# Montenegro and Serbia compared

Montenegro and Serbia side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 8 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mne-vs-srb
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Montenegro: 1878 — The Congress of Berlin recognises an independent Principality of Montenegro
- Serbia: 1166 — Stefan Nemanja founds the dynasty that becomes the Serbian state

## Economy

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $8.3 B | 2024 | $90 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $13,263 | 2024 | $13,679 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 3.2% | 2024 | 3.9% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.3% | 2024 | 4.7% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 109.9% | 2024 | 111.7% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 624,000 | 2024 | 6.6 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 77.9 yrs | 2024 | 76.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 65.5% | 2024 | 62.4% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.8 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 63.7 | 2024 | 48.7 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 71.6 | 2024 | 63.0 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 58.5 | 2024 | 53.3 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 56.9 | 2024 | 56.1 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 60.1 | 2024 | 53.5 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 46.7 | 2024 | 36.5 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 9.7% | 2023 | 8.0% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 2.78 | 2023 | 3.10 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.4 | 2024 | 5.4 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 23.0% | 2024 | 84.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 85.5% | 2024 | 75.0% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 98.5% | 2018 | 99.3% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 106.1% | 2023 | 96.0% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 93.9% | 2023 | 89.8% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 55.2% | 2023 | 70.6% | 2024 |
| Education spending | — | — | 3.4% | 2023 |

## Technology

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.4% | 2019 | 0.9% | 2024 |
| Researchers (per million) | 764 | 2019 | 2,688 | 2024 |
| Internet users | 88.9% | 2024 | 87.7% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 222 | 2024 | 124 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 14.5% | 2024 | 4.5% | 2007 |

## Geography

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 13,450 km² | 2023 | 84,090 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 61.5% | 2023 | 32.4% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 19.6% | 2023 | 40.4% | 2023 |
| Renewable energy | 39.6% | 2021 | 27.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.6% | 2021 | 1.7% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.7% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.5% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | Montenegro | Observed | Serbia | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.8% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $150 M | 2024 | $2.3 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 12,000 | 2020 | 32,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MNE.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB.md.

## Entangled histories (8 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1912–1913: **The Balkan Wars** — Montenegro joined Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece in the First Balkan War against the Ottoman Empire and besieged Scutari, but was forced by the Great Powers to give up the captured city. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Montenegro: History; Nicholas I, king of Montenegro)
- 1 Dec 1918: **Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes proclaimed** — Prince Regent Alexander proclaimed the South Slav kingdom in Belgrade, uniting Serbia and Montenegro with former Habsburg lands under the Serbian crown; it was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. (from the Serbia chronicle; sources: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes; Serbia in the Yugoslav kingdom)
- Nov 1918: **The Podgorica Assembly** — An assembly in Podgorica deposed King Nikola I and the Petrovic-Njegos dynasty and proclaimed the unconditional union of Montenegro with Serbia in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Montenegro (First World War); Montenegro: History)
- 1992: **Federal Republic of Yugoslavia** — As the other republics broke away, Montenegro joined Serbia in forming the rump Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, remaining bound to Belgrade through the wars and sanctions of the 1990s. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Montenegro: History; Montenegro: federation, State Union and referendum)
- 2002: **Unilateral adoption of the euro** — Montenegro made the euro its sole legal tender from March 2002, a unilateral euroisation undertaken without European Central Bank agreement that distanced its economy from Serbia's. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Euroisation: Montenegro's adoption of the Deutsche Mark and then the euro (sole legal tender from March 2002))
- 2003: **State Union of Serbia and Montenegro** — European mediation transformed the federation into the loose State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, whose Constitutional Charter allowed either republic to hold an independence referendum after three years. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Consequences of the referendum in Montenegro; Montenegro: History)
- Jun 2006: **Montenegro's independence and the end of the State Union** — Following a referendum on 21 May 2006, Montenegro declared independence; Serbia accepted the result and declared itself the successor state, dissolving the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. (from the Serbia chronicle; sources: Montenegro: Independence; A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country: Serbia)
- 3 Jun 2006: **Restoration of independence** — The parliament in Podgorica formally declared Montenegro an independent sovereign state, recognised by Serbia, restoring the statehood lost at the Podgorica Assembly of 1918. (from the Montenegro chronicle; sources: Consequences of the referendum in Montenegro; Montenegro: Independence)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/MNE/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Montenegro and Serbia compared", terralore.co/compare/mne-vs-srb, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.