czechia, like Slovenia, borders Austria and has been highly influenced by its Germanic neighbors. While both countries are Catholic, Czechia tends to be less religious. Their demographics are quite similar since they have about the same education level and income per capita. However, like Slovakia, it has more interest in ice hockey than Slovenia. Another difference is that Slovenians tend to prefer to drink wine, in contrast to Czechs.
  4. Poland is similar to Czechia and Slovakia, except that it was not a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Furthermore, unlike Slovenia, its electricity is primarily generated by coal power plants. The country is also less mountainous. Still, Poland is mostly Catholic, although it is more religious than Slovenia.
  5. Austria is the most similar Germanic-speaking country to Slovenia. The Austrian Empire once ruled Slovenia in the 19th Century. The alps are located in both countries, although Austria is more mountainous. As a result, both countries excel at the Winter Olympics. They also have similar crops, growing a mixture of corn, wheat, and barley.
  6. France, 7. Bulgaria, 8. Italy, 9. Hungary, 10. Belgium

The four least similar countries to Slovenia are all located near the Red Sea. Despite their relative proximity, they have little similarity in their demographics, culture, and infrastructure. All these countries have significant Muslim populations. They also have a much lower standard of living. Their climates are also much hotter and drier.

Top 10 Places Least Similar to Slovenia

  1. Sudan is located in the Sahara Desert and borders the Red Sea. Due to civil war, the country recently lost some territory to the newly formed country of South Sudan. Sudan’s laws are much more conservative than Slovenia. Its government does not allow alcohol, abortion, or homosexuality.
  2. Eritrea borders Sudan and the Red Sea. Its government has been a dictatorship for almost 20 years. It also has a unique language and writing system are completely different from Slovenian. Still, Eritrea does have some Christians, although they are mostly from the Oriental Orthodox denomination.
  3. Somalia is another poor predominately Muslim country currently in a civil war. Its climate is much hotter and drier. A low percentage of its land is used for agriculture. While both countries have a lot of coastline, Somalia is much less mountainous. Still, despite their languages being unrelated, Somali also uses the Latin alphabet, like Slovenia.
  4. Yemen is also far different from Slovenia, despite both countries being mountainous. Yemen has a desert climate and a low percentage of forested land. It also has extremely different politics. Yemen is currently at civil war. It also has much more conservative laws than Slovenia. However, people from Yemen are considered to be Caucasian, although their ancestry is still significantly different from Slovenians.
  5. Niger is a landlocked country in the middle of the Sahara Desert. It was once a French colony before becoming independent. The country has the youngest average population in the world, in contrast to Slovenia’s aging population. Still, both countries use the Latin alphabet. In contrast to Slovenia’s mountainous terrain, Niger is fairly flat.
  6. Chad, 7. Mali, 8. Mauritania, 9.Bangladesh 10. Gambia

Slovenia is like if Croatia was more like Austria

According to the Index, Croatia is the most similar country to Slovenia. Still, the data indicates that Austria has a few traits of Slovenia that Croatia lacks. Croatia has far more coastline than Austria and Slovenia. Both countries use the Euro, unlike Croatia. Their economies are also more prosperous. In addition, in Croatia prostitution is prohibited in all circumstances, unlike in Austria or Slovenia.

Full Ranking of Countries and Territories Most Similar to Slovenia

All data accurate as of 2020.

SLOVENIA SIMILAR COUNTRIES GRAPH

Country Superlatives

Most Similar Demographics: Croatia
Most Similar Culture: Croatia
Most Similar Government: Slovakia
Most Similar Infrastructure: Belgium
Most Similar Geography: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Least Similar Demographics: Niger
Least Similar Culture: Myanmar
Least Similar Government: Yemen
Least Similar Infrastructure: Papua New Guinea
Least Similar Geography: Bahrain

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