Montenegro (Crna Gora in Montenegrin and Serbian, meaning Black Mountain) is located on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. This small mountainous state has an area of 13,812 km² and only around 630,000 inhabitants, of which about 139,100 live in Podgorica, the capital. It borders Albania to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia to the northwest and Serbia and Kosovo to the east.

Since the 11th century, Montenegro, as the Principality of Zeta was ruled by a succession of dynasties, gaining her international status as an independent nation in the Congress of Berlin, later becoming a kingdom. After the First World War, Montenegro reached an agreement with Serbia to form a federation that would culminate in the formation of the state known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. With the end of World War II, the kingdom went on to become one of the six republics within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, where Montenegro remained until the Yugoslavian disintegration in 1992.

In 2003, after the Yugoslavian disintegration, Montenegro formed the Federation of Serbia and Montenegro. Finally, on May 2006, in a referendum, 55.5% of the population supported independence for Montenegro, which was proclaimed on June 3, 2006.
There are many ethnic groups in Montenegro being the main four: Montenegrins (43%), Serbs (32%), Bosniaks (8%), Albanians (5%). The main religion is Orthodox Christians with two Churches: Serbian Orthodox and Montenegrin Orthodox.