Is Monaco a country? What makes it a state and what it shares with France

Yes, Monaco is a country, and one with more paperwork than its size suggests. It has a Constitution, a prince, a government, a parliament, a seat at the UN and its own dialling code, +377. What confuses people is that you can walk in from France, you pay in euros and the streets sound French. Here I explain what makes it a state, what it has agreed with its neighbour and what all that means for a visitor. The practical side of planning a trip is in my Monaco travel guide.

A sovereign state with its own Constitution

The Monegasque Constitution gets straight to the point. Article 1 says the Principality is a sovereign, independent state within the general principles of international law, and Article 2 that its government is a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The text in force dates from 1962, with a significant revision in 2002.

Executive power belongs to the Prince, currently Albert II, on the throne since 6 April 2005. The government is led by a Minister of State under his authority, and since 21 July 2025 that post has been held by Christophe Mirmand. Laws are made jointly by the Prince and the National Council, 24 members elected by universal suffrage every five years. Because the municipality and the state are one, there is also a 15-member Communal Council that acts as the town council for the entire country.

What surprises me is how recent some of the milestones are. Monaco joined the UN as a full member on 28 May 1993, after almost forty years as an observer, and the Council of Europe in 2004. The long version, from Genoese fortress to Albert II, is in my history of Monaco.

Is Monaco part of France?

No, and this is where most people go wrong. Monaco was absorbed into France only once, between 1793 and 1814, as just another commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and the Grimaldis got it back under the Treaty of Paris. The moment that set up its present independence was 1861, when Charles III ceded Menton and Roquebrune, 90% of his territory, for four million francs. According to the Monegasque statistics institute, from then on the Principality regained full and lasting independence.

What there is, though, is a very close relationship. Since 1865 the two countries have formed a customs union, and the 2002 treaty, in force since 1 December 2005, says France ensures the defence of Monaco’s independence and sovereignty and guarantees its territory as it does its own. That is why Monaco has no armed forces of its own for defence. Its only military unit is the Prince’s Carabiniers, whom you see every day at the changing of the guard at the Palace.

For the finer detail, that treaty replaced one from 1918 which, according to the French Senate, required Monaco to exercise its sovereignty in perfect conformity with French interests. The 2002 version was presented as a modernisation, and I think it neatly sums up how the relationship has shifted over a century.

A capital, districts and a country that is one municipality

Monaco is a city-state. The municipality and the state coincide, and have done since 1918, after a brief experiment with three communes in 1911. So there is no capital separate from the rest, and no official source I have read names one. When someone says “the capital of Monaco” they usually mean Monaco-Ville, the historic quarter up on the headland, home to the Palace, the cathedral and the Oceanographic, but it is simply another district.

The tourist office counts eight districts, namely Monaco-Ville, Monte-Carlo, La Condamine, Fontvieille, Larvotto, La Rousse, Les Moneghetti and Jardin Exotique. The official division since a 2013 ordinance is slightly different, seven districts plus two reserved sectors, but the eight are all you need to find your way. Monte-Carlo is not a separate city either. It is the casino district and the most populous, with 8,318 residents in 2025, while only 1,022 people live in Monaco-Ville. The map of Monaco shows how they fit together.

How many people, how big, and which language

The official area is 2.08 km², which makes Monaco the second-smallest state in the world, after Vatican City. In 1861 it covered 145 hectares, and it has been winning ground from the sea ever since, first with Rainier III’s land reclamation and then, in 2024, with the Mareterra district.

On 31 December 2025, 38,857 people lived in Monaco, which works out at about 18,700 per square kilometre. The figure I find most telling is another one. The Monegasques numbered 9,333, just 24% of residents, and they are still the largest nationality, ahead of the French at 21.3% and the Italians at 19.5%. Britons come fourth, with 3,081 residents, 7.9% of the total. Counting those living abroad, Monegasque nationals do not reach ten thousand.

The official language is French, as Article 8 of the Constitution states, and the rest is in what language is spoken in Monaco. Monegasque, which derives from Genoese, was only written down seriously from 1924 and has been compulsory in state schools since 1976. It is also the language of the national anthem, which I cover alongside the flag of Monaco. There are no official figures on Italian or English, so I will not give you percentages. The state religion is Catholicism.

The EU, the euro and Schengen, each on its own terms

Monaco is not in the European Union. It negotiated an association agreement from 2015, together with Andorra and San Marino, and suspended it in 2023 because the model did not suit its living, working and housing conditions. The Monegasque government describes the country as the only third state integrated into the European customs territory.

The euro comes by another route. A monetary agreement signed with the EU in 2011 allows Monaco to use it as its official currency and to mint coins with its own national side. The practical side of paying there is in money in Monaco.

On Schengen, the official sources do not phrase it the same way. The EU says Monaco has not signed the agreement and is not associated with its rules, but takes part in the area through its arrangements with France. The Monegasque government says it belongs to it. For a British traveller the useful version comes from gov.uk, which treats Monaco as part of the Schengen area, so the days you spend there count towards your 90 in any 180. There is no fixed checkpoint coming in from France, and if you fly, you land at Nice, because Monaco has no airport.

What this country changes about your trip

Very little, which is the curious part. You arrive by train from Nice in about 23 minutes with no customs, pay in euros and keep French time (the time zone in Monaco matches Paris). The one thing I would keep firmly in mind is your phone. Monaco has its own network and is not on the EU’s regulated roaming list, and UK networks set their own European terms anyway, so depending on your tariff you might pay as you would at home or receive an unpleasant bill. My page on phone and roaming in Monaco covers the details. The other is health cover, because the UK government says the GHIC is not recognised in Monaco, so travel insurance matters more here than in France.