+382 is the dialing code for Montenegro.
The mountainous Montenegro was the least of the six sub-republics that made up Yugoslavia. The country became independent only in 2006, when it broke out of a union with Serbia after a referendum. Montenegro has a coast towards the Adriatic and is politically open to Western Europe as a candidate for membership in the EU.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Montenegro, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Montenegro in the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe was the smallest of the six sub-republics that were part of former Yugoslavia. It has been an independent state since June 2006.
- BeHealthyByTomorrow: General information about Montenegro, covering geography, climate, travel tips and popular sights.
Montenegro means “Black Mountain” and the country is mountainous as its name implies. Durmitor in the northwest, which is part of the Dinaric Alps, has mountain peaks over 2,500 meters and here the Tara River has simultaneously created Europe’s deepest ravines. The country has a coast of almost 20 km along the Adriatic. Around the capital Podgorica a plains landscape is spreading. This extends down to Skadarsjön, which forms a large part of the border with Albania. The plain continues up towards the Gulf of Kotor, Europe’s southernmost fjord, near the border with Croatia.
The interior of Montenegro has an inland climate with cold winters and hot, humid summers with evenly distributed rainfall. On the coast there is a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and relatively mild winters.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 38.2 % |
| Land area | 13812 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | -0.42 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 64 % |
| Death rate | 9.43 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 77 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 72 years |
| Birth rate | 10.42 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.802 |
| Population | 647073 |
| Infant mortality | deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 3809 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 1711.8 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 58.7 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 156 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 309 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 18.5% of the workforce |
| GDP | 16100 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 6.3 % |
| Secondary profession | 20.9 % |
| Tertiary professions | 72.8 % |
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
13 812 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish
Adjacent country (s)
Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania
Capital with number of residents
Podgorica 195,500 residents
Other major cities
Nikšic (70,800 residents), Pljevlja, Bar (2015)
Highest mountain
Bobotov Kuk (2523 meters above sea level)
Important rivers
Tara, Moraca
Largest lake
Lake Skadar
Average Precipitation / month
Podgorica 18 mm (July), 147 mm (Nov)
Average / day
Podgorica 26 °C (July), 5 °C (Jan)
2016
November
New government ready
November 28
One month after the parliamentary elections, Parliament approves a new government under Duško Marković from the DPS. This happens since the 42 members from the parties that are part of the government coalition vote for; the 39 members of the opposition parties are boycotting the new parliament, as they feel that there has been voting fraud in the election. They also demand that the trips around the alleged (and averted) coup attempt be investigated before taking their seats in Parliament. In addition to the DPS, the new government also includes the small Left Party SD (Social Democrats) and three small parties representing the Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian minorities. By contrast, the largest ethnic minority group, the Serbs, is in opposition.
October
Ðukanović leaves
October 25th
Ten days after the parliamentary elections, the DPS decides to nominate Duško Marković as a candidate to become new prime minister, provided the party gets together a working majority in parliament. This means that after his long tenure in power, Milo Ðukanović leaves politics (he has, however, done so before, but returned, and during his absence ruled the scenes; it is also said that he will now continue as party leader). Marković, who is close to Ðukanović, has been Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Intelligence Service.
The Socialist Party wins the parliamentary election
October 16
The ruling Democratic Socialist Party (DPS) gets 41 percent of the vote, giving 36 of the 81 seats in Parliament. The Democratic Front (DF) and the Key Coalition receive 20 percent (18 seats) and 11 percent (seats) respectively. The turnout is just over 73 percent. Opposition parties claim that cheating has occurred in the election.
Failed coup attempt is revealed before the election
15 October
Authorities state that a terrorist attack was averted when around 20 people were arrested the day before the parliamentary elections. A group led by a former commander of the Serbian special forces should have planned an attack on people gathered outside the parliament building to find out the election results. The plan is to take over Parliament and install “an appropriate party” and arrest Prime Minister Milo Ðukanović.
September
Albanian alliance before the election
September 20
For the first time, the three largest Albanian parties in Montenegro decide to come together in a coalition ahead of the October parliamentary elections. The three – Forca, the Union of Albanians (UDSH) and the Albanian Alternative Party – thus hope to be better able to preserve the Albanian identity, protect and promote the Albanian language and national symbols, strengthen education in Albanian and bring about decentralization as well as an improvement of the Albanians. social and economic conditions in the country. According to the 2011 census, the Albanian minority constitutes just under five percent of Montenegro’s population.
August
Violent worker protests
August 30th
Police meet with former employees of the KAP aluminum plant, who for several days demonstrated outside the parliament in Podgorica for proper severance pay.
June
Protest against the Minister of Education
June 14
The pro-Serbian opposition party SNP wants to dismiss Education Minister Predrag Bosković, since the country’s first-time pupils received their grades printed only in Latin letters and not in Cyrillic, which the SNP considers discriminatory. Montenegro has one official language (Montenegrin) but four more “in official use” (Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Albanian, the first three basically the same language as Montenegrin) and two alphabets (Latin and Cyrillic). Since independence in 2006, the language and writing issues have often led to trouble. (See also Population and Languages.)
Gang war in Kotor
June 8
Firing of rival drug gangs causes the Prosecutor to set up a special force to deal with the violence in Kotor. The city is on UNESCO World Heritage List and is important for the tourism industry in Montenegro. Over the past three months, six armed drug-related clashes have taken place in Kotor, former residence of “Balkan cocaine king” Darko Šarić, sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug smuggling (see Serbia: July 2015).
Tips on journalist murder are rewarded
June 2
Interior Minister Goran Danilović announces a reward (later set at one million euros) to anyone who can provide new information in the twelve-year-old murder of journalist Duško Jovanović. Jovanović was editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Dan and had been threatened to death several times before he was murdered in 2004. An athlete received 19 years in prison for the murder in 2015, but those behind this are still free. Interior Minister Danilović is one of the new ministers who joined the government following a settlement between the ruling party DPS and the opposition in May.
May
Government reform approved
May 19th
By almost two-thirds majority, Parliament approves Prime Minister Milo Ðukanović’s proposal for government reform ahead of the “free and fair elections” scheduled for October 2016. The new 21-man government includes ministers from Ðukanović’s DPS, Bosnian, Albanian and Croatian minority parties and three opposition parties in Parliament. (See also January 2016).
One step closer to NATO
May 17
Nato signs the protocol that makes Montenegro a member of the organization as soon as the 28 member states have ratified it.
Corruption judgment against high politicians
May 17
In the ongoing comprehensive investigation of corruption and abuse of power in the city of Budva (see August and December 2015), the detained former President of the now disbanded Union of Serbia and Montenegro, Svetozar Marović, reaches a settlement with the Special Court for Organized Crime and Corruption for a shorter prison sentence (three years and eight months) against telling him where the € 15 million that disappeared from Budva’s budget has taken the road. Marović is suspected to have been the leader of organized crime in the city and several of his close relatives are already in prison.
March
Royal visit
March 18th
British follower Charles and his wife Camilla come to Montenegro as part of an official tour of the Balkans. The purpose of the visit is to promote peace and reconciliation in the region.
February
Agreements should block out migrants
February 25th
Foreign and home ministers from nine Balkan countries, including Montenegro, as well as Austria, enter into an agreement to coordinate efforts to limit migrant flows with reference to security, integration challenges and resource scarcity. Criticism comes from Greece, where many migrants are now getting stuck.
NATO negotiations begin
February 15
The formal talks will start in Brussels and the hope is that Stoltenberg will conclude them during the year (see also December 2015).
January
Ðukanović manages a vote of confidence
January 27
Since Milo Ðukanović himself asked Parliament to hold a vote of confidence if his government votes 42 of the total 81 members for continued confidence in the disputed prime minister and his DPS-led government. (see Political system). This happens after the small opposition party Positive Montenegro chooses to support him against the promise of being included in the government. At the same time, Ðukanović’s long-standing gunman Ranko Krivokapić, the Speaker of Parliament and party leader of the SDP coalition partner, is jumping off and voting against the government. The vote is held after three days of lively debate, preceded by large, popular demonstrations.