Montenegro Guide | Montenegro is located in south-eastern Europe on the Adriatic Sea bordering southern Croatia. Concealed within one of the most diverse natural landscapes in the world are ancient UNESCO protected towns, glaciated canyons, fjords, ancient forests and national parks. Montenegro’s treasure chest of natural beauty is equaled only by its rich culture, proud history and the warm hospitality of its people.
A country similar to size of Wales, with a population of 657,000, the country got its name (literally, "black mountain") from the dark, mountain forests that cover the land. Some 60 percent of the country is more than 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) high, with the tallest peak reaching to 2,522 meters (8,274 feet). The mountains offered a natural fortress that helped Montenegro maintain its independence as a de facto independent principality in the Late Middle Ages until its independence was recognized by the Ottoman Empire in 1878. After suffering devastating losses in World War I, from 1918 Montenegro became a part of various incarnations of Yugoslavia.
Based on the results of the referendum held on May 21, 2006, Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006 and is still currently the newest fully recognized country in the world. Since independence the government was re-elected for a sixth straight term in 2012 pursuing its twin mandate of stimulating tourism growth and increasing its attractiveness as an EU candidate.
Montenegro joined the OSCE (June 2006), became the 192nd member state of the United Nations (June 2006), joined NATO’s partnership for Peace program (December 2006), International Monetary Fund and World Bank (January 2007), the 47th member state of the Council of Europe (May 2007) and CEFTA (July 2007). The country already uses the euro as its official currency (January 2002) and has achieved EU candidate status (December 2010). Additionally, Montenegro is a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean upon its establishment in 2008.
Despite being a small country, Montenegro shows significant economic potential, especially in tourism.
With its Mediterranean climate the Montenegrin coasts 117 beaches enjoying eight months of sun and temperatures in excess of 30°C warming the Adriatic waters to over 25°C, while the winter brings heavy snow fall great skiing and snowboarding in the mountain regions are just a 2 hour drive from the coast.
Montenegro has also been placed as the top destination in the world by the World Tourism & Travel Council in terms of forecast growth in this sector over the next decade – from which it expects high demand for Montenegro rental accommodation – signaling the potential for strong growth in Montenegro property prices.
MONTENEGRO INFORMATION AND STATISTICS
Montenegro National Anthem: Oj, svijetla majska zoro "Oh, Bright Dawn of May"
Capital (and largest city): Podgorica 42°47′N, 19°28′E
Historical Capital: Cetinje 42°23’N 18°55’E
Official languages : Montenegrin, Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian
Demonym: Montenegrin
Religion: Orthodox (74.24%), Muslim (17.74%), Roman Catholic (3.54%)
Montenegro Government: Semi-presidential republic
- President: Filip Vujanović
- Prime Minister: Igor Lukšić
- Speaker: Ranko Krivokapić
Montenegro Foundation
- 1042 Independence of Duklja (Montenegrin predecessor) from Byzantine Empire
- 1077 Duklja recognised as a kingdom by the Pope
- 1186 Zeta (former Duklja) annexed by Serbian Empire
- 1356 Independence of Zeta (later called Montenegro) from Serbian Empire
- 1484 Cetinje founded
- 1499 Annexed by Ottoman Empire
- 1878 Independence recognized
- 1918 Unification with the Kingdom of Serbia
- 2006 Independence from Serbia and Montenegro
Montenegro Area
- Total: 13,812 km²/5,019 sq mi (160th)
- Water (%): 1.5
Montenegro Population
- Estimate: 657,394 (2012)
- Census: 625,266 (2011)
- Density: 50 km² /115.6 sq mi
- Life Expectancy: 73
- Literacy (%): 97%
- HDI: 0.771 (high) (54th) (2011)
Montenegro Economy 2008
- Currency: Euro (EUR)
- Fiscal year: Calendar year
- GDP(PPP): $7.157 billion (2011)
- Per capita: $11,545 (2011) (69th)
- GDP (nominal): $4,536 billion (2011)
- Per capita: $7,316 (2011) (77th)
- GDP growth: 3,5% (2011)
- Main industries: steel, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism
- External Exports: €640 million (2011 CBCG data)
- Main export partners: Serbia, EU, Albania
- Imports: €2,5 billion (2011 CBCG data)
- Main import partners Serbia, EU, China
- Public debt: €1.2 billion (2011 CBCG data)
- Labour force (2011) est: 251,300
- Labour force by occupation: Services (72.8%), Industry (20.9%), Agriculture (6.3%) (2011 est.)
- Unemployment 12.3% (2012)
Drives on the: Right hand side
Montenegro Time zone: CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST): CEST (UTC+2)
Montenegro Internet TLD: .me
Montenegro Calling code: +382
ISO Alpha-2 code: ME
Alpha-3 Code: MNE
