Montenegro Economy - 2024

Economic overview

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

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$12.757 billion (2021 est.)
$11.346 billion (2020 est.)
$13.397 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

12.43% (2021 est.)
-15.31% (2020 est.)
4.06% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$20,600 (2021 est.)
$18,300 (2020 est.)
$21,500 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$5.486 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.41% (2021 est.)
-0.26% (2020 est.)
0.36% (2019 est.)

Credit ratings

Moody's rating: B1 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: B+ (2014)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 7.5% (2016 est.)

industry: 15.9% (2016 est.)

services: 76.6% (2016 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 76.8% (2016 est.)

government consumption: 19.6% (2016 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 23.2% (2016 est.)

investment in inventories: 2.9% (2016 est.)

exports of goods and services: 40.5% (2016 est.)

imports of goods and services: -63% (2016 est.)

Agricultural products

milk, potatoes, grapes, vegetables, tomatoes, watermelons, wheat, apples, cabbages, barley

Industries

steelmaking, aluminum, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism

Industrial production growth rate

1.39% (2021 est.)

Labor force

277,400 (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate

18.49% (2021 est.)
17.9% (2020 est.)
15.12% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 31.6% (2021 est.)

male: 28.3%

female: 36.7%

Population below poverty line

24.5% (2018 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

36.8 (2018 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 27.5% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 6.8% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.5%

highest 10%: 25.7% (2014 est.)

Remittances

13.54% of GDP (2021 est.)
12.59% of GDP (2020 est.)
10.54% of GDP (2019 est.)

Budget

revenues: $2.051 billion (2020 est.)

expenditures: $2.568 billion (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-5.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

67.2% of GDP (2017 est.)
66.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

note: 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

Taxes and other revenues

37.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

-$540.073 million (2021 est.)
-$1.237 billion (2020 est.)
-$796.134 million (2019 est.)

Exports

$2.502 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$1.247 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.424 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - partners

Serbia 17%, Hungary 15%, China 11%, Russia 7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 6%, Germany 6%, Italy 5%, Poland 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

copper ore, aluminum, electricity, dried legumes, packaged medicines, lead, scrap iron, lumber (2021)

Imports

$3.637 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$2.917 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$3.6 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

Serbia 30%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 8%, Croatia 8%, Italy 6%, Greece 6%, Germany 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, recreational boats, cigarettes (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$1.982 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$2.135 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$1.529 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$2.516 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$2.224 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

euros (EUR) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.877 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)

note: Montenegro, which is neither an EU member state nor a party to a formal EU monetary agreement, uses the euro as its de facto currency