Monaco

Official name Principality of Monaco

Local name Monaco Timezone GMT +1 Area 1·95 km²/0·75 sq mi population total (2002e) 32 000 Status Principality Capital Monaco-Ville Languages French (official), English, Italian, and Monegasque also spoken Ethnic groups French (58%), Italian (16%), Monegasque (16%) Religion Roman Catholic (95%) Physical features Located on Mediterranean Riviera, close to the Italian frontier with France; surrounded landward by the French department of Alpes-Maritimes; steep and rugged landscape; area available for commercial development has been extended by land reclaimed from sea. Climate Mediterranean; warm, dry summers, mild, wet winters; average annual temperatures 10°C (Jan), 23°C (Jul); average annual rainfall 758 mm/30 in. Currency 1 euro (EUR) = 100 cents (previous to February 2002, 1 French Franc (FRF) = 100 centimes). Economy Tourism; chemicals, printing, textiles, plastics. GDP (1999e) $870 mn, per capita $27 000 History Under the protection of France since the 17th-c, apart from a period under Sardinia, 181561; 1911 constitution ended power of the Prince as an absolute ruler; constitution of 1911 suspended in 1959; new constitution adopted, 1962; governed by a Prince as Head of State, a Minister of State, heading a Council of Government, and a National Council.

Principauté de Monaco
Principality of Monaco


Flag	Coat of arms

Motto: Deo Juvante
(Latin: "With God's Help")

Anthem: Hymne Monégasque

Capital

No official capital 1
43°44′N 7°24′E

Most populated quartier

Monte Carlo

Official language

French2

Government

Constitutional monarchy
(Principality)

- Prince

Albert II

- Minister of State

Jean-Paul Proust

Independence

- beginning of rule by the House of Grimaldi

1419

Area

- Total

1.637 km² (233rd)
0.75 sq mi

- Water (%)

0.0

Population

- 2006 estimate

35,657 (210th)

- 2000 census

32,020

- Density

18,285/km² (1st)
47,358/sq mi

GDP (PPP)

2000 estimate

- Total

$870 million (177th)

- Per capita

$21,000 (13)

HDI (2003)

n/a (n/a) (unranked)

Currency

Euro (EUR)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

- Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

Internet TLD

.mc

Calling code

+377

1Monaco is a city-state.
2Monégasque and Italian also spoken widely.

Monaco is the most densely populated country in the world and the world's second-smallest independent country, with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.95 square kilometers (481.9 acres).

Geography

The Principality of Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world, after Vatican City. Its physical geography includes a long beach which accounts for a vast part of Monaco's border, and steep cliffs that rise vertically upwards to heights of 63 meters (206 ft) above sea level.

Administrative divisions

Monaco is divided into four quarters (quartiers): Monaco-Ville, the old city on a rocky promontory extending into the Mediterranean, known as the Rock of Monaco;

History

Monaco apparently first gained its name from the nearby Phocaean Greek colony of Marseille, in the 6th century BC, which referred to the Ligurians as Monoikos, from the Greek Μόνοικος — μόνος + οίκος, "single house", which bears the sense of a people either settled in a "single habitation" or of "living apart" from others. Monaco has been ruled by the the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when François Grimaldi (Milaza) and his men captured the fortress protecting the famous Rock of Monaco while he was dressed as a Franciscan monk (Monaco in Italian);

Rainier III, Prince of Monaco acceded to the throne following the death of his grandfather, Prince Louis II, in 1949.

In 2002, a new treaty between France and Monaco clarifies that if there are no heirs to carry on the dynasty, the Principality will remain an independent nation rather than revert to France. Prince Albert II of Monaco formally became the ruler of Monaco on 12 July 2005, in a celebration that began with a solemn Mass at the cathedral where his father was buried three months before, after a reign of 56 years.

Law and government

Monaco has been governed as a constitutional monarchy since 1911, with the Sovereign Prince of Monaco as head of state.

Monaco has the largest police force and police presence in the world, both per capita and per area.

The Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince (Prince's Company of Carabiniers) is the military force of Monaco. Although Monaco's defence is the responsibility of France, it maintains a small force for the protection of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco. The glamour and prestige associated with Monaco and its style-conscious people can be seen in the number of high class cars, designer fashion boutiques such as Chanel, trendy restaurants, and its royal family, especially since the marriage of Prince Rainer to Grace Kelly, later HSH Princess Grace of Monaco.

The lack of personal income tax has led to a considerable number of wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries, who earn the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco;

In 2000, a report by French parliamentarians Arnaud Montebourg and Vincent Peillon alleged that Monaco has lax policies with respect to money laundering, including within its famed casino, and that the government of Monaco puts political pressure on the judiciary so that alleged crimes are not properly investigated.

Monaco is not a member of the European Union but is very closely linked to it via a customs union with France, and as such its currency is the same as France's: the euro.

Education

Monaco has ten state-operated schools, including seven nursery and primary schools, one secondary school (Collège Charles III), one lycée that provides general and technological training (Lycée Albert 1er, one of the best in Southern France), and one lycée that provides vocational and hotel training.

There are also two grant-aided denominational private schools (including Institution François d'Assise Nicolas Barré and Ecole des Sœurs Dominicaines) and one international school (International School of Monaco).

State schools include: School

Colleges and universities

International University of Monaco

Demographics

Monaco's population is unusual in that the native Monegasques are a minority in their own country.

Security

Monaco has no army and airforce, but has a small coast guard consisting of 3 small patrol boats armed with small cannons.