Monaco, small independent principality of Europe, forming an enclave in southeastern France, bordered on the south by the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded on the north, east, and west by the French department of Alpes-Maritimes. The principality, which lies east of Nice, is a famous resort. The country is 1.95 sq km (0.75 sq mi) in area. The population in the 1982 census was 29,876, and the 2001 estimate was 31,842. Monaco has one of the highest population densities of any country in the world, 16,329 persons per sq km (42,293 per sq mi). The principality is composed of four districts: Monaco, the capital; La Condamine; Monte Carlo; and Fontvieille. The official language of the country is French.
None; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo
people speak Monégasque, a mixture of French and Italian. Italian and English are also spoken. The commune of Monaco, located on a rocky promontory, is an ancient fortified town. Among its points of interest are a cathedral, a palace in the medieval and Renaissance styles, and an oceanographical museum, established in 1910 by Prince Albert I. The Monte Carlo Opera and Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra are here; the Monaco Grand Prix and Monte Carlo Rally are popular annual automobile-racing events.
Monaco's refusal to impose income taxes on its residents and on international businesses that have established headquarters there led to a severe crisis with France in 1962. A compromise was reached by which French citizens with less than five years residence in Monaco were taxed at French rates and taxes were imposed on Monegasque companies doing more than 25 percent of their business outside the principality.
Stone Age settlements in Monaco are preserved in the principality's Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology. In ancient times the headland was known to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. In 1191 the Genoese took possession of it, and in 1297 the long reign of the Grimaldi family began. The Grimaldis allied themselves with France except for the period from 1524 to 1641, when they were under the protection of Spain. In 1793 they were dispossessed by the French Revolutionary regime, and Monaco was annexed to France. With the fall of Napoleon I, however, the Grimaldis returned; the Congress of Vienna (1815) put Monaco under the protection of Sardinia. The principality lost the neighbouring towns of Menton and Roquebrune in 1848 and finally ceded them to France under the terms of the Franco-Monegasque treaty of 1861. The treaty did restore Monaco's independence, however, and in 1865 a customs union was established between the two countries. Another treaty that was made with France, in 1918, contained a clause providing that, in the event that the Grimaldi dynasty should become extinct, Monaco would become an autonomous state under French protection.
In 1297 the principality was acquired by the house of Grimaldi, a Genoese family. In 1793, during the French Revolution, the Grimaldi were dispossessed and their principality was annexed by France. By the terms of the Treaty of Vienna, in 1815, the principality was made a protectorate of the kingdom of Sardinia. In 1861 Monaco was restored as an independent state under the guardianship of France. In 1993 Monaco was admitted to the United Nations.
In Monaco are the Roman Catholic cathedral, the prince's Genoese and Renaissance palace, and the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, built in 1910.
The casino itself contains a theatre designed by the 19th-century French architect Charles Garnier, which is the home of the Opera de Monte Carlo. During the 1920s many of the works of the famous Ballets Russes of Sergey Diaghilev were given their premiers there. There is also a Monte-Carlo national orchestra. The best known of the automobile events held in the principality are the Monte-Carlo Rally and the Grand Prix de Monaco. Pop. (1995 est.) 30,400.
the international sports-car races, and the world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling centre in the Monte-Carlo section that made Monte-Carlo an international byword for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth. The country has a mild Mediterranean climate with annual temperatures averaging 61° F (16° C) and with only about 60 days of rainfall. Monthly average temperatures range from 50° F (10° C) in January to 75° F (24° C) in August.
Monaco's chief industry is tourism, and its facilities make it one of Europe's most luxurious resorts. Once a winter attraction, it now draws summer visitors as well to its beaches and expanded mooring facilities. The social life of Monte-Carlo revolves around the Place du Casino. The casino was built in 1861, and in 1967 its operations were taken over by the principality. Banking and finance and real estate are other important components of the services sector. The four sections, or quartiers, of Monaco are the town of Monaco, or “the Rock,” a headland jutting into the sea on which the old town is located ; La Condamine, the business district on the west of the bay, with its natural harbour; Monte-Carlo, including the gambling casino; and the newer zone of Fontvieille, in which various light industries have developed.
The principal occupations in Monaco are connected with the tourist trade, the economic foundation of the state. The sale of postage stamps and tobacco, banking and insurance, and the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and chemicals, electronic equipment, cosmetics, paper and cards, clothing and textiles, and plastic goods are also of economic importance. In 1993 the gross domestic product, which measures the total value of goods and services produced in the country, was $558 million. A major source of revenue is the great gambling casino at Monte Carlo. The economy of Monaco relies heavily on migrant labor, mainly from France and Italy. Monaco’s principal unit of currency is the French franc, consisting of 100 centimes.
Monaco, situated on the French Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate. The Principality has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries. The state has no income tax and low business taxes and thrives as a tax haven both for individuals who have established residence and for foreign companies that have set up businesses and offices. The state retains monopolies in a number of sectors, including tobacco, the telephone network, and the postal service. Living standards are high, roughly comparable to those in prosperous French metropolitan areas. Monaco does not publish national income figures; the estimates below are extremely rough
modern automatic telephone system
domestic: NA
international: no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system
National and Democratic Union or UND [leader NA]; National Union for the Future of Monaco or UNAM [leader NA]; Rally for the Monegasque Family [leader NA]
Monaco's constitution of 1911 provided for an elected National Council, but in 1959 Prince Rainier III suspended part of the constitution and dissolved the National Council because of a disagreement over the budget. In 1961 he appointed instead a national assembly. The aforementioned crisis of 1962 with France led him to restore the National Council and to grant a new, liberal constitution. The council comprises 18 members, elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years. Government is carried on by a minister of state (who must be a French citizen) and three state councillors acting under the authority of the prince, who is the official chief of state. Legislative power is shared by the prince and the National Council. Since 1819 the judicial system has been based on that of France; since 1962 the highest judicial authority has been the Supreme Tribunal.
Legal system: based on French law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Prince RAINIER III (since 9 May 1949); Heir Apparent Prince ALBERT Alexandre Louis Pierre, son of the monarch (born 14 March 1958)
head of government: Minister of State Patrick LECLERQUE (since 5 January 2000)
cabinet: Council of Government is under the authority of the monarch
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government
Legislative branch: unicameral National Council or Conseil National (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 8 February 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UND 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supreme (judges appointed by the monarch on the basis of nominations by the National Council)
International organization Member
ACCT, ECE, IAEA, ICAO, ICRM, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
defense is the responsibility of France
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