The Coastal–Karst Statistical Region ( sl, Obalno-kraška statistična regija, it, Litorale-Carso) is a statistical region in southwest

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It covers the traditional and historical regions of

Slovenian Istria Slovene Istria ( sl, slovenska Istra, it, Istria slovena) is a region in southwest Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, and it is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovene Littoral. Its l ...

and most of the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills su ...

, which traditionally belonged to the

County of Gorizia and Gradisca The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (german: Gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradisca; it, Principesca Contea di Gorizia e Gradisca; sl, Poknežena grofija Goriška in Gradiščanska), historically sometimes shortened to and spelled " ...

. The region has a sub-Mediterranean climate and is Slovenia's only statistical region bordering the sea. Its natural features enable the development of tourism, transport, and special agricultural crops. More than two-thirds of gross value added are generated by services (trade, accommodation, and transport); most was generated by activities at the Port of Koper and through seaside and spa tourism. The region recorded almost a quarter of all tourist nights in the country in 2013; slightly less than half by domestic tourists. Among foreign tourists, Italians, Austrians, and Germans predominated. In 2012 the region was one of four regions with a positive annual population growth rate (8.1‰). However, the age structure of the population was less favourable: in mid-2013 the ageing index was 133.3, which means that for every 100 inhabitants under 15 there were 133 inhabitants 65 or older. The farms in this region are among the smallest in Slovenia in terms of average utilised agricultural area per farm and in terms of the number of livestock on farms.

Cities and towns

The Coastal–Karst Statistical Region includes four

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s, the largest of which is Koper.

Municipalities

The Coastal–Karst Statistical Region comprises the following eight

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

: * Ankaran *

Divača Divača (; it, Divaccia) is a large nucleated village in the Littoral region of Slovenia, near the Italian border. It is the seat of the Municipality of Divača and a railway hub. Geography Divača lies along the A1 motorway and the old main r ...

* Hrpelje-Kozina *

Izola Izola (; it, Isola ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. It is the seat of the Municipality of Izola. Its name originates from Italian ''Isola'', which means 'island'. History An ancient Roman ...

Komen Komen (, it, Comen or ''Comeno'') is a settlement in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Komen. It is located on the Karst Plateau in the Slovenian Littoral. Name Komen was attested in written sources in 1247 as ''Cominum'' (and ...

* Koper *

Piran Piran (; it, Pirano ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The town is known for its medieval architecture, with narrow streets and compact houses. P ...

Sežana Sežana (; it, Sesana) is a town in the Slovenian Littoral region of Slovenia, near the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Sežana. Sežana is located on the Karst Plateau, from Trieste, Italy, and from Ljubljana, the ...

Demographics

It has an area of 1,044 km² and an estimated 112,942 inhabitants (at 1 July 2015)—of whom almost half live in the coastal city of Koper—and the second-highest GDP per capita of the Slovenian regions. It has high percentage of foreigners, at 10% (after the

Central Slovenia Statistical Region The Central Slovenia Statistical Region ( sl, Osrednjeslovenska statistična regija) is a statistical region in central Slovenia. Geography This is the second-largest region in terms of territory. It has a total area of 2,555 km², with a ...

with 33%, the Drava Statistical Region with 12.6%, and the

Savinja Statistical Region The Savinja Statistical Region ( sl, Savinjska statistična regija) is a statistical region in Slovenia. The largest town in the region is Celje. It is named after the Savinja River. The region is very diverse in natural geography; it mainly c ...

with 12%).

Economy

This region has the highest percentage of people employed in tertiary (services) activities. Employment structure: 77.8% services, 20.7% industry, 1.5% agriculture. 37.1% of the GDP is generated by transport, trade and catering business. 19.6% of all tourists visit this region, most of them from abroad (62.5%).

Transportation

* Length of motorways: 83.6 km * Length of other roads: 1551.6 km * Also railways. It has the largest and only commercial port situated in Koper along with marinas in Koper,

and

Portorož Portorož (; it, Portorose) is a Slovenian Adriatic seaside resort and spa town located in the Municipality of Piran in southwestern Slovenia. Its modern development began in the late 19th century with the vogue for the first health resorts. In ...

. There is also a small international airport.

Sources

Slovenian regions in figures 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal-Karst Statistical Region Statistical regions of Slovenia