The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) compiles the country's balance of payments, and within it the official figures on foreign direct investment. They answer three questions investors and journalists ask most: how much foreign money comes in, what it goes into, and where it comes from. The answer to the second question is the one most summaries leave out: in most recent years about half of all foreign direct investment into Montenegro has been the purchase of real estate.
This page sets out the CBCG series as published in its balance of payments file updated on 25 September 2026, covering 2006 to July 2026. Amounts are in millions of euros, rounded; CBCG marks 2025 as revised and January to July 2026 as preliminary.
Total inflow by type, 2018 to 2026
CBCG divides the gross inflow into four types: investment in companies and banks (equity), intercompany debt (loans from related foreign companies), real estate, and other.
| Year | Companies and banks | Intercompany debt | Real estate | Other | Total inflow | Real estate share | Net FDI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 337.2 | 301.0 | 181.7 | 38.2 | 858.1 | 21% | 322.5 |
| 2019 | 242.3 | 321.9 | 178.0 | 36.3 | 778.5 | 23% | 304.6 |
| 2020 | 123.8 | 392.9 | 116.4 | 33.0 | 666.0 | 17% | 470.5 |
| 2021 | 215.1 | 323.4 | 278.3 | 111.3 | 928.1 | 30% | 581.6 |
| 2022 | 219.4 | 401.5 | 448.3 | 82.5 | 1,151.7 | 39% | 782.6 |
| 2023 | 95.3 | 264.9 | 463.3 | 38.8 | 862.3 | 54% | 433.6 |
| 2024 | 113.9 | 292.1 | 455.3 | 29.7 | 891.1 | 51% | 491.2 |
| 2025 | 131.7 | 326.9 | 497.0 | 69.7 | 1,025.3 | 48% | 520.7 |
| Jan–Jul 2026 | 85.5 | 160.4 | 281.0 | 17.4 | 544.3 | 52% | 266.4 |
Net FDI is the total inflow minus the total outflow, which includes non-residents withdrawing capital and residents investing abroad. In 2025 the outflow was €504.6 million.
The longer series, 2006 to 2017
Total inflow was €647.3 million in 2006 and peaked at €1,224.0 million in 2009, the year investment in companies and banks reached €882.9 million. Real estate reached €513.9 million in 2007, then fell steadily to €133.1 million in 2016. Between 2010 and 2017 total inflow ranged from €479.2 million (2013) to €757.4 million (2015). The real estate figure returned above €400 million only in 2022, and in 2025 it was €497.0 million, the highest since 2007.
Where the money comes from: 2025
The country is the country the payment came from, not necessarily the investor's nationality or where the money was earned.
| Country | Total inflow | Of which real estate | Of which companies and banks | Of which intercompany debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 141.9 | 90.9 | 22.9 | 22.6 |
| Türkiye | 135.8 | 53.7 | 5.2 | 76.9 |
| Cyprus | 77.2 | 7.1 | 26.3 | 13.5 |
| Germany | 71.4 | 44.7 | 5.6 | 19.9 |
| United States | 60.5 | 44.6 | 3.0 | 12.7 |
| Switzerland | 52.8 | 24.8 | 5.1 | 23.0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 48.0 | 23.2 | 2.4 | 21.7 |
| Russian Federation | 34.0 | 17.8 | 6.5 | 9.7 |
| United Kingdom | 33.9 | 27.0 | 0.4 | 6.4 |
| Kosovo | 29.6 | 14.2 | 5.3 | 10.1 |
| Austria | 28.8 | 5.0 | 21.2 | 2.5 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 27.5 | 12.7 | 1.0 | 10.2 |
| Netherlands | 27.3 | 5.6 | -0.4 | 18.1 |
| Total, all countries | 1,025.3 | 497.0 | 131.7 | 326.9 |
In real estate alone, the largest sources in 2025 were Serbia (€90.9 million), Türkiye (€53.7 million), Germany (€44.7 million), the United States (€44.6 million), the United Kingdom (€27.0 million), Switzerland (€24.8 million), the UAE (€23.2 million), Russia (€17.8 million), Poland (€14.9 million) and Kosovo (€14.2 million).
January to July 2026
| Country | Total inflow | Of which real estate |
|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 110.0 | 69.3 |
| Türkiye | 49.4 | 18.5 |
| Germany | 38.5 | 27.9 |
| United States | 32.9 | 23.6 |
| Switzerland | 32.5 | 19.7 |
| United Arab Emirates | 32.2 | 12.1 |
| Cyprus | 28.1 | 3.6 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 24.2 | 12.8 |
| Total, all countries | 544.3 | 281.0 |
How to read these figures
- Country of payment, not of the investor. CBCG compiles the country tables from the international transaction reporting system and shows them by country of payment. A buyer who is Russian but pays from a Serbian or Emirati account appears under Serbia or the UAE. The shifts between years, such as Russia's fall from €100.2 million in 2024 to €34.0 million in 2025, may reflect payment routes as much as investors.
- Real estate means purchases by non-residents. The real estate line is the sale of Montenegrin property to non-residents, recorded as it is paid. It is the closest official measure of foreign demand for Montenegrin property, and it counts money, not the number of apartments.
- Gross, not net. The type and country tables show inflows. The outflow, including non-residents withdrawing capital, is published separately, which is why net FDI is much lower than the inflow.
- No sector breakdown here. This CBCG file splits inflows by type and by country, not by industry. It does not say how much went into tourism, energy or banking.
What the statistics mean legally
Half of Montenegro's foreign direct investment is foreign individuals and companies buying property, and that money moves through the rules on foreign ownership, anti-money-laundering checks and transfer tax. Our guides to whether foreigners can buy property in Montenegro and to buying by nationality cover the ownership rules, and the protections a foreign investor has under the 2011 Foreign Investments Act, and the ones it lost in 2014, are in the Foreign Investments Act note. The official new-build price series that sits beside these flows is in Montenegro property prices from MONSTAT.
Whose side we are on, and how we are paid
Every other professional around a Montenegrin transaction is paid out of the transaction. The agent's commission depends on the sale completing. The developer's sales team belongs to the developer. The notary owes duties to the act, not to you. That is not a scandal; it is simply how those roles are funded, and it decides what each of them is able to tell you.
We take no commission from sellers, developers, agents or brokers. None, in any form, on any file. The fee you pay us is our only income from your matter, and it does not increase if you sign. That single fact is the whole difference: because our position does not move when the deal moves, "do not buy this one" costs us nothing to say.
What that looks like in the file, rather than in a slogan: we obtain the register extracts ourselves instead of accepting the copies handed over by the seller or the agent; we read the contract against your position rather than against completion; we put in writing when the answer is that the matter should not proceed; and where a defect can be cured, we tell you what it costs in time before you commit money.
One boundary we state plainly. We are lawyers, not licensed investment advisers. This page reports official statistics; it does not say whether Montenegro, a sector or an asset is a good investment. What we protect is your legal position: the title, the contract, the registration, the status, and the deadlines that decide all four. That is the service the fee buys, and paying for it directly is precisely what allows it to be given without regard to whether you sign.
Before you invest
If you are investing through a Montenegrin company, lending to one, or buying property, the structure you choose decides how the money is recorded, taxed and protected. Send us the plan and we will tell you which rules apply to each step. Investment structuring sits with our investment practice and property with our real estate practice.
