### Montenegro

- Introduction
- Geography
- People
- Government
- Economy
- Communications
- Transportation
- Military
- Transnational Issues

INTRODUCTION

Background:
The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries Montenegro was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, 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 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 exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006.

GEOGRAPHY

Location:
Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia

Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N, 19 18 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km
water: 214 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Kosovo 79 km, Serbia 124 km

Coastline: 293.5 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: defined by treaty

Climate: Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland

Terrain: highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 m

Natural resources: bauxite, hydroelectricity

Land use:
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 85.3%

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards:
destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ship Pollution

Geography - note:
strategic location along the Adriatic coast

PEOPLE

Population: 678,177 (July 2008 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.925% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 11.17 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne disease: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (2008)

Nationality:
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin

Ethnic groups:
Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma (Gypsy)) 12% (2003 census)

Religions:
Orthodox 74.2%, Muslim 17.7%, Catholic 3.5%, other 0.6%, unspecified 3%, atheist 1% (2003 census)

Languages:
Serbian 63.6%, Montenegrin (official) 22%, Bosnian 5.5%, Albanian 5.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2003 census)

Education expenditures: NA

GOVERNMENT

Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montenegro
local long form: none
local short form: Crna Gora
former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Republic of Montenegro

Government type: republic

Capital:
name: Podgorica
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions:
21 municipalities (opstine, singular - opstina); Andrijevica, Bar, Berana, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pljevlja, Pluzine, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak

Independence: 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro)

National holiday:National Day, 13 July (1878)

Constitution: 19 October 2007 (approved by the Assembly)

Legal system:
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 6 April 2008)
head of government: Prime Minister Milo DJUKANOVIC (since 29 February 2008)
cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet
elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 6 April 2008 (next to be held in 2013); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly
election results: Filip VUJANOVIC reelected president; Filip VUJANOVIC 51.89%, Andrija MANDIC 19.55%, Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC 16.64%, Srdan MILIC 11.92%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats in 2006)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 29 March 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 47.7%, Serbian List 14.4%, Coalition SNP-NS-DSS 13.8%, PZP 12.9%, Liberals and Bosniaks 3.7%, other (including Albanian minority parties) 7.5%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 41, Serbian List 12, Coalition SNP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Albanian minority parties 3

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure)

Political parties and leaders:
Albanian Alternative or AA [Vesel SINISHTAJ]; Coalition for European Montenegro or DPS-SDP (bloc) [Milo DJUKANOVIC] (includes Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC] and Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]); Coalition SNP-NS-DSS (bloc) (includes Socialist People's Party or SNP [Srdjan MILIC], People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC], and Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Ranko KADIC]); Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity or SPP [Mehmet BARDHIJ]; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberals and the Bosniak Party (bloc) [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC] (includes Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC] and Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]); Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; Serbian List (bloc) [Andrija MANDIC] (includes Party of Serb Radicals or SSR [Dusko SEKULIC], People's Socialist Party or NSS [Emilo LABUDOVIC], and Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC])

International organization participation:
CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC
chancery: 1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 234-6108
FAX: [1] (202) 234-6109
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Roderick W. MOORE
embassy: Ljubljanska bb, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [382] 81 225 417
FAX: [382] 81 241 358

Click to enlarge.
Flag description:
a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered

ECONOMY

Economy - overview: Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and maintained its own central bank, adopted the Deutchmark, then the euro - rather than the Yugoslav dinar - as official currency, collected customs tariffs, and managed its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On 18 January 2007, Montenegro joined the World Bank and IMF. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization and signed a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in October 2007. On December 15, 2007, Montenegro submitted an EU membership application. Unemployment and regional disparities in development are key political and economic problems. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. The global financial crisis is likely to have a significant negative impact on the economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $7.16 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $4.515 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.5% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $10,600 (2008 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Labor force: 259,100 (2004)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 30%
services: 68% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: 14.7% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
30 (2003)

Investment (gross fixed): 30.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA

Public debt: 38% of GDP (2006)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.4% (2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9.09% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money: $1.172 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money: $1.446 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $3.083 billion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

Agriculture - products:
grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible

Industries:
steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism

Electricity - production: 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.)

Electricity - consumption: 18.6 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 450 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports: 313.6 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 6,093 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: NA cu m

Current account balance: $NA

Exports: $171.3 million (2003)

Imports: $601.7 million (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $NA

Debt - external: $650 million (2006)

Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones - main lines in use: 353,300 (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 643,700 (2006)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through 3 providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly
international: country code - 382; 2 international switches connect the national system

Radio broadcast stations:
31 (station types NA) (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
13 (2004)

Internet country code:
.me

Internet users: 280,000 (2007)

TRANSPORTATION

Airports: 5 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Heliports:
1 (2007)

Railways:
total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2006)

Roadways:
total: 7,368 km
paved: 4,742 km
unpaved: 2,626 km (2006)

Merchant marine:
total: 6
by type: cargo 5, passenger/cargo 1
registered in other countries: 3 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Bar

MILITARY

Military branches:
Armed Forces of the Republic of Montenegro: Army, Navy (serves as Coast Guard), Air Force (2008)

Military service age and obligation:
compulsory national military service abolished August 2006

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 4,426
female: 4,201 (2008 est.)

Military - note:
Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces

TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES

Disputes - international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 7,000 (Kosovo); note - mostly ethnic Serbs and Roma who fled Kosovo in 1999
IDPs: 16,192 (ethnic conflict in 1999 and riots in 2004) (2007)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Montenegro is primarily a transit country for the trafficking of women and girls to Western Europe for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; women and girls from the Balkans and Eastern Europe are trafficked across Montenegro to Western European countries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Montenegro is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2007; public attention to the issue of trafficking has diminished considerably in Montenegro in recent years (2008)

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