Published on March 17, 2010

Country Report

Montenegro

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

Area:
total: 13,812 sq km
land: 13,452 sq km
water: 360 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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location along the Adriatic coast

People

Population: 672,180 (July 2009 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (male 52,645/female 54,846)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 244,949/female 227,794)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 37,217/female 54,729) (2009 est.)

Median age:
total: 36.7 years
male: 35.2 years
female: 38.4 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.851% (2009 est.)

Birth rate: 11.14 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)

Death rate: 8.63 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Urbanization:
urban population: 60% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: -0.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne disease: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (2009)

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, Berane, 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: approved 19 October 2007 (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 29 March 2009 (next to be held in 2013)
election results: percent of vote by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 51.94%, SNP 16.83%, NSD 9.22%, PZP 6.03%, other (including Albanian minority parties) 15.98%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 48, SNP 16, NSD 8, PZP 5, Albanian minority parties 4

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 (bloc) [Milo DJUKANOVIC] (includes Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC], Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC], Bosniak Party of BS [Rafet HUSOVIC], and Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Marija VUCINOVIC); 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]; For a Different Montenegro (bloc) [Goran BATRICEVIC] (includes Democratic Center or DC [Goran BATRICEVIC] and Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]); FORCA [Nazif CUNGU]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; National Coalition (includes People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC] and Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS [Ranko KADIC]); New Serb Democracy or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC]; Socialist People's Party of Montenegro or SNP [Srdjan MILIC]

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, NAM (observer), 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

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, 2008, 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, due to the ongoing credit crunch, a decline in the real estate sector, and a fall in aluminum exports.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$6.637 billion (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate): $4.444 billion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -4% (2009 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$9,800 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

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.)

Population below poverty line: 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: 9.24% (31 December 2008)

Stock of money: $NA (31 December 2008)

Stock of quasi money: $NA (31 December 2008)

Stock of domestic credit: $NA (31 December 2008)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA (31 December 2008)

Agriculture - products: 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 (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption: NA bbl/day bbl/day NA

Oil - exports: 313.6 bbl/day (2005)

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

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: NA cu m

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m

Current account balance: -$1.102 billion (2007 est.)

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 - 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005)

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 362,000 (2008)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 735,000 (2008)

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
international: country code - 382; 2 international switches connect the national system

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

Television broadcast stations: 13 (2004)

Internet country code: .me

Internet hosts: 3,245 (2009)

Internet users: 294,000 (2008)

Transportation

Airports: 5 (2009)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2009)

Heliports: 1 (2007)

Railways:
total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2007)

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, Air Force (2009)

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

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 154,029
females age 16-49: 136,847 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 3,945
female: 3,907 (2009 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)