One of the former constituent republics of Yugoslavia.

The people speak Serbo-Croat and use the Serbian script, but there is a minority (6.5%) of Albanians.

After Yugoslavia broke up, a new successor union with Serbia was formed but that ended in independence.

Only its union with Montenegro gave Serbia a sea coast through a rail line to the port of Bar. Serbia tried to prevent Montenegro's independence, but as the Montenegrins have a tradition of resistance the Serbs failed.

Montenegro was a part of medieval Serbia which the Turks never succeeded in conquering, because it was in the mountainous area. They remained a kingdom surrounded by Turkish power. The Montenegrins were the frontiersmen of the Balkans. They joined Serbia only in 1918 on the formation of the kingdom of Yugoslavia. For a long time there were signs that some Montenegrins would like independence. This came to a head in 2002 when talks between the post-Milosevic Serbia and Montenegro's independence minded government took place. On 1 June 2002 Montengro became a member of the new state of Serbia and Montenegro, keeping its separate currency and customs, but retaining, in theory, a common army. Both states had the right to independence in 2005 which was duly exercised. Already Montenegro used a different currency, the euro, and had ever fewer connections with Serbia.

The 21 May 2006 Referendum had a majority in favour of independence from the Federation.

What will sovereignty mean for such a small country (Pop. 750,000)?

Serbian 68%

Albanian 6.5%

The Communists (Democratic Socialists) won a free election.

There are opposition parties, many of them calling for independence from the Serbian dominated rump Yugoslavia.

The election of an Orthodox bishop by the people in November 1993 in opposition to the Serbian appointed bishop was a step towards possible independence.

A Montenegrin nationalist party won the last election and seemed likely to move towards independence in 2002.

An agreement in February 2002 seemed to be for a loose federation without formal independence. However, the arrangement seemed more like that of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) that replaced the Soviet Union.

That Union has been dissolved and Montenegro is once again an independent state.

Talks towards joining the EU are advanced. (But how would the EU react to a very corrupt state joining?)

One of the poorest areas of former Yugoslavia. Following independence its revenues would be from tourism at the coast and from transit traffic to Serbia (suspended while sanctions were in force). It has adopted the euro as official currency.

There are reports that the economy is largely based on smuggling to Italy, and that the government is very corrupt amounting even to a "Mafia State".