Did you know that 80% of Monaco’s employees do not live in the Principality?

A fascinating study in 2019, conducted by INSEE Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, has revealed that more than 80% of Monaco’s employees do not live in the Principality.

A study on cross-border workers was conducted in partnership with the Monégasque Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (IMSEE). The impact of Monaco’s labour market on the Alpes-Maritimes, the modes of transport and the activities of cross-border workers were studied in this analysis.

According to the study, 26,700 people travel into Monaco every day from the Alpes Maritimes department. The number of these cross-border workers has multiplied by 1.8 in 25 years. It is a huge number, perfectly illustrating how difficult it is to relocate to the Principality of Monaco without sufficient financial means. In contrast, 600 Monégasque cross the border into France for work and fewer than 500 residents of the Alpes-Maritimes department work in Italy.

Monaco’s cross-border workers live further and further away from the Principality. To get to their place of employment, 45% of cross-border workers prefer taking the car, while 26% use public transport, 22% use two-wheelers, and 21% choose to walk, most likely from Beausoleil, or Cap d’Ail.

Going back in time, in 1990, only 15,100 residents of the Alpes-Maritimes worked in Monaco. Along with the economic growth of the Principality, the number of cross-border workers increased by 77% between 1990 and 2015.

This results in the fact that 6 out of 10 employed workers working in the Principality of Monaco come from the neighbouring municipalities (such as Cap-d’Ail, Beausoleil, La Turbie and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin).

The Principality also attracts many cross-border workers from more distant municipalities, Nice is thus the leading municipality to provide cross-border workers.

It is very interesting to note that among cross-border workers, business executives live the furthest (21 km on average), unlike workers (14 km) and employees (13 km).