Montenegro
Montenegro is the smallest non-EU member state in Central Eastern Europe and an EU candidate state since 2012. The economy of Montenegro is a service-based upper middle-income economy with focus on tourism and real estate sectors. The average growth of Montenegro’s GDP in the last five years was 5% per year. Montenegro is a parliamentary democratic republic with a proportional electoral system. Legislative power is vested in the national parliament and the government. Official language is Montenegrin, a normative variety of Serbian and/or Croatian language.
Healthcare budget
$0.3 billion
Inhabitants
0.6 million
GDP per capita
$9.418
Currency
EUR
World Ranking
GDP 152nd
Montenegro healthcare
The Ministry of Health in Montenegro guides a National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Contributions of employers and employees entitle citizens to fully reimbursed health care. This program covers most medical services.
Private health insurance exists in supplementary form but is not integrated in the fully public national healthcare system. Quality of services is ranked 23rd in the Euro Health Consumer Index (2019),
Healthcare spending in Montenegro is below EU average, at approx. 6% of GDP (vs. EU average of 9.8%).
Montenegro’s Pharmaceutical environment:
Montenegro is the smallest pharmaceutical market in Central Eastern Europe, demonstrating growth over recent years. In 2020 it was approximately 85 million EUR, with three local companies, mostly in the role of wholesalers, having 70 % market share (Montefarm, Glosariji and Farmegra). Generic medicines are dominating the market.
Access to innovative medicines and orphan drugs is mostly obtained in neighboring countries, Croatia, and Serbia.
Today challenges:
Expected life at birth is 77 years (2019), a 4-year increase since 2000, but is still 4 years below the EU-27 average (81 years).
The healthcare budget is under pressure due to the ageing population, increased use of medicines and slow, but steady introduction of new medicines.
Overweight to obesity is present in approximately one quarter of adults (vs.12% world avg.), smoking is one of the nation’s main healthcare hazards, with 36% of adults being smokers.
The number of physicians in Montenegro is 1 400. There is only one tertiary center at the capitol Podgorica.
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