Good to know
Good to Know
- Kotor is experiencing growing expatriate interest, particularly from UK and Western Europe, driven by UNESCO heritage status, coastal location, and lower living costs than comparable Mediterranean towns.
- English is widely spoken in tourist-friendly Kotor; German and Russian are also popular secondary languages, reducing language barriers for foreign residents.
- The tech and startup ecosystem in Kotor is modest compared to Podgorica; most serious tech work or co-working infrastructure requires travel to the capital or larger regional hubs.
- Tourism dominates the local economy; real estate and maritime services are secondary major drivers, shaping both employment and business opportunities for residents and expats.
Population
- City
- 13347
- Municipality
- 22746
- Year Of Census
- 2023
Business And Tech
Tech Presence
- Status
- Developing but limited compared to major European hubs
- Details
- Government actively encouraging tech companies; IT emerging as growth sector with opportunities for developers and software engineers
- Coworking
- Balkanoffice in Kotor Old Town offers coworking facilities; limited permanent tech infrastructure relative to Podgorica
- Digital Nomads
- Growing interest but still underdeveloped; remote worker community emerging
Primary Sectors
- Tourism and hospitality
- Real estate development
- Maritime services and port operations
Startup Ecosystem
- Status
- Early-stage, fragmented nationally
- Kotor Specific
- Balkanoffice serves as innovation hub; Game Changer Montenegro tech festival (hosted in Tivat, ~6 km away) represents regional tech gathering
- Note
- Montenegro's broader startup ecosystem includes IT, fintech, and agritech focuses, but Kotor itself remains primarily tourism and service-oriented
Ethnic Composition
- Note
- Based on 2011 census; more recent detailed data not available
Breakdown
Montenegrins
- Percentage
- 48.88
Serbs
- Percentage
- 30.57
Croats
- Percentage
- 6.87
Other Ethnic Groups
- Percentage
- 5.07
Undeclared
- Percentage
- 8.61
Foreign Resident Presence
- Composition
- Europeans dominate, with increasing retirement and second-home populations from UK, Germany, and Russia; Americans and Canadians represent smaller portions
- Concentration
- Coastal Kotor Bay area attracts those seeking luxury, safety, natural access, and lower cost of living compared to Western Europe
- Description
- Moderate expatriate community, primarily European with some North Americans
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Kotor
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.