Monaco
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monaco is the second smallest country in the world; about 34,000 people live there. It is located near south-eastern France, on the Mediterranean Sea. French is the most common language spoken in Monaco. The head of state is Prince Albert II; the government and the prince share power. Tourism is the main industry. People in Monaco pay no income tax.
Monte Carlo, famous for its casino, is in the north-east of the country. Monaco is famous for two car races: the Monte Carlo Rally and the Monaco Grand Prix.
A sovereign and independent state, the Principality of Monaco has borders on its landward side with several communes of the French Department of the Alpes-Maritimes; from west to east these are Cap d`Ail, la Turbie, Beausoleil and Roquebrune Cap Martin. Seawards, Monaco faces the Mediterranean.
The population of the Principality consists of 29,972 inhabitants, 5,070 of whom are Monégasques, 12,047 French and 5,000 Italian (according to the last official census in 1990).
Its surface area is 195 hectares, of which nearly 40 were recovered from the sea during the course of the last twenty years.
It lies in a narrow coastal strip which sometimes rises vertically upwards with its highest point at 163 meters. Its width varies between 1050 meters and a mere 350 meters. Its coastline is 4100 meters long.
The Principality has only one commune, Monaco, whose limits are the same as those of the state.
| Countries and territories of Europe |
|---|
| Albania - Andorra - Armenia - Austria - Azerbaijan1 - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia - Cyprus2 - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Georgia1 - Greece - Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Italy - Latvia - Liechtenstein - Lithuania - Luxembourg - Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Republic of Macedonia - Romania - Russia1 - San Marino - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey1 - Ukraine - United Kingdom - Vatican City |
| Dependencies: Akrotiri and Dhekelia2 - Faroe Islands - Gibraltar - Guernsey - Jan Mayen - Jersey - Isle of Man - Svalbard |
| Unrecognised countries: Abkhazia | Nagorno-Karabakh2 | South Ossetia | Transnistria | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus2 |
| 1. Country partly in Asia. 2. Geographically in Asia, but often counted as part of Europe for cultural and historical reasons. |
