Montenegro Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

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: 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: none of the selected agreements

Climate

Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland

Land use

agricultural land: 38.2% (2018 est.)

arable land: 12.9% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 24.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 40.4% (2018 est.)

other: 21.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 68.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.45% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.43% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0.12% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 19.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 2.02 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.75 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 332,000 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 17,994 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 5.4% (2015 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Scutari (shared with Albania) - 400 sq km
note - largest lake in the Balkans

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 sq km)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 60 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 1.7 million cubic meters (2017 est.)