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Montenegro Country Guide

Explore Montenegro in Europe

Montenegro with the capital city Podgorica is located in Europe (Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia). It covers some 14,026 square kilometres (slightly smaller than Connecticut) with 678,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Montenegro

The terrain features highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus. The average density of population is approximately 48 per km². The notable climate conditions in Montenegro can be described as Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland. Potential natural disasters are destructive earthquakes.

To reach someone in Montenegro dial +381 prior to a number. There are 366,600 installed telephones. And there are 752,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900/1800 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".cs". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Montenegro

Montenegro Flag Icon

A red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered; the arms consist of a double-headed golden eagle - symbolizing the unity of church and state - surmounted by a crown; the eagle holds a golden scepter in its right claw and a blue orb in its left; the breast shield over the eagle shows a golden lion passant on a green field in front of a blue sky; the lion is symbol of episcopal authority and harks back to the three and a half centuries that Montenegro was ruled as a theocracy.


The use of the name Crna Gora (Montenegro) began in the 13th century in reference to a highland region in the Serbian province of Zeta. The later medieval state of Zeta maintained its existence until 1496 when Montenegro finally fell under Ottoman rule. Over subsequent centuries, Montenegro, while a part of the Ottoman Empire, was able to maintain a level of autonomy. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro was a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. Montenegro was recognized as an independent sovereign principality at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. After World War I, during which Montenegro fought on the side of the Allies, Montenegro was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929; at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. In May 2006, Montenegro invoked its right under the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro to hold a referendum on independence from the state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia barely exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally restore its independence on 3 June 2006.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Europe
Neighbours: Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia
Capital: Podgorica
Size14,026 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 5,415 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly smaller than Connecticut
Population678,000
CurrencyName Euro, Currency Code:EUR
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).cs
Telephone Country Prefix+381
Mobile Phone Connections752,000
Landline Phone Connections366,600

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area13,812 (sq km)162

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population653,474 167
Population growth rate-0.56 (%)225
Birth rate10.75 (births/1,000 population)179
Death rate9.17 (deaths/1,000 population)63
Maternal mortality rate8.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)162
Health expenditures9.10 (% of GDP)40
Obesity - adult prevalence rate22.50 (%)79
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.20 (%)114
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2437.00 (%)14

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)7,461,000,000 158
GDP - per capita (PPP)12,000 107
Labor force251,300 167
Unemployment rate19.10 (%)158
Distribution of family income - Gini index24.30 134
Investment (gross fixed)8.30 (% of GDP)151
Taxes and other revenues39.30 (% of GDP)46
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)2.30 (% of GDP)21
Public debt52.10 (% of GDP)59
Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.00 (%)113
Commercial bank prime lending rate9.53 (%)93
Stock of narrow money749,000,000 155
Stock of broad money1,982,000,000 150
Stock of domestic credit3,290,000,000 129
Market value of publicly traded shares3,604,000,000 90
Current account balance-1,938,000,000 134
Exports489,200,000 173
Imports2,400,000,000 159
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold400,000,000 150
Debt - external1,700,000,000 145

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production2,621,000,000 (kWh)130
Electricity - consumption4,100,000,000 (kWh)123
Electricity - imports1,500,000,000 (kWh)55
Electricity - installed generating capacity868,000 (kW)127
Electricity - from fossil fuels24.20 (% of total installed capacity)187
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants75.80 (% of total installed capacity)18
Refined petroleum products - consumption4,446 (bbl/day)174
Refined petroleum products - imports3,666 (bbl/day)164
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy1,941,000 (Mt)151

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use169,500 130
Telephones - mobile cellular1,170,000 153
Internet hosts10,088 135
Internet users280,000 133

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports5 182
Railways250 (km)124
Roadways7,624 (km)145
Merchant marine2 146

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

List of current world heritage sites

NameSince
Durmitor National Park
This breathtaking national park was formed by glaciers and is traversed by rivers and underground streams. Along the Tara river canyon, which has the deepest gorges in Europe, the dense pine forests are interspersed with clear lakes and harbour a wid ...
1980
Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor
In the Middle Ages, this natural harbour on the Adriatic coast in Montenegro was an important artistic and commercial centre with its own famous schools of masonry and iconography. A large number of the monuments (including four Romanesque churches a ...
1979