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.

Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N 19 18 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 13,812 km²
Rank: 161
Land: 13,452 km²
Water: 360 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries
Total: 625 km
Border countries: (5) 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
Extremes 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

Geography
Note: strategic location along the Adriatic coast

Population: 666,730 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 165
Growth rate: -0.777% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 229
Below poverty line: 7% (2007 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Montenegrin
Adjective: Montenegrin

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

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

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 16%
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 244,949/female 227,794)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 37,217/female 54,729) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.2 years
Male: 35.9 years
Female: 38.8 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.777% (2010 est.)
Rank: 229

Birth rate: 11.09 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 176

Death rate: 8.76 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 78

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

Environment
Current issues: pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.074 male/female
Under 15 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne disease: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (2009)

Education expenditures: NA

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
Head of government: Prime Minister Igor LUKSIC (since 29 December 2010)
Cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet
Elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 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 51.9% Andrija MANDIC 19.6% Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC 16.6% Srdan MILIC 11.9%

Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote to serve four-year terms; note - seats increased from 74 seats in 2006)
Elections: last held on 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% NOVA 9.22% PZP 6.03% other (including Albanian minority parties) 15.98%; seats by party - Coalition for European Montenegro 48 SNP 16 NOVA 8 PZP 5 Albanian minority parties 4

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (five judges serve 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 DINOSHA]; 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) ITSO ITU ITUC MIGA NAM (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA PFP SECI UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMIL UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Srdjan DARMANOVIC
In the us chancery: 1610 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 234-6,108
In the us fax: [1] (202) 234-6,109
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Benjamin LOWENTHAL
From the us embassy: Ljubljanska bb 81,000 Podgorica Montenegro
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [382] 81 225 417
From the us fax: [382] 81 241 358

Flag description: 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

National anthem
Name: 'Oj svijetla majska zoro'
Lyricsmusic: Sekula DRLJEVIC/unknown arranged by Zarko MIKOVIC
Note: adopted 2004; the anthem's music is based on a Montenegrin folk song

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. In 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. The European Council granted candidate country status to Montenegro at the December 2010 session. 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 has had 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 153
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 204

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 110
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: NA%

Agriculture products: tobacco potatoes citrus fruits olives grapes; sheep

Industries: steelmaking aluminum agricultural processing consumer goods tourism

Labor force: 259,100 (2004)
Rank: 166
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 30%
By occupation services: 68% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate: 14.7% (2007 est.)
Rank: 147

Population below poverty line: 7% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index: 30 (2003)
Rank: 113

Public debt: 38% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 79

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.4% (2007)
Rank: 101

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 9.24% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 100

Stock of narrow money: $1.172 billion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 143

Stock of broad money: $1.446 billion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 149

Stock of domestic credit: $3.771 billion (31 December 2008)
Rank: 116

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 89

Current account balance: -$1.102 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 140

Exports: $171.3 million (2003)
Rank: 182
Partners: Italy 29.52% Greece 22.65% Slovenia 11.83% Hungary 8.96% US 7.93% (2009)

Imports: $601.7 million (2003)
Rank: 184
Partners: Italy 17.54% Slovenia 14.62% Germany 10.5% Austria 7.82% China 7.82% Russia 4.4% Hungary 4.11% Greece 4.11% Netherlands 3.96% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $NA

Debt external: $650 million (2006)
Rank: 156

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7715 (2010) 0.7179 (2009) 0.6827 (2008) 0.7345 (2007) 0.7964 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Production rank: 126
Consumption: 18.6 million kWh (2005)
Consumption rank: 206
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Consumption: NA m³
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 143

Telephones
Main lines in use: 366,600 (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 106
Mobile cellular: 752,000 (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 151

Telephone system
General assessment: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
Domestic: GSM mobile-cellular service available through multiple providers with national coverage is growing
International: country code - 382; 2 international switches connect the national system

Broadcast media: state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster operates 2 terrestrial television networks 1 satellite TV channel and 2 radio networks; roughly a dozen privately-owned TV broadcasters operate networks nationally regionally and locally; in addition to the 2 state-owned national radio networks roughly 50 privately-owned radio stations and networks broadcast (2007)

Internet
Country code: .me
Hosts: 6,247 (2010)
Hosts rank: 137
Users: 280,000 (2009)
Users rank: 133

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

Airports: 5 (2010)
Rank: 182
With paved runways total: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2010)

Heliports: 1 (2010)

Railways
Total: 250 km
Rank: 125
Standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2007)

Roadways
Total: 7,404 km
Rank: 146
Paved: 4,927 km
Unpaved: 2,477 km (2008)

Merchant marine
Total: 2
Rank: 144
By type: cargo 1 passenger/cargo 1
Registered in other countries: 5 (Bahamas 2 Honduras 2 Slovakia 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Bar

Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 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)