the number of ngos

In recent years, the number of NGOs has been decreasing, after several years of growth. On 17 September 2012, 22.490 associations, 2.324 institutes and 251 foundations were registered. On January 5th, 2025, there were 27.442 NGOs, of which 23.173 were associations, 4.003 (private) institutions and 266 institutions. Not all registered NGOs are necessarily active. In accordance with the established practice, active organisations are those submitting their annual reports to AJPES, which is cca. 3 % less than the number of registered organisations. The data on active NGOs is only accessible for previous years and likely to be available each September when AJPES has processed aggregated data on submitted annual reports. In 2024, there were more than 27.450 active associations, institutes and foundations.

Data on associations also include data on branches of associations and youth councils, while data on institutes also include data on religious communities that have the status of a humanitarian organisation. Associations, institutes and foundations established by the Republic of Slovenia, municipalities or other public-law entities are excluded from the data.

*Data on the number of NGOs are based on the number of all registered institutes, associations and foundations. This number is not the same as the number of organisations that meet the conditions for a non-governmental organisation under the Non-Governmental Organisations Act.

THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS IN 2009 AND 2020 – 2024

  2009 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
associations 20.417 23.146 22.793 22.559 22.492 22.491
institutes 1.515 3.337 3.443 3.374 3.434 3.539
foundations 167 240 237 242 241 247
total 22.099 26.723 26.466 26.175 26.167 26.277

FIGURE: THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE NGOs 2009–2024

 

The number of non-governmental organisations increased slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year, with the number of associations remaining practically the same, the number of foundations increasing by 2,49 % (in 2023 it decreased by 0,41 %), and the number of institutes increasing by 3,06 % (in 2023 it increased by 1,98 %). Overall, the total number of non-governmental organisations increased by only 0,42 % in 2024.

*Data on the number of active NGOs are also based on the number of organisations that meet the conditions for a non-governmental organisation under the Non-Governmental Organisations Act.

FIGURE: STRUCTURE OF THE SECTOR WITH REGARD TO FORM (2024)

 

 

The largest share by far among all non-governmental organisations is taken up by associations with 85,59 %. The smallest percentage – only 0,94 % – pertains to foundations, and there are also 13,47 % institutes. In the last fifteen years, the share that has increased the most was that of institutes, of which there were less than 7% of all NGOs in 2009.

 
Source: AJPES