Moving to Monaco: visas, cost of living & immigrant guide

Population

39,000

Population - note

note: immigrants make up more than 55% of the total population, according to UN data

Urban Population

100.000000

6 facts — expand for details.

Age Structure

11.080000

Median Age

50.500000

Birth Rate - births/1,000 population

7

Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population

8.75

Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman

1.51

Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female

1.040000

Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population

1.93

Ethnic Groups

French 47%, Monegasque 16%, Italian 16%, other 21%

Nationality Noun

Monegasque(s) or Monacan(s)

6 facts — expand for details.

Literacy - total population

99%

Literacy - male

99%

Literacy - female

99%

Literacy Definition

NA

Education Expenditures - percent of GDP

1.6%

Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)

0.000000

8 facts — expand for details.

Life Expectancy at Birth

89.630000

Infant Mortality Rate

1.810000

Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births

1.810000

Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population

7.06

Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population

16.5

Health Expenditures - percent of GDP

4.3%

Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved

100.000000

Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved

100.000000

4 facts — expand for details.

Economic Overview

Monaco, bordering France on the Mediterranean coast, is a popular resort, attracting tourists to its casino and pleasant climate.

The principality also is a banking center and has successfully sought to diversify into services and small, high-value-added, nonpolluting industries.

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.

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.

Monaco, however, is not a tax-free shelter; it charges nearly 20% value-added tax, collects stamp duties, and companies face a 33% tax on profits unless they can show that three-quarters of profits are generated within the principality.

Monaco was formally removed from the OECD's "grey list" of uncooperative tax jurisdictions in late 2009, but continues to face international pressure to abandon its banking secrecy laws and help combat tax evasion.

In October 2014, Monaco officially became the 84th jurisdiction participating in the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, an effort to combat offshore tax avoidance and evasion.

Monaco's reliance on tourism and banking for its economic growth has left it vulnerable to downturns in France and other European economies which are the principality's main trade partners.

In 2009, Monaco's GDP fell by 11.5% as the euro-zone crisis precipitated a sharp drop in tourism and retail activity and home sales.

A modest recovery ensued in 2010 and intensified in 2013, with GDP growth of more than 9%, but Monaco's economic prospects remain uncertain.

Industries

tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$78,700.00 (USD)

GDP - real growth rate

9.3%

6 facts — expand for details.

GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP)

$7,672,000,000 (USD)

GDP Per Capita

$78,700.00 (USD)

GDP - real growth rate

9.3%

GDP - official exchange rate

$6,063,000,000 (USD)

GDP by Sector- Industry

14%

GDP by Sector- services

86%

4 facts — expand for details.

Inflation Rate

1.9%

Exchange Rate per US Dollar

euro (EUR)

Currency Name and Code

Euro (EUR)

Fiscal Year

calendar year

Labor Force

44,000

Major Industries

tourism, construction, small-scale industrial and consumer products

Agriculture Products

none

2 facts — expand for details.

Labor Force By Occupation- industry

16.1%

Labor Force By Occupation- services

83.9%

Annual Budget

$863,000,000 (USD)

Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP

-1.2%

Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP

18.2%

7 facts — expand for details.

Full Country Name

Principality of Monaco

Country Name

Monaco

Local - Long

Principaute de Monaco

Local - Short

Monaco

Etymology- history of name

founded as a Greek colony in the 6th century B.C., the name derives from two Greek words "monos" (single, alone) and "oikos" (house) to convey the sense of a people "living apart" or in a "single habitation"

Independence

1419 (beginning of permanent rule by the House of GRIMALDI)

National Holiday

National Day (Saint Rainier's Day), 19 November (1857)

10 facts — expand for details.

Government Type

constitutional monarchy

Constitution

• history: previous 1911 (suspended 1959); latest adopted 17 December 1962
• amendments: proposed by joint agreement of the chief of state (the prince) and the National Council; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of National Council members; amended 2002

Legal System:

civil law system influenced by French legal tradition

Executive Branch:

• chief of state: Prince ALBERT II (since 6 April 2005)
• head of government: Minister of State Christophe MIRMAND (since 21 July 2025)
• cabinet: Council of Government under the authority of the monarch election/appointment
• process: the monarchy is hereditary; minister of state appointed by the monarch from a list of three French national candidates presented by the French Government

Legislative Branch:

• Description: unicameral National Council or Conseil National (24 seats; 16 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 8 directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
• Elections: last held on 5 February 2023 (next to be held in February 2028)
• Election Results: percent of vote by coalition - Monegasque National Union 100%; seats by coalition - Monegasque National Union 24;
• Composition: men 13, women 11, percent of women 45.8%

Judicial Branch:

• office: Supreme Court members appointed by the monarch upon the proposals of the National Council, State Council, Crown Council, Court of Appeal, and Trial Court
• subordinate courts: Court of Appeal; Civil Court of First Instance

Regions or States:

none; there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 quarters (quartiers, singular - quartier); Fontvieille, La Condamine, Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo; note - Moneghetti, a part of La Condamine, is sometimes called the 5th quarter of Monaco

Political Parties and Leaders:

• Monegasque National Union [Brigitte BOCCONE-PAGES] (includes Horizon Monaco, Primo!, Union Monegasque)
• Horizon Monaco [Laurent NOUVION]
• Priorite Monaco or Primo! [Stephane VALERI]
• Union Monegasque [Jean-Francois ROBILLON]

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Citizenship Criteria:

• birth: no citizenship by descent
• only: the father must be a citizen of Monaco; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen and father unknown dual citizenship
• recognized: no residency requirement for
• naturalization: 10 years

4 facts — expand for details.

Capital Name

Monaco

Capital - geographic coordinate

43 44 N, 7 25 E

Capital Time Difference

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Daylight Savings Time

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

4 facts — expand for details.

International Organization Participation:

• CD
• CE
• FAO
• IAEA
• ICAO
• ICC (national committees)
• ICRM
• IFRCS
• IHO
• IMO
• IMSO
• Interpol
• IOC
• IPU
• ITSO
• ITU
• OAS (observer)
• OIF
• OPCW
• OSCE
• Schengen Convention (de facto member)
• UN
• UNCTAD
• UNESCO
• UNIDO
• Union Latina
• UNWTO
• UPU
• WHO
• WIPO
• WMO

International Law Organization Participation:

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Diplomatic Representation from US:

• Embassy: US does not have an embassy in Monaco; the US Ambassador to France is accredited to Monaco; the US Consul General in Marseille (France), under the authority of the US Ambassador to France, handles diplomatic and consular matters concerning Monaco; +(33)(1) 43-12-22-22, enter zero "0" after the automated greeting; US Embassy Paris, 2 Avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris, France

Diplomatic Representation in the US:

• Chief of Mission: Ambassador Maguy MACCARIO-DOYLE (since 3 December 2013)
• Chancery: 888 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
• Telephone: [1] (202) 234-1530
• FAX: [1] (202) 244-7656
• Email: info@monacodc.org
• Website: https://monacodc.org/index.html
• Consulate(s) General: New York

7 facts — expand for details.

Geographic Location

Europe

Geographic Coordinates

43 44 N, 7 24 E

Total Area

1 Square Miles 2 Square Kilometers

Land Area

1 Square Miles 2 Square Kilometers

Land Boundaries

3 Miles 4 Kilometers

Border Countries

France 4.4 km

Coastline

3 Miles 4 Kilometers

5 facts — expand for details.

Terrain

hilly, rugged, rocky

Highest Point

140 Meters

Highest Point Location

Mont Agel 140 m

Lowest Point Location

Mediterranean Sea 0 m

Natural Resources

none

Time Zone

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Daylight saving time

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

5 facts — expand for details.

Climate

Mediterranean with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers

Terrain

hilly, rugged, rocky

Location

Western Europe, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of France, near the border with Italy

Total Area

1 Square Miles 2 Square Kilometers

Border Countries

France 4.4 km

Environment - Current Issues

party to treaties: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

Environment - International Agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

4 facts — expand for details.

Exports

$716,300,000 (USD)

Imports

$916,100,000 (USD)

Exports - note

full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties

also participates in EU market system through customs union with France

Imports - note

full customs integration with France, which collects and rebates Monegasque trade duties

also participates in EU market system through customs union with France

Heliports

1

Roadways- total

48 Miles 77 Kilometers

Ports and Terminals

Monaco

7 facts — expand for details.

Telephones

35,400

Cell Phones

17,200

Internet Users

20,000

Internet Country Code

.mc

Internet Hosts

23,621

Broadcast Media

• TV Monte-Carlo (TMC) operates a TV network
• cable TV available
• Radio Monte-Carlo has extensive radio networks in France and Italy with French-language broadcasts to France beginning in the 1960s and Italian-language broadcasts to Italy beginning in the 1970s
• other radio stations include Riviera Radio and Radio Monaco

Telephone System

• assessment: modern automatic telephone system; the country's sole fixed line operator offers a full range of services to residential and business customers
• domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 200 per 100 persons
• international: country code - 377; no satellite earth stations; connected by cable into the French communications system

Anthem Lyrics

Principauté Monaco, ma patrie, O combien Dieu est prodigue pour toi, Ciel toujours pur, rives toujours fleuries Ton souvérain est plus aimé qu'un roi. Ton souvérain est plus aimé qu'un roi.