Monaco

Monaco is built on hills by the sea.

Winters are mild. Summers are hot and sunny. It does not rain very often. The sea is right at the bottom of the hills.

Monaco is squeezed between hills and the sea. At its longest it is only about 3.3 kilometers, and at its widest just over 1 kilometer. Its coast is less than 5 kilometers long.

Monaco has a Mediterranean climate, with mild winters, hot summers and plenty of sunshine. The average temperature over the year is about 16 °C: about 10 °C in January and about 24 °C in August. Rain falls on only about 60 days a year. A breakwater and a sea wall shelter the Bay of Monaco from strong winds from the east and west.

Monaco's territory is a set of densely clustered hills and a headland looking south over the Mediterranean. According to Monaco en chiffres 2026, the coastline outside the ports and beaches is 4,856 m long and the land border with France 5,469 m, shared with the French communes of Cap-d'Ail, La Turbie, Beausoleil and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. The greatest length is 3,344 m and the greatest width 1,140 m. The highest point on the ground, 164.5 m, is at the access to the Patio Palace on the D6007 road.

The climate is mild Mediterranean: Britannica gives an annual average of about 16 °C, monthly averages from about 10 °C in January to 24 °C in August, and only about 60 days of rain a year. The government notes that a breakwater and a semi-floating sea wall shelter the Bay of Monaco from strong easterly and westerly winds.

Monaco has special places in the sea.

There, sea plants grow like a green meadow. Red coral and sea urchins live on the rocks. Fish called groupers swim there too.

Monaco protects two areas of its sea. The first, the Larvotto marine protected area, was set up in 1975. Its sea floor is covered by a thick meadow of Posidonia, a kind of seagrass, and the seagrass meadow is listed as a wetland of international importance.

A second protected area, the Tombant des Spélugues, was created in 1986 on an underwater cliff. Red coral, sponges and diadem sea urchins live on its rocks, and fish such as groupers live there.

Monaco protects two marine areas. The Larvotto marine protected area, created in 1975 on the initiative of Prince Rainier III, covers 33.6 hectares at depths of 0 to 39 m; its sea floor is mainly a dense meadow of Posidonia oceanica seagrass, with several submerged artificial reefs, and the seagrass part is a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance. The Tombant des Spélugues, protected since 1986, covers 1.9 hectares at 0 to 42 m on a submerged rock face covered with coralligenous formations: communities of animals and plants fixed to hard rock.

Monaco en chiffres 2026 lists emblematic Mediterranean species there, including red coral, sponges, diadem urchins and several kinds of prized fish, among them groupers. Monaco is also a party to CITES, the Washington Convention on international trade in endangered species.

About 38,900 people live in Monaco.

They come from many different countries. Most people speak French. Children learn the old Monegasque language at school.

About 38,900 people lived in Monaco at the end of 2025, and they hold 144 different nationalities. About a quarter are Monegasque citizens; the next largest groups are French and Italian.

French is the official language, and many people also speak English and Italian. Monaco also has its own traditional language, Monegasque. Today it is spoken mostly by older people, but children learn it in school: Prince Rainier III made it a required subject in state primary schools in 1976. Roman Catholicism is the state religion, and freedom of religion is guaranteed.

IMSEE's 2025 census report counts 144 nationalities among 38,857 residents. Monegasques, 9,333 people or 24.0 percent, have been the largest group since 2023, followed by French (8,270) and Italian (7,559) nationals, then more than 3,000 Britons. Some residents hold several nationalities, so the shares sum to more than 100 percent. The French share has fallen from nearly 60 percent in 1962 to 21.3 percent; women make up 50.8 percent of residents.

French is the official language, and English and Italian are widely spoken. The Monegasque language is used mainly by older people; Prince Rainier III made it compulsory in state primary schools from 1976 and in public schools from 1988, and it is now compulsory up to the end of middle school. Roman Catholicism is the state religion and freedom of religion is guaranteed, and the government notes that many faiths are practiced.