PODGORICA – The Statistical Office of Montenegro (Monstat) announced today the results of the census in conducted last December. The majority of Montenegrin citizens identified themselves as Montenegrins (41.12%). They are followed by Serbs at 32.93 percent, while 9.45 percent of citizens identified as Bosniaks. A total of 4.97% of citizens identified as Albanians, while 2.06% identified as Russians and 1.63% as Muslims. 17.907 citizens or 2.88% chose not to declare their nationality.
The Director of the Monstat, Miroslav Pejović, said during the press conference that Montenegro has 623,633 residents with a regular place of residence in the country, as well as 44,017 citizens who are working, living, or studying abroad.
“A total of 667,650 individuals were enumerated, excluding foreigners who do not intend to stay in Montenegro for more than a year”, Pejović said, Vijesti reported.
The majority of Montenegro’s population – 43.18 percent – speaks the Serbian language. This is followed by the Montenegrin language, spoken by 34.52 percent and Bosnian, which is spoken by 6.97 percent.
When comparing the results of the census conducted last year with those from 2011, it is evident that the number of citizens who speak Montenegrin has decreased by 13,952, while the number of those who speak Serbian has increased by 3,412.
The census in Montenegro was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was conducted between 3 and 28 December last year, after being delayed several times due to opposition demands and requests from representatives of smaller national groups to meet certain conditions before proceeding with the census.
When comparing the results of the census conducted last year with those from 2011, it is evident that the number of Montenegrins has decreased by 22,429, while the number of Serbs has increased by 27,260. The comparison also shows an increase in the number of Bosniaks by 5,351, Albanians by 539, and Russians from 946 to as many as 12,824.