Montenegro citizens mostly choose to live in Podgorica or in the coast, the survey conducted by CdM has shown. Of 580 respondents, 61.5% of them would like to live in the capital or some town in the coast, but some still chose a village over sea.
Miroslav DoderovicHowever, 47.4% of them would never move to the north of Montenegro, while only 16.2% would choose to live in that region.
Half of the total MNE population used to live in the north of the country, but after unsuccessful transitions and waves of emigration during the last few decades, that number dropped to a quarter, demographer Miroslav Doderovic said in CdM’s podcast ‘Civil Reporting’.
“Between the two censuses, the number of those living in the north decreased, as did the number of residents of Niksic and Cetinje. Cetinje is the only old royal capital that’s losing residents, and that’s a big handicap in the modern demographic story of Montenegro. The process of the population moving from the north towards Podgorica and the three coastal municipalities – Budva, Bar and Tivat – is becoming more and more popular. These municipalities are also winners in the transition process because the population is constantly moving to them, and the number of built apartments is also growing,” Mr Doderovic notes.
However, he adds, the trend of population decline doesn’t apply to all municipalities in the north, citing Rozaje as a positive example.
“Between the two censuses in Montenegro, the number of Rozaje residents increased from 22.964 to 25.247, while nearly 1.800 apartments were built in that same period almost, so this town deviates from the story that the north is emptying,” he explains.
The biggest problem, he adds, is that mostly young people in their prime working years are emigrating. According to him, another worrying fact is that more and more entire families are moving.
Sustainable solutions to the regional development would be very much needed, he concludes.
