Three Gorges Dam
EnergyThe world's largest hydropower station by installed capacity, at 22.5 GW, and the main flood-control structure on the Yangtze.
Yichang, Hubei
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. …
The National Infrastructure Index maps the physical assets national life runs on — power stations and grids, water systems, ports, railways and airports, data networks, payment systems and launch sites. Each asset is placed in a Strategic Infrastructure capability group, so it can be read against the ratings in the National Capability index above.
Assets are chosen for how much of the economy and state depends on them and how hard they would be to replace. Each card records what the asset is, the category it belongs to, what it does and where it is.
Example assets. These twenty cards are modelled on China's most critical infrastructure and show on every nation page until each nation's own assets are mapped.
The world's largest hydropower station by installed capacity, at 22.5 GW, and the main flood-control structure on the Yangtze.
A 16 GW dam on the Jinsha River, built around sixteen 1 GW turbines, the largest single units in service.
A ±1,100 kV direct-current line carrying 12 GW more than 3,000 km from Xinjiang's power bases to the eastern grid.
China's first large commercial nuclear plant, in service since 1994, with much of its output sold to Hong Kong.
A canal carrying Yangtze basin water more than 1,400 km north from the Danjiangkou Reservoir to Beijing and Tianjin.
The 1,318 km trunk line between the two largest cities, opened in 2011 and one of the busiest high-speed routes in the world.
The world's busiest container port since 2010, including the automated Yangshan deep-water terminals.
The world's largest port by cargo tonnage, handling iron ore, crude oil and coal for the eastern industrial belt.
The capital's second international hub, opened in 2019 around one of the largest single terminal buildings in the world.
A 55 km bridge and undersea tunnel system linking the western and eastern shores of the Pearl River Delta, opened in 2018.
The 1,956 km line from Xining to Lhasa, crossing the Tanggula Pass at 5,072 m, the highest railway in the world.
One of eight national data centre hubs under the East Data, West Computing programme, hosting major cloud providers.
A 2,000 km quantum key distribution trunk line through Jinan and Hefei, completed in 2017 for secure government and bank links.
CIPS clears and settles cross-border payments in renminbi, launched in 2015 to extend the currency's international reach.
The coastal launch site for Long March 5 heavy-lift rockets, used for the Tiangong station modules and lunar and Mars missions.
China's first launch site, founded in 1958 in the Gobi Desert, and the base for every crewed Shenzhou mission.
The national satellite navigation system, providing global positioning and timing since 2020 from its Beijing control segment.
The world's largest known rare-earth deposit and the core of China's rare-earth mining and refining supply chain.
A weir and channel system built around 256 BC that still irrigates much of the Chengdu Plain's farmland.
China's leading maker of 3D NAND flash memory, central to the drive for a domestic semiconductor supply.
The National Development Index tracks the events that move a nation's capability — policy decisions, technological milestones, economic turns and external shocks — and places each one on the record with the date it happened and what followed from it. It is the narrative counterpart to the indices: where a rating says where Montenegro stands, the index says how it arrived there.
Recent developments cover the current cycle, close enough that their consequences are still unfolding. Historical developments are the inflection points behind the present position — the decisions and events a reader needs in order to read the ratings above in context.
Before the Slav migrations the territory of modern Montenegro was inhabited principally by Illyrians. The arrival of Slavic peoples in the 6th and 7th centuries CE reshaped the ethnic and linguistic foundation of the region.
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 medieval state of Zeta maintained its existence until 1496, when Montenegro finally fell under Ottoman rule, though it retained considerable autonomy over subsequent centuries.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries Montenegro was a theocracy ruled by a series of bishop princes, while managing to maintain a level of autonomy within the Ottoman Empire.
The dynasty combined secular and religious authority, governing Montenegro as a theocracy under loose Ottoman suzerainty for two centuries until Danilo I secularised the principality in 1852.
In 1852, under Danilo II, Montenegro abandoned theocratic rule and became a secular principality.
The 1878 treaty confirmed sovereignty won on the battlefield against the Ottoman Empire and enlarged Montenegro's territory, ending centuries of contested autonomy under nominal Ottoman suzerainty.
Prince Nicholas I took the title of king on 28 August 1910, marking the fiftieth anniversary of his reign and elevating the principality to a kingdom shortly before the Balkan Wars reshaped the region.
A disputed assembly in Podgorica voted in November 1918 to depose the Montenegrin king and unite with Serbia. The decision, contested by Montenegrin loyalists, ended the country's independent statehood until 2006.
Communist partisan rule was established after the Second World War, with Montenegro recognised as one of six constituent republics of the new Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito.
The two republics proclaimed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on 27 April 1992 as the rest of the former Yugoslavia broke apart in war, a union that lasted until Montenegro's 2006 independence vote.
The move followed the earlier informal use of the German mark from 1999 and aimed to curb inflation, though Montenegro never joined the eurozone and the European Central Bank repeatedly voiced disapproval of the step.
In 2003 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was restructured into the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, granting each republic greater autonomy and a future right to a referendum on independence.
The honour, France's highest civilian and military award, was conferred during a state visit to Paris as Montenegro pressed its case for EU membership by 2028.
The nearly €700 million contract, awarded to PowerChina-STECOL-PCCD and financed by the EBRD, the EU and the Montenegrin state, extends the Bar-Boljare motorway toward the Serbian border. The first completed section opened in 2022.
The visit opened a new chapter of cooperation on humanitarian and health projects between the Order and Montenegro, according to the presidency.
The coordinated protest on 26 January, mirrored in neighbouring states, targeted the European Union's biometric border-control system, which hauliers said was causing lengthy delays at crossings into the bloc.
The 26 January meeting reviewed progress on Montenegro's negotiating chapters, of which 13 of 33 had been provisionally closed, as Podgorica pursued its target of completing talks by the end of 2026.
The party withdrew support for Prime Minister Milojko Spajić's government on 31 January after its ministers resigned, narrowing the parliamentary majority underpinning the cabinet.
Ministers meeting in Brussels on 16 December reviewed the closing phase of Montenegro's negotiations, the most advanced of any Western Balkan candidate, as talks continued chapter by chapter.
Its 2025 enlargement report found Montenegro further ahead in accession talks than any other Western Balkan candidate, though it flagged continued concerns over corruption and judicial independence.
Talks at Hillsborough Castle in Belfast on 8 October, followed by a leaders' summit in London, formed part of the UK's chairmanship of the Berlin Process, focused on regional security and organised crime.
The poll, published on 2 September, found 64 per cent of Montenegrins would vote for EU accession in a referendum and 75 per cent believed membership would bring more benefits than drawbacks.
Accession on 5 June 2017 came despite fierce Russian opposition and strained relations with Moscow, which had allegedly backed a coup plot against the government the previous year.
Prosecutors said the plan, timed to the 16 October 2016 parliamentary election, involved an attempt to storm parliament and potentially kill prime minister Milo Đukanović. Russia denied any involvement.
A referendum on 21 May 2006 backed independence by a narrow margin above the 55 per cent threshold set by the EU, and parliament formally declared independence on 3 June. The vote ended Montenegro's union with Serbia.
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 federated 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 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.
3 June 2006 (from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro)
National Day, 13 July (1878)
Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia
42 30 N, 19 18 E
Europe
slightly smaller than Connecticut
293.5 km
highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus
bauxite, hydroelectricity
24.12 sq km (2010)
destructive earthquakes
strategic location along the Adriatic coast
pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor
Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland
Capability-group ratings for Critical Technology are part of the GINC National Capability Framework rather than the country factbook. They are published in the National Capability index, and the per-capability detail lives on the capability pages.
Clinical research and life-science invention, drawn from the same series that drive the metric pages. Each card opens the full cross-country comparison.
5 (2013)
1 (2012)
1.126 million (2012)
280,000 (2009)
.me
3.945 billion kWh (2010 est.)
3.279 billion kWh (2010 est.)
730 million kWh (2010 est.)
732 million kWh (2010 est.)
868,000 kW (2010 est.)
24.2% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
75.8% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
4,446 bbl/day (2011 est.)
369 bbl/day (2010 est.)
3,300 bbl/day (2010 est.)
0 cu m (2011 est.)
0 cu m (2010 est.)
0 cu m (2011 est.)
0 cu m (2011 est.)
0 cu m (1 January 2013 est.)
2.166 million Mt (2011 est.)
163,000 (2012)
10,088 (2012)
1.87% of GDP (2012)//1.95% of GDP (2011)//1.87% of GDP (2010)
18 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)
Active-duty strength on the Correlates of War series, which reaches back to 1816 and so carries a nation’s whole record of mobilisation rather than its present establishment. The card opens the full cross-country comparison.
Armed Forces of the Republic of Montenegro: Army of Montenegro (includes Montenegrin Navy (Mornarica Crne Gore, MCG)), Air Force (2011)
650,036 (July 2014 est.)
-0.49% (2014 est.)
10.59 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
9.3 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
26.3 (2010 est.)
PODGORICA (capital) 156,000 (2011)
4 beds/1,000 population (2010)
22.5% (2008)
2.2% (2006)
6.6% (2010 est.)
8 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
39.4% (2005/06)
9.3% of GDP (2011)
2.03 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
NA
none
republic
23 municipalities (opstine, singular - opstina); Andrijevica, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Gusinje, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Petnijica, Plav, Pljevlja, Pluzine, Podgorica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak
several previous; latest adopted 22 October 2007; note - in early 2013, Montenegro's parliamentary constitutional committee began debate on proposed amendments (2013)
18 years of age; universal
civil law
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICC jurisdiction
unicameral Assembly (81 seats; members elected by direct vote to serve four-year terms)
Albanian Coalition (includes Democratic League in Montenegro or DSCG [Mehmed BARDHI], Democratic Party [Fatmir DJEKA], and Albanian Alternative or AA [Djerdj DAMAJ])//Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]//Coalition for European Montenegro (bloc) [Milo DJUKANOVIC] (includes Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC], Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Andrija POPOCVIC], and the Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC])//Coalition FORCA for Unity (includes FORCA [Nazif CUNGU] and Civic Initiative [Vaselj Sinistaj])//Croatian Civic Initiative or HGI [Marija VUCINOVIC]//Democratic Center or DC [Goran BATRICEVIC]//Democratic Front (bloc) [Miodrag LEKIC] (includes New Serb Democracy or NOVA [Andrija MANDIC] and Movement for Change or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC], a splinter faction of the Socialist People's Party or SNP)//Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Mehmet ZENKA]//Just Montenegro [Rade BOJOVIC]//Positive Montenegro [Darko PAJOVIC]//Serbian National Alliance (bloc)(includes Party of Serb Radicals or SSR, Democratic Serb Party or DSS [Ranko KADIC], and the Serbian National Council)//Serbian Unity (bloc) (includes Serbian People's Party or NS [Predrag POPOVIC], the Serb List or SL, the Serbian Homeland Party, the Serbian Radical Party, and the Democratic Centre of Boka or DCB [Dejan COROVIC])//Socialist People's Party or SNP [Srdan MILIC]//Together (bloc) (includes Pensioners' Party [Vojo VULETIC], Disabled and Social Justice, and the Yugoslav Communist Party of Montenegro or JKPCG)
NA
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 harkens back to the three and a half centuries that Montenegro was ruled as a theocracy
Serbian 42.9%, Montenegrin (official) 37%, Bosnian 5.3%, Albanian 5.3%, Serbo-Croat 2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 4% (2011 est.)
Orthodox 72.1%, Muslim 19.1%, Catholic 3.4%, atheist 1.2%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.6% (2011 est.)
Montenegrin 45%, Serbian 28.7%, Bosniak 8.7%, Albanian 4.9%, Muslim 3.3%, Roma 1%, Croat 1%, other 2.6%, unspecified 4.9% (2011 est.)
double-headed eagle
state-funded national radio-TV broadcaster operates 2 terrestrial TV networks, 1 satellite TV channel, and 2 radio networks; 4 public TV stations and some 20 private TV stations; 14 local public radio stations and more than 40 private radio stations (2007)
CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
37.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
2.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
52.1% of GDP (2012 est.)//45% of GDP (2011 est.)
4% (2012)//3% (2011)
$400 million (31 December 2011)
$1.7 billion (2012 est.)//$1.2 billion (2011 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -//0.7634 (2013 est.)//0.7752 (2012 est.)//0.755 (2010 est.)//0.7198 (2009 est.)//0.6827 (2008 est.)
$4.518 billion (2013 est.)
steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism
251,300 (2011 est.)
19.1% (2012 est.)//11.5% (2011 est.)
Montenegro's economy is slowly transitioning to a market system, but the state sector remains large and additional institutional changes are needed. The economy relies heavily on foreign tourism and the export of refined metals. Unprofitable state-owned enterprises, especially the Podgorica Aluminum Kombine, the country’s largest exporter, weigh heavily on public finances. During the MILOSEVIC era, Montenegro severed its economy from Serbia, maintained its own central bank, adopted the Deutsche Mark, then shifted to the euro - rather than the Yugoslav dinar - as official currency, collected customs tariffs, and managed its own budget. The 2006 dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro led to separate memberships 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 became the 156th member of World Trade Organization in December 2011. The European Council (EC) granted candidate country status to Montenegro at the December 2010 session. Montenegro began negotiations to join the EC in June, 2012, having met the conditions set down by the European Council, which called on Montenegro to take steps to fight corruption and organized crime. Unemployment and disparities in regional development, especially in the north, remain key political and economic problems. The global financial crisis had a significant negative impact on the economy, due to a credit crunch, a decline in the real estate sector, and a fall in aluminum exports. The Government of Montenegro increased value added tax (VAT) from 17% in 2012 to 19% in 2013 and raised income tax rates from 9% to 15% for those earning over €480 a month. In 2013, the government also retrenched by freezing pensions and limiting salary increases for public enterprises and members of the parliament.
$7.429 billion (2013 est.)//$7.318 billion (2012 est.)//$7.358 billion (2011 est.)
1.5% (2013 est.)//-0.5% (2012 est.)//3.2% (2011 est.)
$11,900 (2013 est.)//$11,800 (2012 est.)//$11,900 (2011 est.)
tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheep
24.3 (2010)//30 (2003)
calendar year
9.69% (31 December 2011 est.)//9.53% (31 December 2010 est.)
$749 million (31 December 2011 est.)//$783.3 million (31 December 2010 est.)
$1.982 billion (31 December 2011 est.)//$2.01 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
$3.29 billion (31 December 2009)//$3.771 billion (31 December 2008)
$3.827 billion (31 December 2012 est.)//$3.322 billion (31 December 2011)//$3.604 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
-$1.938 billion (2012 est.)//-$1.927 billion (2011 est.)
$489.2 million (2012 est.)//$640 million (2011 est.)
Croatia 22.7%, Serbia 22.7%, Slovenia 7.8% (2012 est.)
$2.4 billion (2012 est.)//$2.5 billion (2011 est.)
Serbia 29.3%, Greece 8.7%, China 7.1% (2012 est.)