Montenegro

Map of Montenegro National name: Republike Crne Gore President: Filip Vujanovic (2003) Prime Minister: Milo Djukanovic (2008) Current government officials Land area: 5,333 sq mi (13,812 sq km); total area: 5,415 sq mi (14,026 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 684,736 (growth rate: -1.0%); birth rate: 11.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 10.6/1000; life expectancy: 77.0; density per sq mi: 128 Capital (1991 est.): Podgorica (administrative capital), 117,875; Cetinje (capital city), 14,700 Other large cities (1991): Nikšić, 56,141; Kotor, 5,620 Monetary unit: Euro Languages: Serbian/Montenegrin (Ijekavian dialect—official) Ethnicity/race: Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% Religions: Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic Literacy rate: 96.4% (2002 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007est.): $5.918 billion; per capita $3,800. Real growth rate: 7.5%. Inflation: 3.4%. Unemployment: 14.7%. Arable land: 13.7%. Agriculture: grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible. Labor force: 259,100; agriculture 2%, industry 30%, services 68% (2004). Industries: steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism. Natural resources: bauxite, hydroelectricity. Exports: $171.3 million (2003). Imports: $601.7 million (2003). Major trading partners: Switzerland, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Germany. Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 353,300 (2006); mobile cellular: 821,800 (2006). Radio broadcast stations: 31 (2004). Television broadcast stations: 13 (2004). Internet users: 266,000 (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 250 km (2006). Highways: total: 7,353 km; paved: 4,274 km (including 560 km of expressways); unpaved: 3,079 km (2005). Waterways: 587 km; Danube River runs through Serbia connecting Europe with the Black Sea; in early 2000 the river was obstructed at Novi Sad due to a pontoon bridge; a canal system in north Serbia is available to by-pass damage, however, lock size is limited (1999). Ports and terminals: Bar. Airports: 5 (2007). International disputes: Ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro. Major sources and definitions

Geography

Montenegro, a jumbled mass of mountains, with a small coastline along the Adriatic, borders Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. It is roughly the size of Connecticut.

Government

Republic. Montenegro, formerly part of Serbia and Montenegro, gained independence on June 3, 2006.

History

The first inhabitants on the Balkan peninsula were the ancient people known as the Illyrians. The Slavic people followed in the 6th and 7th centuries. What is now Montenegro was the Serbian principality of Zeta in the 14th century. The principality was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the 14th to the 19th century, though this mountainous region managed to evade tight Ottoman control. It then became a principality within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and in 1878 achieved independence. In 1910, Prince Nicholas I proclaimed himself king. During World War I, Montenegro fought on the side of the Allies and was defeated by Austro-German forces. Nicholas was forced to flee the country and Montenegro was annexed to Serbia, then called the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, and renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. After World War II, Yugoslavia became a Communist republic under Josip Tito. Tito's tight rein kept ethnic tensions in check until his death in 1980. Without his pan-Slavic influence, ethnic and nationalist differences began to flare, and by the 1990s Yugoslavia started to disintegrate in a brutal ten-year civil war. In its aftermath, Serbia and Montenegro were the only two remaining republics of rump Yugoslavia, and in Feb. 2003, they formed a new state, a loose federation called Serbia and Montenegro. The arrangement was made to placate Montenegro's restive stirrings for independence and stipulated that Montenegro could hold a referendum on independence after three years. In May 2003, Filip Vujanovic, a strong advocate of Montenegrin independence, was elected Montenegro's president.

In May 2006, Montenegro held a referendum on independence, which narrowly passed. On June 3 it declared independence, and on June 26, it became the 192nd member of the United Nations. Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic resigned in January 2008 to undergo treatment for a rare form of lung cancer. He was replaced by Milo Djukanovic, who has already served four terms as prime minister. He had been in power as either president or prime minister of Montenegro from 1991 to 2006 and had led the country's drive for independence.

On April 6, 2008, incumbent Filip Vujanovic won the presidential election with approximately 51% of the vote. Voter turnout was about 69%.

.
See also Serbia.
See also Yugoslavia Timeline.

Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print