More than 74,000 individuals have emigrated from Montenegro between 2011 and 2021, a population equivalent to the size of the city of Nikšić and accounting for over 10% of the total populace. These are the sobering findings of a study titled “Why Doesn’t Montenegro Care About Its Own Population?”, conducted by the Society of Statisticians and Demographers (SSD) and the Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT).
This disconcerting trend persists into 2022, with official statistics revealing that approximately 1,950 more citizens left Montenegro than moved in, according to an announcement on the Centre for Democratic Transition’s website.
Over the course of a decade, a total of 74,031 individuals have emigrated from Montenegro, while around 66,400 have moved in.
In the first quarter of this year alone, over 64,000 Russian nationals, more than 11,100 from Turkey, and around 5,000 from Ukraine have reported stays of up to 90 days in Montenegro.
Taking into account previously approved temporary and permanent residences, it is estimated that over 80,000 foreigners are registered to reside in Montenegro, constituting 13% of the entire population, the study highlights.