Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Slovenia
Ethnicity
Most of Slovenia's population is ethnically Slovene, which is primarily a combination of eastern and southern Slavs, making their closest relatives the Czechs and Croatians, while being more distantly related to the Poles, Slovaks, and Bulgarians among others. There are also small groups of ethnic Italians, Magyars (Hungarians), Serbs, and Croats in the country today.
Language
Slovenian is the only official national language in Slovenia, although both Italian and Hungarian are regionally recognized. Slovenian is a southern Slavic language, most similar to what is known in English as Serbo-Croatian. Serbo-Croatian is often referred to in more specific terms by individuals in the region as many people prefer calling the language Croatian, Bosnian, or Serbian.
No matter what native language an individual speaks, most Slovenians today learn English as a second language, making English the language of communication between groups and in some sectors, such as tourism. Learning this language is especially true among younger people as few people learned English during the Yugoslavia era.