"text":"The use of the name Crna Gora or Black Mountain (Montenegro) began in the 13th century in reference to a highland region in the Serbian province of Zeta. The later medieval state of Zeta maintained its existence until 1496 when Montenegro finally fell under Ottoman rule. Over subsequent centuries, Montenegro managed to maintain a level of autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro was a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it transformed into a secular principality. Montenegro was recognized as an independent sovereign principality at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. After World War I, during which Montenegro fought on the side of the Allies, 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 joined with Serbia, creating the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, shifting to a looser State 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 two-state union. The vote for severing ties with Serbia barely exceeded 55% - the threshold set by the EU - allowing Montenegro to formally restore its independence on 3 June 2006. In 2017, Montenegro joined NATO and is currently completing its EU accession process, having officially applied to join the EU in December 2008."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia"
"text":"<br>Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)<br><br>Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Montenegrin/Bosnian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor; serious air pollution in Podgorica, Pljevlja and Niksie; air pollution in Pljevlja is caused by the nearby lignite power plant and the domestic use of coal and wood for household heating"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland"
"text":"People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro, Republic of Montenegro"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the country's name locally as well as in most Western European languages means \"black mountain\" and refers to the dark coniferous forests on Mount Lovcen and the surrounding area"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"parliamentary republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Podgorica; note - Cetinje retains the status of \"Old Royal Capital\""
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"42 26 N, 19 16 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"text":"the name translates as \"beneath Gorica\"; the meaning of Gorica is \"hillock\"; the reference is to the small hill named Gorica that the city is built around"
"text":"3 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro); notable earlier dates: 13 March 1852 (Principality of Montenegro established); 13 July 1878 (Congress of Berlin recognizes Montenegrin independence); 28 August 1910 (Kingdom of Montenegro established)"
"text":"Statehood Day, 13 July (1878, the day the Berlin Congress recognized Montenegro as the 27th independent state in the world, and 1941, the day the Montenegrins staged an uprising against fascist occupiers and sided with the partisan communist movement)"
"text":"proposed by the president of Montenegro, by the government, or by at least 25 members of the Assembly; passage of draft proposals requires two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly, followed by a public hearing; passage of draft amendments requires two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; changes to certain constitutional articles, such as sovereignty, state symbols, citizenship, and constitutional change procedures, require three-fifths majority vote in a referendum; amended 2013"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 19 March 2023 with a runoff on 2 April 2023 (next to be held in 2028); prime minister nominated by the president, approved by the Assembly"
"text":"<em><br>2023: </em>Jakov MILATOVIC elected president in the second round; percent of vote in first round - Milo DUKANOVIC (DPS) 35.4%, Jakov MILATOVIC (Europe Now!) 28.9%, Andrija MANDIC (DF) 19.3%, Aleksa BECIC (DCG) 11.1%, other 5.3%; percent of vote in second round - Jakov MILATOVIC 58.9%, Milo DUKANOVIC 41.1%<em><br><br>2018:</em> Milo DJUKANOVIC elected president in the first round; percent of vote - Milo DJUKANOVIC (DPS) 53.9%, Mladen BOJANIC (independent) 33.4%, Draginja VUKSANOVIC (SDP) 8.2%, Marko MILACIC (PRAVA) 2.8%, other 1.7%"
"text":"unicameral Assembly or Skupstina (81 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party/coalition - DPS 35.1%, ZBCG 32.6%, MNIM 12.5%, URA 5.5%, SD 4.1%, BS 3.9%, SDP 3.1%, AL 1.6%, Albanian Coalition 1.1%, other 0.4%; seats by party/coalition - DPS 30, ZBCG 27, MNIM 10, URA 4, BS 3, SD 3, SDP 2, AL 1, Albanian Coalition 1.; composition as of July 2022 - men 59, women 22, percent of women 27.2%"
"text":"Supreme Court or Vrhovni Sud (consists of the court president, deputy president, and 15 judges); Constitutional Court or Ustavni Sud (consists of the court president and 7 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court president proposed by general session of the Supreme Court and elected by the Judicial Council, a 9-member body consisting of judges, lawyers designated by the Assembly, and the minister of judicial affairs; Supreme Court president elected for a single renewable, 5-year term; other judges elected by the Judicial Council for life; Constitutional Court judges - 2 proposed by the president of Montenegro and 5 by the Assembly, and elected by the Assembly; court president elected from among the court members; court president elected for a 3-year term, other judges serve 9-year terms"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Administrative Courts; Appellate Court; Commercial Courts; High Courts; basic courts"
"text":"Albanian Alternative or AA [Nik DELJOSAJ]<br>Albanian Coalition (includes DP, DSCG, DUA for 2020 election)<br>Albanian Coalition Perspective or AKP<br>Albanian List or AL [Nik DELJOSAJ and Nazif CUNGU] (coalition includes AA, Forca, AKP, DSA)<br>Bosniak Party or BS [Ervin IBRAHIMOVIC]<br>Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Adrian VUKSANOVIC]<br>Croatian Reform Party [Marija VUCINOVIC]<br>Democratic Alliance or DEMOS [Miodrag LEKIC]<br>Democratic Front or DF [collective leadership] (coalition includes NOVA, PZP, DNP, RP)<br>Democratic League in Montenegro or DSCG [Mehmet BARDHI]<br>Democratic League of Albanians or DSA<br>Democratic Montenegro or DCG [Aleksa BECIC]<br>Democratic Party or DP [Fatmir GJEKA]<br>Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Danijel ZIVKOVIC, acting]<br>Democratic Party of Unity or DSJ [Nebojsa JUSKOVIC]<br>Democratic People's Party or DNP [Milan KNEZEVIC]<br>Democratic Serb Party or DSS [Dragica PEROVIC]<br>Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Mehmet ZENKA]<br>Europe Now! [Milojko SPAJIC]<br>For the Future of Montenegro or ZBCG [Zdravko KRIVOKAPIC] (electoral coalition includes SNP and 2 alliances - DF, NP) (dissolved in September 2020)<br>In Black and White [Dritan ABAZOVIC] (electoral list)<br>Liberal Party or LP [Andrija POPOVIC]<br>Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]<br>New Democratic Power or FORCA [Nazif CUNGU]<br>New Serb Democracy or NSD or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC]<br>Party of Pensioners, Disabled, and Restitution or PUPI [Momir JOKSIMOVIC]<br>Peace is Our Nation or MNIM [Aleksa BECIC] (coalition includes Democrats, DEMOS, New Left, PUPI)<br>Popular Movement or NP [Miodrag DAVIDOVIC] (coalition includes DEMOS, RP, UCG, and several minor parties)<br>Social Democratic Party or SDP [Rasko KONJEVIC]<br>Social Democrats or SD [Damir SEHOVIC]<br>Socialist People's Party or SNP [Vladimir JOKOVIC]<br>True Montenegro or PRAVA or PCG [Marko MILACIC]<br>United Montenegro or UCG [Goran DANILOVIC] (split from DEMOS)<br>United Reform Action or URA [Dritan ABAZOVIC]<br>Workers' Party or RP [Maksim VUCINIC]"
"note":"<strong><strong>note: </strong></strong>Montenegro is an EU candidate country whose satisfactory completion of accession criteria is required before being granted full EU membership"
"text":"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 a symbol of episcopal authority and harkens back to the three and a half centuries when Montenegro was ruled as a theocracy"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"double-headed eagle; national colors: red, gold"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Oj, svijetla majska zoro\" (Oh, Bright Dawn of May)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Sekula DRLJEVIC/unknown, arranged by Zarko MIKOVIC"
"text":"Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor (c); Durmitor National Park (n); Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (c); Fortified City of Kotor Venetian Defense Works (c)"
"text":"upper middle-income Balkan economy; unsanctioned euro user; controversial religious property ownership law; persistent corruption; major infrastructure investments and high expenditures; growing offshore banking destination"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text":"a small telecom market supported by a population of only 623,000; fixed broadband services are available via a variety of technology platforms, though fiber is the dominant platform, accounting for almost 40% of connections; the growth of fiber has largely been at the expense of DSL as customers are migrated to fiber networks as these are built out progressively; mobile penetration is particularly high, though this is partly due to the significant number of tourists visiting the country seasonally, as also to the popularity of subscribers having multiple prepaid cards; in the wake of the pandemic and associated restrictions on travel, the number of mobile subscribers fell in 2020, as also in the first quarter of 2021, year-on-year; networks support a vibrant mobile broadband services sector, largely based on LTE; two of the MNOs began trialing 5G in May 2021, though commercial services will not gain traction until after the multi-spectrum auction is completed at the end of 2021; spectrum is available in the 694-790MHz and 3400-3800MHz ranges, as well as in the 26.5-27.5GHz range (2021)"
"text":"state-funded national radio-TV broadcaster operates 2 terrestrial TV networks, 1 satellite TV channel, and 2 radio networks; 4 local public TV stations and 14 private TV stations; 14 local public radio stations, 35 private radio stations, and several on-line media (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"text":"Army of Montenegro (Vojska Crne Gore or VCG): Ground Forces (Kopnene snage), Air Force (Vazduhoplovstvo), Navy (Mornarica) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the National Police Force, which includes Border Police, is responsible for maintaining internal security; it is organized under the Police Administration within the Ministry of Interior and reports to the police director and, through the director, to the minister of interior and prime minister"
"text":"the military's inventory is small and consists mostly of Soviet-era equipment inherited from the former Yugoslavia military, with a limited mix of other imported systems from such countries as Austria, Turkey, and the US (2022)"
"text":"<p><em>Montenegro-Albania</em>: none identified</p> <p><em>Montenegro-Bosnia and Herzegovina</em>: the two countries signed a border agreement in August 2015; sovereignty of the disputed Sutorina territory was given to Montenegro</p> <p><em>Montenegro-Croatia</em>: the two countries in 2002 reached a temporary agreement designating the Prevlaka Peninsula as part of Croatia, in October 2020, a Montenegrin official resurrected the dormant dispute over the Prevlaka Peninsula by stating that Montenegro had a good chance of winning it through international arbitration</p> <p><em>Montenegro-Kosovo</em>: a 2015 border agreement was ratified by Montenegro in 2015 and by Kosovo in 2018, but the actual demarcation has not been completed</p> <p><em>Montenegro-Serbia</em>: Theformer republic boundary – when the two countries were one and called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia – servesas the boundary untila line isformallydelimited anddemarcated</p> <p></p>"
"text":"<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p>"