Podgorica is the capital and largest city of Montenegro. According to 2011 census, the population of Podgorica city proper is 150,799, while Podgorica Capital City (analogous to metropolitan area, and similar to opština/municipality subdivision in the rest of Montenegro) has a population of 185,937.
Historical population
Households
Dwellings
Ethnicity
Ethnicity (2011 census)City proper Percentage (CP)Metro areaPercentage (MA) Montenegrins 90,970 60,25% 106,642 57,34% Serbs 36,207 23,98% 43,248 23,25% Romani 3,864 2,56% 3,988 2,14% Ethnic Muslims 3,393 2,25% 4,122 2,22% Bosniaks 2,630 1,74% 3,687 1,98% Albanians 1,477 0,98% 9,538 5,13% Croats 614 0,41% 664 0,36% Undeclared 7,292 4,83% 8,892 4,78% Other 4,530 3% 5,156 2,77%
Religion
Religion (2011 census)City proper Percentage (CP)Metro areaPercentage (MA) Eastern Orthodoxy 122,969 81,45% 145,575 78,29% Islam 14,962 9,91% 20,883 11,23% Catholicism 2,735 1,81% 7,947 4,27% Atheist 3,554 2,35% 3,698 1,99% Other 6,757 4,48% 7,834 4,21%
Population by subdivision Settlements in Montenegro are organized into subdivisions known as Mjesna zajednica, or "local communities," which represent the smallest territorial units in the country. Despite their significance, the Montenegrin Statistical Office does not publish data specific to these local communities. In contrast, the administration of Podgorica Capital City has categorized the city into planning zones (planske cjeline) for internal purposes, accompanied by population statistics derived from the 2011 census. These planning zones do not align with local communities or traditional Podgorica neighborhoods but are illustrative of distribution of Podgorica population.
Discrepancies between data from the Capital City documents and the Montenegrin Statistical Office may arise from differences in definitions, the scope of the city proper, or the inclusion of preliminary data from the 2011 census. Planning zonePopulation Area (km2)Density (per km2)HouseholdsDwellings Nova Varoš 11,625 3,13 3,714 3,912 4,881 Novi Grad 26,413 5,88 4,492 9,192 11,987 Stara Varoš - Zabjelo 35,664 7,79 4,578 11,927 14,593 Konik 29,939 9,55 3,135 8,526 9,660 Masline 7,776 4,86 1,600 2,143 2,467 Zagorič 16,816 6,1 2,757 5,091 6,015 Rogami 1,760 2,96 595 536 662 Tološi 15,079 9,2 1,639 4,534 5,493 Donja Gorica 5,244 9,4 558 1,503 1,707 Dajbabe - Ćemovsko polje 2,286 26 88 648 755 Podgorica city proper 152,602 84,87 1,798 48,012 58,220
Settlements of Metro area The Capital City of Podgorica comprises 141 settlements, with three designated as urban by the Montenegrin Statistical Office—Podgorica city proper, Golubovci and Tuzi—while the rest exhibit rural characteristics. Golubovci and Tuzi serve as central hubs for their respective sub-municipalities (gradske opštine), covering a significant portion of the southern and southeastern areas of Podgorica Capital City, extending from Podgorica city proper to Skadar Lake. The Golubovci sub-municipality has a population of 16,093, while Tuzi sub-municipality is home to 12,096 residents.
Below is a list of settlements with populations exceeding 500 residents: SettlementPopulation Podgorica 150,977 Tuzi 4,748 Golubovci 3,110 Mojanovići 2,593 Goričani 1,462 Mahala 1,346 Mataguži 1,292 Donji Kokoti 1,073 Balabani 1,014 Vranj 1,012 Srpska 880 Bijelo Polje 823 Gornji Milješ 742 Botun 697 Sukuruć 661 Grbavci 575 Beri 556 Donji Milješ 512 Dinoša 500
Most of the larger settlements are part of continuous rural sprawl around the towns of Golubovci and Tuzi in the Zeta Plain, located in the southern part of Podgorica Capital City. In contrast, the northern section of the Capital City area is characterized by mountainous terrain and sparse population.
The commuter belt of Podgorica extends beyond the city itself, reaching into the municipalities of Danilovgrad, Cetinje, Bar and Nikšić. Coupled with Podgorica's role as the primate city of Montenegro—serving as the focal point for national administrative, healthcare, educational, and economic activities—the daily population is likely considerably higher than the officially recorded resident population.
References