Factbook
History of Montenegro — Timeline
Key dates in the history of Montenegro, from the Magna Factbook and the Universal Encyclopedia.
1496Under Ottoman control beginning in 1496, Montenegro was a semi-autonomous theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes until 1852, when it became a secular principality.
1878Montenegro fought a series of wars with the Ottomans and eventually won recognition as an independent sovereign principality at the Congress of Berlin in 1878.
1918In 1918, the country was absorbed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.
1992When the SFRY dissolved in 1992, Montenegro and Serbia created the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), which shifted in 2003 to a looser State Union of Serbia and Montenegro.
2006Independence: 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).
2006Montenegro voted to restore its independence on 3 June 2006.
2010Montenegro became an official EU candidate in 2010 and joined NATO in 2017.
2011Languages: Serbian 42.9%, Montenegrin (official) 37%, Bosnian 5.3%, Albanian 5.3%, Serbo-Croat 2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 4% (2011 est.) Religions: Orthodox 72.1%, Muslim 19.1%, Catholic 3.4%, atheist 1.2%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% (2011 est.) Urban population: 68.5% of total population (2023).
2018Major urban areas: 177,000 PODGORICA (capital) (2018) upper-middle-income, small Balkan economy; uses euro as de facto currency; reduced growth due to slowdown in tourism and industrial production; new impetus for EU accession under Europe Now government; energy price cap and declining food and services prices easing inflation rate Inflation: 3.3% (2024 est.).
2023Generation mix — fossil fuels: 39.1% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); wind: 7.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 53% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) Energy use: 63.407 million Btu/person (2023 est.).
2023Industries: steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism Agriculture: milk, potatoes, watermelons, grapes, sheep milk, cabbages, oranges, eggs, goat milk, figs (2023) Electricity access: 100% (2022 est.).
2025Military spending: 2% of GDP (2025 est.).
