Monaco country profile

Monaco is the second-smallest independent state in the world. It is a playground for tourists and a haven for the wealthy, the former drawn by its climate and the beauty of its setting and the latter by its advantageous tax regime.

The country - a constitutional monarchy - is surrounded on three sides by France.

Tourism is a major earner for the economy. The country is also a major banking centre and closely guards the privacy of its clients. Monaco does not levy income tax on its residents.

Its sovereignty was officially recognised by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861, with Monaco becoming a full United Nations voting member in 1993.

Monarch: Prince Albert II

Prince Albert took over as head of state following the death of his father, Prince Rainier, in 2005.

Prince Rainier was Europe's longest-reigning monarch. He worked to reduce Monaco's reliance on tourism and gambling by attracting business. He staunchly defended Monaco's banking and taxation systems in the face of criticism from France.

Prince Albert, who was 47 at the time of his father's death, is an accomplished sportsman.

His bachelorhood prompted a change to the constitution to allow the Grimaldi dynasty, which has ruled Monaco for seven centuries, to continue through the female line. Prince Albert is the 32nd ruler.

He married South African-born former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock in July 2011.

Television's great and good gather in Monaco every year for the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, set up in 1961 by Prince Rainier.

The influence of Monaco's broadcast media extends far beyond the borders of the tiny state. From the 1960s Radio Monte-Carlo used powerful transmitters to reach listeners across much of France, and in the 1970s broadcasts to Italy began.

Some key dates in Monaco's history:

1297 - A member of the exiled Grimaldi family from Genoa - Francois - seizes the fortress of the incumbent Genoese rulers of Monaco.

Late 1400s - Monaco's sovereignty is recognised by the duke of Savoy, the Pope and the king of France.

1524-1641 - Grimaldi family allies itself with Spain and Monaco comes under Spanish protection.

1793 - French Revolution - the Grimaldis are deposed and unification with France follows.

1814 - Monaco is returned to the Grimaldis and becomes a Sardinian protectorate until 1860.

1861 - Monaco's independence restored under the Franco-Monegasque treaty.

1911 - Monaco's first constitution drafted, providing for an elected National Council to share legislative power with the prince.

1929 - First Monaco Grand Prix, won by Britain's William Williams.

1949 - Death of Louis II; Prince Rainier III succeeds his grandfather.

1956 - Prince Rainier marries Hollywood actress Grace Kelly. The couple met at the Cannes film festival in 1955.

1959 - Prince Rainier suspends Monaco's elected National Council because of a row over the budget.

1962 - The prince restores the National Council and introduces a new, more liberal constitution.

1982 - Princess Grace dies following a car accident near Monte-Carlo.

1993 - Monaco joins the United Nations, becoming one of its smallest member states.

2002 - Monaco takes delivery of a huge floating jetty, set to double the capacity of its port.

2004 - OECD places Monaco on blacklist of uncooperative tax havens.

2005- Prince Rainier dies at the age of 81. In July Prince Albert is sworn in as head of state.

2008 - Monaco scraps plans to expand into the sea through an ambitious land reclamation project, citing the international financial crisis and environmental concerns.

2009 - OECD removes Monaco from blacklist of uncooperative tax havens.

2011 - Prince Albert marries Charlene Wittstock.

2014 - European Court of Human Rights rules that French magazine Paris Match was wrongly prosecuted in 2005 for revealing that Prince Albert II had fathered a child out of wedlock. The prince later admitted paternity.

2014 - Princess Charlene, wife of Prince Albert, gives birth to twins. Following the tradition of male precedence in Monaco Jacques will be next in line to the throne, despite being younger than his sister Gabriella.

2016 - Monaco's government joins a probe led by UK investigators into alleged corruption by a number of multinational oil companies. Monaco-based UNA-OIL, which allegedly delivered millions of dollars in bribes to Middle Eastern oil chiefs, is among the companies.

EU and Monaco sign tax transparency agreement and agree to automatically exchange information on financial accounts of each other's residents.