Monaco
Name
| Official name | Principality of Monaco — Principauté de Monaco · Prinçipatu de Mu̍negu |
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| Former names | The Lordship of Monaco of the Grimaldis (1297–1612); the Genoese fortress of Monaco (1215–1297); Portus Herculis Monoeci of the Romans; Monoikos of the Greeks; the French commune of the Revolution (1793–1814) in the department of the Alpes-Maritimes |
| Demonym | Monégasque — for the nationals; the residents "Monaco residents" in the state's usage |
| Meaning of the name | Monoikos — the Greek "single house" or "solitary one," the epithet of Heracles whose temple stood on the headland, or the alteration of an older Ligurian name; the coincidence of the Italian monaco, a monk, with the friars' disguise of 1297 |
| Motto | "Deo Juvante" — with God's help; the Grimaldi motto on the arms |
Quick facts
| Capital | None — a city-state of one commune; the government seated at Monaco-Ville on the Rock, the Prince's Palace and the ministries; Monte Carlo the largest quarter |
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| Quarters | Monaco-Ville, the Rock, the old town of about 1,000; Monte Carlo of the Casino, about 15,000; La Condamine of Port Hercules; Fontvieille, built on the sea 1966–81; Larvotto of the beach and Le Portier; the Jardin Exotique; La Rousse; Les Moneghetti; the Ravin de Sainte-Dévote; the conurbation with the French towns of Beausoleil, Cap-d'Ail and Roquebrune of about 55,000 |
| Official language | French — since 1860, when it replaced Italian; Monégasque, the Ligurian dialect of the Rock, the national language of the anthem and the school lessons, spoken by a few thousand, on the street signs of Monaco-Ville; Italian by the fifth of the residents from across the border; English by the business and the yachts |
| Currency | Euro — EUR, €; since 1 January 2002 by the monetary agreement with the EU, the Monégasque euro coins with the Prince's head; the Monégasque franc of 1837–2001 at par with the French |
| Time zone | Central European Time, UTC+1; summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +377 |
| Internet domain | .mc |
| ISO 3166 codes | MC · MCO · 492 |
| Vehicle registration code | MC |
| Driving side | Right |
| Electricity | 230 V, 50 Hz; plug types C, E and F |
| Independence | The Grimaldis on the Rock 8 January 1297 under Genoa; the purchase of Monaco 1419; sovereignty recognized by Spain in 1633 and by France in the Treaty of Péronne of 14 September 1641; restored after the French annexation on 17 May 1814; the Franco-Monégasque Treaty of 2 February 1861 that fixed the state as it is; the treaty of 1918 and the Constitution of 1911; the United Nations 28 May 1993 |
| National days | 19 November, the Sovereign Prince's Day, the national day, chosen by Rainier III for Saint Rainier and kept by Albert II; 27 January, Saint Devota, the patron saint, the boat burned on the harbor the night before; 1 January; 1 May; 15 August; 1 November; 8 December, the Immaculate Conception; Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi; Christmas; the Grand Prix weekend of late May the unofficial one |
| Constitution | 17 December 1962 — the Constitution of the Principality, given by Rainier III to replace the Constitution of 5 January 1911 that the revolution of 1910 had forced from Albert I: a hereditary and constitutional monarchy, the Prince the head of state with the executive power exercised by the Minister of State and the Council of Government, the laws made by the Prince and the National Council together, the Supreme Court of 1962, the death penalty abolished and the women's vote of the same year; amended 2 April 2002 for the succession — the crown to the Prince's descendants, the state to survive without them — and for a Minister of State who may be Monégasque |
| Population | 38,857 at the census of 2025 — nationals 24.1%; about 39,000 (2026 est.) |
| Area | 2.08 km² (0.80 sq mi) — 208 hectares after Le Portier of December 2024; the second-smallest state; about 20% reclaimed from the sea since 1861 |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | Two horizontal bands of red over white — the colors of the Grimaldi arms since the 14th century, the lozenges of red and white of the shield — one of the oldest flag designs in the world, adopted by Charles III on 4 April 1881; the same colors as Indonesia's flag, which Monaco protested at Indonesia's independence, in a shorter 4:5 shape; the state flag the arms on a white field, flown at the Palace when the Prince is in residence.Flag of Monaco |
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| Coat of arms | A shield lozengy of red and white, the Grimaldi arms, within the collar of the Order of Saint Charles, held by two Franciscan friars brandishing swords — the disguise of the night of 1297 — under a crown and a red mantle lined with ermine, with the motto "Deo Juvante"; the arms of the House in use since the 1400s, fixed by the ordinance of 1881 |
| National anthem | "Hymne Monégasque" — "Inu Munegascu" — the music of the Marseillais Charles Albrecht of 1841, revised by Léon Jehin in 1867, the words of Louis Notari in Monégasque of 1931, "Despoei tugiù, sciü d'u nostru paise," from time immemorial over our country the flag has flown; the official version in Monégasque only |
| National motto | "Deo Juvante" |
| National colors | Red and white |
| Patron saint | Saint Devota — the Corsican martyr of the year 304 whose body, by the legend, was carried by a boat with a dove to the shore of Monaco, the feast of 27 January with the boat burned before the church of the Sainte-Dévote ravine, the Prince and the family lighting it; Saint Nicholas the cathedral's |
| National flower | The carnation — the red and white carnations of the Riviera; the roses of the Princess Grace garden; widely cited and unofficial |
| National animal | None official — the friars of the arms; the Mediterranean of the Oceanographic Museum, the Prince's cause |
| National dish | Barbagiuan — the fried pastry of Swiss chard, ricotta and rice of the Monégasque table, the "Uncle John" of the name, eaten on the national day; the fougasse monégasque of aniseed and orange water; the socca of chickpeas; the stocafi, the salt cod stew; the pissaladière of the coast; widely cited |
| National sport | Motor racing — the Grand Prix of the streets since 14 April 1929 and every year of Formula One since 1950, the Monte-Carlo Rally since 1911; football of AS Monaco in the French league, the champions eight times; the EuroLeague basketball of AS Monaco; the Herculis athletics; widely cited |
| Symbol status | The flag and the arms by the ordinance of 4 April 1881; the anthem by the ordinance of 1931; the patron saint by the tradition; the flower, animal, dishes and sports widely cited |
Geography
| Location | Western Europe on the French Riviera — the Mediterranean to the south and France on the three other sides, the department of the Alpes-Maritimes; Nice 13 km to the southwest, the Italian border at Ventimiglia 15 km east; a semi-enclave of France |
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| Land borders | 5.47 km (3.4 mi) with France, and only France — no posts, no controls since 1963, the towns of Beausoleil and Cap-d'Ail across the street; the maritime claim of 22 km |
| Coastline | 3.83 km (2.38 mi) — the shortest of any country with a coast; the two harbors of Port Hercules and Fontvieille, the beach of Larvotto, the seawall and the fill of the reclaimed quarters; the marine reserve of Larvotto of 1976, one of the first in the world |
| Highest point | 164 m (539 ft) — the access to a residential building on the Chemin des Révoires in the Jardin Exotique quarter; the Tête de Chien of 550 m above it on the French side |
| Lowest point | The Mediterranean, 0 m |
| Mean elevation | About 60 m (200 ft) — the state on a slope from the mountain to the sea |
| Rivers and lakes | None of size — the Saint-Jean brook of 190 m the longest stream, the Sainte-Dévote ravine the valley of the old torrent, the pond of the Fontvieille park of half a hectare the only lake; the water from France |
| Terrain | A narrow shelf of Jurassic limestone between the cliffs of the Alpes-Maritimes and the sea, 1,700 m wide at most and 349 m at least — the Rock of Monaco-Ville, a headland 60 m high, the Spélugues hill of Monte Carlo, the slopes of the Moneghetti and the Jardin Exotique cut into terraces; the Grotte de l'Observatoire in the rock, open since 1946; the fill of Fontvieille, the Larvotto seafront and Le Portier, a fifth of the country made of the sea |
| Climate | Mediterranean — dry warm summers held under 30°C by the sea breeze and mild wet winters with 744 mm of rain, most of it from September to December; 2,575 hours of sun a year; a frost or a snowfall once a decade, the snow of 27 February 2018 |
| Natural hazards | The storms of the autumn — the flood of the Sainte-Dévote ravine; the Ligurian earthquake of 23 February 1887 that shook the Riviera; the sea's rise on the reclaimed land and the seawalls; the landslides of the slopes; the fires of the hills behind |
| Natural resources | None — the fish of the sea and the sun; the land itself the resource, sold by the square meter for more than anywhere on earth; all food, water and power imported from France |
| Land use | Built over almost entirely — the gardens of the Jardin Exotique, the Casino terraces, the Japanese Garden of 1994 and the Princess Grace rose garden; no farm |
| Protected areas | The Larvotto marine reserve of 1976 and the Spélugues coral reserve of 1986; the Prince Albert II Foundation of 2006 for the seas, the poles and the water; the Oceanographic Museum of Albert I of 1910 on the Rock and its aquarium; the Pelagos sanctuary of the whales in the Ligurian Sea, 87,500 km², with France and Italy since 1999; the IAEA marine laboratories, the only marine lab of the UN system |
| UNESCO World Heritage | None — no site listed and none on the tentative list; the Oceanographic Museum and the Casino the monuments of the Belle Époque |
| Administrative divisions | One commune, the Municipality of Monaco, of nine quarters — Monaco-Ville, Monte Carlo, La Condamine, Fontvieille, Larvotto, the Jardin Exotique, La Rousse, Les Moneghetti and the reserved sector of the Sainte-Dévote ravine — the three communes of 1911 merged in 1917; 178 blocks for the statistics |
People
| Population | 38,857 (census of 2025); about 39,000 (2026 est.) |
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| Population density | About 18,500 per km² (48,000 per sq mi) — the highest of any country, 26,000 by the counts that use the smaller area |
| Population growth | About 1% a year — the newcomers of the residence permits, the births few; the room made by the fill and the towers |
| Median age | About 55 years — the oldest population in the world, a third of the residents over 65 |
| Life expectancy | About 86 years — the highest in the world by every count, near 90 by some, the doctors, the money and the sea |
| Fertility rate | About 1.5 births per woman |
| Urban population | 100% |
| Adult literacy | About 99% |
| Nationalities | Monégasque 24.1% — about 9,400 nationals, the citizenship by descent, by marriage or by the Prince's naturalization of a few dozen a year, the dual nationality barred; French 21.8%, who pay their taxes to France by the treaty of 1963; Italian 19.5%; British 7.6%; Swiss 3.1%; Russian 3.1%; Belgian 2.7%; German 2.5%; some 140 nationalities in all (2024); about a third of the residents millionaires, 12,000 of them, the highest share in the world |
| Languages | French by all; Italian by a fifth; English by the business, the yachts and the Formula One drivers; Monégasque, the Ligurian dialect of the fishermen, taught in every school since 1976 and spoken by the old families of the Rock, the language of the anthem |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 82.3%, the religion of the state under Article 9 of the Constitution, the archdiocese of 1981 with its cathedral of Saint Nicholas where the princes lie, Saint Devota's feast; other Christian 3.7%, the Anglican church of 1925, the Reformed church, the Orthodox; Jewish 1.7%, the synagogue of 1948 and the community of British and North African retirees; Muslim 0.4%; none 11.7% (survey of 2012); the Pope's visit of 28 March 2026, the first since John Paul II |
| Human Development Index | Not ranked — UNDP publishes no index for Monaco; the World Bank's income per head the highest on earth |
| The Prince's family | Albert II, born 14 March 1958, the son of Rainier III and the actress Grace Kelly, married to Charlene Wittstock of South Africa, the Olympic swimmer, on 1–2 July 2011; the twins of 10 December 2014, Hereditary Prince Jacques, the heir under the male-preference law, and Princess Gabriella, born two minutes earlier; the two children born before the marriage, Jazmin Grace and Alexandre, outside the succession; Princess Caroline of Hanover and Princess Stéphanie, the Prince's sisters; Grace Kelly's death on the Corniche of 14 September 1982 |
| Sport | The Grand Prix of the streets of 3.3 km, the slowest and the most famous of Formula One, run 14 April 1929 and every year of the championship since 1950, Ayrton Senna's six wins, Charles Leclerc of Monaco's win of 2024, the race of 7 June 2026; the Monte-Carlo Rally of January since 1911; AS Monaco, the club of Rainier's stadium of 1985, the French champions of eight titles and the Champions League finalists of 2004, Mbappé's club; the Roca Team of the EuroLeague; the Herculis of the Diamond League; the Monaco Marathon through three countries; the Olympics since 1920 without a medal; the Vuelta's departure from Monaco in August 2026 |
| The cross-border workers | About 48,000 who come each day from France and Italy to the 55,000 jobs of the principality, the trains and the buses of the morning from Nice, Menton and Ventimiglia, more than the population of the state; the unemployment of 2% among the residents |
Government
| Form of government | Constitutional monarchy under the Constitution of 1962 — the Sovereign Prince the head of state with the executive power, exercising it through the Minister of State and the Council of Government he appoints and sharing the legislative power with the National Council, whose vote every law needs; the Supreme Court; the judges appointed by the Prince, the senior ones French magistrates; Freedom House's "free" with the points taken for the unelected heads of state and government |
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| Sovereign Prince | Albert II, since 6 April 2005 — the fourteenth Prince of Monaco of the House of Grimaldi, the thirty-second ruler since 1297; born 14 March 1958 at the Palace, an Amherst College graduate, a bobsledder of five Winter Olympics from 1988 to 2002, the regent of 31 March 2005 in his father's last days, enthroned 12 July 2005 and installed 18 November 2005; the environmentalist of the Foundation of 2006, the IOC member since 1985; the apology of 27 August 2015 for the deportation of the Jews of 1942–44; Hereditary Prince Jacques, born 2014, the heir |
| Minister of State | Christophe Mirmand, since 21 July 2025 — the 26th head of government since the office was made in 1911; born 22 July 1961 at Constantine in Algeria, a French prefect of the ENA, the secretary-general of the interior ministry of 2018–20 and the prefect of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, the chief of staff of the overseas minister in 2025; appointed by the Prince after the consultation with the French government the Constitution requires, succeeding Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, the foreign minister who acted from 10 January to 21 July 2025 after Didier Guillaume, the former French agriculture minister named in September 2024, died in office on 17 January 2025; "a year of action, a year of achievements," his New Year address of 16 January 2026 — the Fontvieille shopping center rebuilt, the industrial estate, the public broadcaster merged, the grey lists left |
| The Council of Government | The Minister of State and five Government Councillor-Ministers — Isabelle Berro-Amadeï at foreign affairs and cooperation since 2022, the first Monégasque woman in the office, Pierre-André Chiappori at finance and the economy since 2024, the councilors for the interior, for social affairs and health, and for public works, the environment and urban planning; the Crown Council of seven; the Council of State of twelve |
| The 2023 election | Held 5 February 2023 for the 24 seats of the National Council — the Monegasque National Union of Brigitte Boccone-Pagès and Stéphane Valeri all 24 with 67% of the vote, its rival list "Une nouvelle ère" none; turnout 51% of the 7,600 voters, the Monégasque nationals alone; Thomas Brezzo the president of the Council since 2024; the electorate about a fifth of the residents |
| Parliament | The National Council — Conseil National — 24 members elected for five years by the nationals of 18 and over, 16 by the majority vote and 8 by proportional representation, since the reform of 2002; the Council votes the laws and the budget the government presents and may propose bills the government must answer; the Monegasque National Union all 24 seats; the lopsided seats of the system — 20 of 24 on half the vote in 2013 |
| The next election | The National Council in February 2028; the Communal Council in 2027 |
| The grey list | The Financial Action Task Force placed Monaco on its list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring — the "grey list" — on 28 June 2024 at Singapore, after Moneyval's report of January 2023 found the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing effective in too little, the tax fraud of foreigners laundered through the banks and the property its charge; the action plan to January 2026, the new Financial Security Authority, the magistrates over it, the strategy of 2025–27, the fines of €6 million on UBS and of two other banks; the two progress reports adopted by the FATF in 2025, "largely addressed," the on-site visit of June 2026; the European Union's high-risk list of 10 June 2025 that follows the FATF's; the exit expected at the plenary of Paris of 30 October 2026 with Bulgaria and Ivory Coast, Bloomberg reported on 16 September 2026 from people familiar with the deliberations, "no final decisions have been made"; "the grey list is not good news," the finance minister said in 2024, "not a tax haven of the classic kind," the government has always said |
| France | The treaties of 1861, 1918, 1963 and 2002 — France the guarantor of the state's defense and its independence, the customs union and the French customs law in Monaco, the French magistrates of the courts, the police under a French officer, the Minister of State chosen in consultation with Paris; the blockade of 1962–63 when de Gaulle demanded the taxation of the French residents and got it by the convention of 18 May 1963; the treaty of 24 October 2002 that ended the clause returning Monaco to France without a Grimaldi heir; the French of the daily commute |
| The European Union | Not a member — the euro by the monetary agreement, the Schengen area by the open border with France, the customs territory and the VAT area as part of France, the single market in part; the association agreement negotiated with Andorra and San Marino since 2015, the talks with Monaco suspended by the Commission in 2023 over the free movement of labor and the financial services and the door left open; the Council of Europe since 5 October 2004 and its Committee of Ministers chaired by Monaco for the first time from 15 May 2026 for six months, Berro-Amadeï in the chair |
| Legal system | French civil law — the codes of Monaco of 1880 on the French model; the courts of first instance and appeal with French magistrates on loan, the Supreme Court of 1962 for the Constitution and the administration; the death penalty abolished 17 December 1962, the last execution in 1847; the Monaco Financial Security Authority of 2024; the prison of the Rock, its inmates sent to France for the long terms; the Pastor family and Sécheresse affairs of the courts |
| Local government | The Communal Council of 14, elected for four years by the nationals, and the Mayor it elects — Georges Marsan since 2003; the town hall of Monaco-Ville; the civil registry, the markets, the gardens and the crèches its business, the state the rest |
| Defense | France by the treaties — no army, no navy, no air force; the Compagnie des Carabiniers du Prince of 116 men of 1817, the guard of the Palace and the Prince, and the Sapeurs-Pompiers of 130 the whole of the forces; the Public Security police of 515 for 39,000 people, the largest force per head in the world and the cameras of every street, the reason for a crime rate near nothing; the Prince the commander in chief |
| Foreign policy | France, Italy and the Holy See, the three embassies in the principality; the embassies of Monaco in ten capitals and the consuls of 130 countries; the United Nations of 1993, the Council of Europe of 2004 and its presidency of 2026; the diplomatic relations established with the Federated States of Micronesia in 2025; the ocean as the cause, the Monaco Ocean Week and the Prince's Foundation; the neutrality of the wars and the sanctions of the European Union applied to the Russian residents since 2022 |
| United Nations | Member since 28 May 1993, the 183rd; the ambassador the Prince's cousin; the UN Ocean Conference co-hosted with Costa Rica at Nice in June 2025; the IAEA laboratories on the quay since 1961 |
| Other memberships | The Council of Europe (2004); the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie; UNESCO; the IOC, the Prince a member since 1985; the International Hydrographic Organization seated in Monaco since 1921, the mapper of the seas; the WHO; Interpol; not the WTO, not the IMF, not NATO |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$10 billion (2024, IMF) — about €9.8 billion by IMSEE's count |
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| GDP per capita | About US$270,000 by the UN's count and US$315,000 by the IMF's that divides by the residents alone — the highest of any country in the world, the 48,000 commuters who make much of it not counted |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$130,000 to 270,000 by the count — the highest |
| GDP growth | About 4% a year on average since 2010, the fall of 2020 and the rebound; inflation the French; unemployment about 2%; no public debt, the Constitutional Reserve Fund of about €8 billion; the budget of about €2.5 billion in surplus year after year |
| Economy by sector | Services about 90% — the finance, the property, the hotels and the shops; industry about 10%, the Fontvieille estate of the cosmetics, the pharmaceuticals and the plastics; agriculture none |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| The Casino and the SBM | The Société des Bains de Mer of 1863, the company of the Casino of Monte Carlo of 1863 and the Garnier building of 1878, the Hôtel de Paris, the Hermitage, the Opera and the Sporting, the state its majority owner since 1966 and its largest employer; the casino that paid the abolition of the income tax in 1869 and now brings a small share of the revenue, the Monégasques barred from its tables since 1869; the gambling about 3% of the economy |
| Banking and the finance | About 30 banks and the wealth managers with some €150 billion under management — Barclays, CMB, Edmond de Rothschild, UBS, Julius Baer and the rest, the private banking of the residents; the fund and the family offices; the FATF's grey list of 2024 and the fines of 2026; the tax: no income tax on individuals since 1869 except the French, no capital gains tax, no wealth tax, the VAT of 20% and the corporate tax of 25% on the companies with a quarter of their turnover abroad, the inheritance tax of 0 to 16% by the kinship; the OECD's white list since 2009 and the 30 tax-information treaties |
| Property | The most expensive real estate on earth — about €52,000 per square meter on average and €100,000 at the top, the Odeon Tower penthouse of 2016 valued at US$335 million, the largest apartment for sale in the world; the state the landlord of the nationals' subsidized flats; the towers of Fontvieille and Larvotto and the fill of Le Portier of 2024, 6 hectares and €2 billion, the Mareterra district of Renzo Piano; the Fontvieille extension of 8 hectares planned; the pressure of the demand on the last villas of the Belle Époque |
| Tourism | About 350,000 hotel arrivals a year and the day-trippers of millions — the Grand Prix, the Monaco Yacht Show of September, the largest of the superyachts, the Rolex Masters of tennis across the border, the Circus Festival of January, the Television Festival; the cruise ships at Port Hercules; the hotels of the Belle Époque and the Monte-Carlo Bay; the state's tourism office |
| Industry | The Fontvieille industrial estate of the 1970s — Mecaplast's car parts, the Laboratoires of the pharmacy, the Biotherm of the cosmetics of 1952, the Monaco Telecom of the state; the shipping of the yacht registry; the satellite of Orbital Solutions of 2020; the Fontvieille estate to be rebuilt, the Minister of State's project of 2026 |
| Public finances | The budget of about €2.5 billion, the VAT its largest source, the property sales and the state's companies the rest; no debt, the reserve fund of about €8 billion; the social insurance of the employers' 35% and the employees' 13%; the state that owns the SBM, the Telecom, the port and the housing of the nationals |
| Income classification | High income (World Bank) — the highest income per head on earth |
Transport & infrastructure
| Airport | None — Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, 30 km west, the second airport of France, reached by the helicopter of the Monaco Heliport at Fontvieille in seven minutes, the busiest heliport in the world by some counts, or by the coast road and the train in 40 minutes |
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| Airline | None — Monacair of the helicopters; the private jets of the residents at Nice |
| Ports | Port Hercules of La Condamine, the harbor of the Greeks and the Romans, 700 berths, the cruise pier of 2002 and the superyachts of the Yacht Show; Port Fontvieille of 275 berths; the yacht registry; the ferries none |
| Railways | The Monaco–Monte-Carlo station of the French SNCF on the Marseille–Ventimiglia line, rebuilt underground and opened in 1999 with the old line's ground given to the city — the TER trains to Nice, Menton and Ventimiglia every half hour, the TGV to Paris in six hours; the only station; 1.7 km of the line in the tunnel under the state |
| Roads | About 77 km (48 mi) — the boulevards of the Grand Prix circuit, the tunnel under the Fairmont, the Moyenne Corniche above; the buses of the Compagnie des Autobus de Monaco on six lines; the public lifts and escalators of the slopes, 78 of them, the pedestrians' transport; the cars of the residents and the jams of the commute; the driving on the right |
| The circuit | The Circuit de Monaco of 3.337 km through the streets from the Sainte-Dévote corner up to the Casino and down through the tunnel to the harbor chicane and La Rascasse — the slowest circuit of Formula One and the one every driver wants to win, the barriers built and taken down in six weeks each spring |
History in dates
| c. 500 BC | The Greeks of Marseille — Monoikos, the temple of Heracles |
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| 122 BC | The Romans — Portus Herculis Monoeci |
| 1191 | Emperor Henry VI grants Monaco to Genoa |
| 1215 | The Genoese fortress on the Rock |
| 1297 | François Grimaldi takes the Rock, 8 January — the friars' disguise |
| 1419 | The Grimaldis buy Monaco — the rule secured |
| 1612 | Honoré II the first Prince |
| 1641 | The Treaty of Péronne, 14 September — France's protection |
| 1793 | France annexes the principality |
| 1814 | The Grimaldis restored, 17 May |
| 1815 | The Sardinian protectorate — the Congress of Vienna |
| 1848 | Menton and Roquebrune revolt |
| 1861 | The treaty with France, 2 February — Menton and Roquebrune sold for 4 million francs |
| 1863 | The Casino and the SBM — François Blanc |
| 1866 | Monte Carlo named for Charles III; the railway, 1868 |
| 1869 | The income tax abolished |
| 1878 | Garnier's Casino |
| 1910 | The Monégasque Revolution; the Constitution, 5 January 1911 |
| 1918 | The treaty with France, 17 July |
| 1929 | The first Grand Prix, 14 April |
| 1943 | The Italian, then the German occupation — the Jews deported |
| 1949 | Rainier III, 9 May |
| 1956 | Rainier marries Grace Kelly, 19 April |
| 1962 | The Constitution, 17 December |
| 1963 | De Gaulle's blockade; the tax convention, 18 May |
| 1982 | Princess Grace dies, 14 September |
| 1993 | The United Nations, 28 May |
| 2002 | The euro, 1 January; the succession treaty, 24 October |
| 2004 | The Council of Europe, 5 October |
| 2005 | Rainier dies, 6 April — Albert II; enthroned, 12 July |
| 2011 | Albert marries Charlene, 1–2 July |
| 2014 | The twins Jacques and Gabriella, 10 December |
| 2015 | The apology for the deportations, 27 August |
| 2023 | The election, 5 February; the Moneyval report |
| 2024 | The grey list, 28 June; Le Portier opens, December |
| 2025 | Guillaume dies in office, 17 January; Mirmand, 21 July |
| 2026 | The New Year address, 16 January; the Pope, 28 March; the Council of Europe chair, 15 May; the Vuelta, August; the grey-list exit expected, 30 October |
Records & firsts
| The second-smallest country | 2.08 km² |
|---|---|
| The most densely peopled country | About 18,500 per km² |
| The highest income per head on earth | About US$270,000 |
| The highest life expectancy | About 86 years and more |
| The oldest population | A median age of about 55 |
| The most millionaires per head | About a third of the residents |
| The most expensive property | About €52,000 per square meter |
| The shortest coastline of any coastal state | 3.83 km |
| No income tax | Since 1869 |
| The largest police force per head | 515 for 39,000 |
| A fifth of the country made of the sea | Since 1861 |
| The Grimaldis on the Rock | Since 8 January 1297 |
| The slowest race of Formula One | The Grand Prix, since 1929 |
| The first Council of Europe chair | 15 May 2026 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Monaco?
The Principality of Monaco — Principauté de Monaco in French, Prinçipatu de Mu̍negu in the Monégasque dialect — the city-state on the Riviera that the Genoese family of the Grimaldis seized on the night of 8 January 1297, when François Grimaldi and his men entered the fortress on the Rock disguised as Franciscan friars, and have ruled with interruptions since; a principality since Honoré II took the title in 1612, a state whose sovereignty France recognized by the treaty of 1861 and a member of the United Nations since 1993. The name is ancient: Monoikos, the "single house" of the Greeks' temple of Heracles Monoikos on the headland, the Ligurian town of the sixth century BC.
What is the capital of Monaco?
Monaco has no capital — it is a single city and a single commune, the state and the town the same thing, governed from the Prince's Palace on the Rock, Monaco-Ville, the old fortress town of narrow streets where the government offices, the cathedral of Saint Nicholas and the Oceanographic Museum stand on the promontory above the two harbors. Monte Carlo, named for Prince Charles III in 1866, is the quarter of the Casino, the Opera and the Hôtel de Paris and the largest by population; La Condamine is the harbor quarter of Port Hercules, Fontvieille the district built on the sea in the 1970s, Larvotto the beach quarter with the new Le Portier of 2024; the whole is 2 km long.
How big is Monaco, and how many people live there?
About 2.08 km² (0.80 sq mi) — 208 hectares, smaller than New York's Central Park, the second-smallest country in the world after the Vatican — a strip of coast 3.8 km long and never more than 1.7 km wide, wedged into France 13 km east of Nice and 15 km from the Italian border, a fifth of it land taken from the sea since 1861. The census of 2025 counted 38,857 people, of whom 24 percent are Monégasque nationals, 22 percent French, 20 percent Italian and 8 percent British; at some 18,500 to the square kilometer it is the most densely peopled country on earth, and with a median age of about 55 the oldest. Another 48,000 cross the border from France and Italy to work each day.
What are the highest and lowest points of Monaco?
The doorstep of a residential building on the Chemin des Révoires in the Jardin Exotique quarter, 164 m (539 ft) above the sea on the slope of the Tête de Chien, the mountain of the French side that rises to 550 m behind the state; and the Mediterranean. The country has no river worth the name — the Saint-Jean brook of 190 m is the longest — and no lake but the pond of the Fontvieille park; it is a limestone slope from the mountain to the sea, the Rock of Monaco-Ville jutting 60 m above the water, and the towers of the quarters built on the terraces and on the fill.
What currency does Monaco use?
The euro (ISO code EUR, €), since 1 January 2002, by an agreement with the European Union that lets Monaco, outside the Union, use the currency and strike euro coins with the Prince's effigy for the collectors; the Monégasque franc, at par with the French franc since 1837, was the money before. Clocks keep Central European Time, UTC+1, with summer time; Monaco drives on the right, on the French side of the road, and its border with France has no controls.
Who governs Monaco?
Prince Albert II, the sovereign since 6 April 2005 on the death of his father Rainier III, the head of state of a constitutional monarchy in which the prince still holds the executive power and shares the making of laws with the elected National Council; and the Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, the French prefect whom the prince appointed on 21 July 2025 in consultation with Paris, as the Constitution provides, to head the government of six after Didier Guillaume died in office in January 2025. The 24 seats of the National Council all belong to the Monegasque National Union since the election of February 2023; the next is due in February 2028. The great question of the year is the country's exit from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, on which it was placed in June 2024 and from which it expects to be removed at the end of October 2026.
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