Northern Montenegro () is one of three statistical regions in Montenegro. It encompasses the sparsely populated mountainous part of Montenegro. It is bordered by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast and central region of Montenegro to the south. It comprises thirteen municipalities and is the largest by area.

Municipalities

Northern Montenegro comprises thirteen municipalities. Municipalities in Northern Montenegro include: Andrijevica, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Gusinje, Kolašin, Mojkovac, Petnjica, Plav, Plužine, Pljevlja, Rožaje, Šavnik and Žabljak.

Demographics

The northern region of Montenegro is primarily rural, with a population that tends to be smaller and more dispersed compared to urban areas. It's known for its mountainous terrain, with towns and villages scattered throughout. The largest town by population is Pljevlja, while the largest municipality is Bijelo Polje. Demographically, it includes a mix of Serbs (40.5%), Bosniaks (30.9%), Montenegrins (19%), Albanians (2.2%) and other ethnic groups (7.4%).

Municipality Area Population (2023) Km² Rank Total Rank Andrijevica 283 12 3,978 10 Berane 544 6 25,162 3 Bijelo Polje 924 2 39,710 1 Gusinje 486 8 4,662 9 Kolašin 897 3 6,765 7 Mojkovac 367 11 6,824 6 Petnjica 173 13 5,552 8 Plav 486 7 10,378 5 Plužine 854 4 2,232 12 Pljevlja 1,346 1 24,542 4 Rožaje 432 10 25,247 2 Šavnik 553 5 1,588 13 Žabljak 445 9 3,002 11

Religion Majority of the population is identifying as Orthodox Christian, but also a significant portion are Muslims.

Administration

List of current mayors and local governments (3) (3) (2) (2) (1) (1) (1) MunicipalityCurrent MayorPartyLocal governmentElectedBijelo PoljePetar SmolovićDPSDPS-SD-SDP-BS2022PljevljaDario VranešNSDZBCG-DCG-PES!2022BeraneVuko TodorovićNSDZBCG-DCG-PBS-PCG-UCG2022RožajeRahman HusovićBSBS2022PlavNihad Canović SDSD-DPS-SDP-BS2022MojkovacVesko DelićNSDZBCG-DCG-SNP-URA2021Kolašin Petko BakićDCGDCG-ZBCG-PES!-SNP-URA-UCG2022PetnjicaErol MuratovićDPSDPS-SD-BS2021AndrijevicaŽeljko ĆulafićSNPSNP-ZBCG-DCG2020GusinjeSanel BalićBSBS-DUA-AA-SD-SDP-SNP2020ŽabljakRadoš Žugić DIDI-ZBCG-DCG-PCG2022PlužineSlobodan DelićSNPSNP2022ŠavnikJugoslav JakićDPSDPS-SD2022

Environment

National Parks There are three national parks in Northern Montenegro: Durmitor, Biogradska gora and Prokletije. Durmitor is part of World Heritage Site.

Name ImageLocationAreaEstablishedDurmitor (Žabljak, Šavnik, Plužine, Pljevlja and Mojkovac municipalities) 1952 Biogradska Gora (Kolašin, Mojkovac, Berane, and Andrijevica municipalities) 1952 Prokletije (Plav and Gusinje municipalities) 2009

Fauna

Within Montenegro, the largest concentration of large animals can be found within the north of the country.'Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment, 2010 (pg.11) These higher numbers can be attributed to the areas being mountainous and containing a virgin forest. Brown bears can be found within this area of Montenegro, living within Biogradska Gora national park.IUCN. 2017 There are estimated to be less than 130 individuals living in the wild.Lonely Planet. 2017 These bears are known to reach a weight of up to 200 kg and generally remain docile except for mating season.Lonely Planet. 2017

Other carnivores such as wolves and Balkan lynxes live in the virgin forest as well, remaining distant from urban areas, this excludes occasional issues occurring from wolves hunting livestock.Lonely Planet. 2017. The Balkan Lynx along with other European species of lynx, remains critically endangered and there have been efforts from environmental organisations to increase protection and prevent extinction of the species.UN Environment. 2018. Securing A Safe Haven for the Balkan Lynx. The Balkan lynx has an estimated population of between 40 and 70 individuals in the wild.

Among these larger carnivores is the golden jackal, wild dogs that retain a more slender build and lighter coat than wolves.Ljubljana, M. and Belgrade, D., 2020. Northern Montenegro has two predominant species of deer, these are the red deer and the roe deer.'Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment, 2010 (pg.11) Alongside these fauna in the mountains is the Balkan Chamois, a small mountain goat native to the Balkan mountain regions. Wilddocu.de. 2020. Balkan Chamois (Rupicapra Rupicapra Balcanica) Domesticated animals include large numbers of rabbits and livestock.A-z-animals.com. 2008. Animals in Montenegro

The Durmitor National Park is home to the Musor rock lizard and the sharp snouted lizard. Both species are native to Montenegro.'Ministry for Spatial Planning and Environment, 2010 (pg. 16)

See also Montenegro Coastal Montenegro Statistical regions of Montenegro Municipalities of Montenegro Geography of Montenegro National parks of Montenegro

References