|
Andorra holidays
Find cheap flights to Andorra
Andorra Top of Page
Background:
For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a
unique co-principality, ruled by the French chief of state
and the Spanish bishop of Urgel. In 1993, this feudal system
was modified with the titular heads of state retained, but
the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy.
Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra achieved
considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist
industry. Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted
to the thriving economy with its lack of income taxes.
Geography Andorra Top of Page
Location:
Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain
Geographic coordinates:
42 30 N, 1 30 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 468 sq km
land: 468 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
total: 120.3 km
border countries: France 56.6 km, Spain 63.7 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers
Terrain:
rugged mountains dissected by narrow valleys
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Riu Runer 840 m
highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m
Natural resources:
hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead
Land use:
arable land: 2.22%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 97.78% (2001)
Irrigated land:
NA sq km
Natural hazards:
avalanches
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes
to soil erosion; air pollution; wastewater treatment and solid
waste disposal
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; straddles a number of important crossroads in
the Pyrenees
People Andorra Top of Page
Population:
69,865 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 5,478; female 4,988)
15-64 years: 71.6% (male 26,268; female 23,766)
65 years and over: 13.4% (male 4,659; female 4,706) (2004
est.)
Median age:
total: 39.7 years
male: 40 years
female: 39.4 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
1% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
9.32 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
5.9 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
6.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 83.5 years
male: 80.59 years
female: 86.59 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.28 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Nationality:
noun: Andorran(s)
adjective: Andorran
Ethnic groups:
Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other
6% (1998)
Religions:
Roman Catholic (predominant)
Languages:
Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: 100%
male: NA
female: NA
Government Andorra Top of Page
Country name:
conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
conventional short form: Andorra
local long form: Principat d'Andorra
local short form: Andorra
Government type:
parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains as
its chiefs of state a coprincipality; the two princes are
the president of France and bishop of Seo de Urgel, Spain,
who are represented locally by coprinces' representatives
Capital:
Andorra la Vella
Administrative divisions:
7 parishes (parroquies, singular - parroquia); Andorra la
Vella, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Escaldes-Engordany, Ordino,
Sant Julia de Loria
Independence:
1278 (was formed under the joint suzerainty of the French
count of Foix and the Spanish bishop of Urgel)
National holiday:
Our Lady of Meritxell Day, 8 September (1278)
Constitution:
Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991;
approved by referendum 14 March 1993; came into force 4 May
1993
Legal system:
based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial review
of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: French Coprince Jacques CHIRAC (since 17 May
1995), represented by Philippe MASSONI (since 26 July 2002);
Spanish Coprince Bishop Joan Enric VIVES i SICILIA (since
12 May 2003), represented by Nemesi MARQUES i OSTE (since
NA)
head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE
MOLNE (since 21 December 1994)
cabinet: Executive Council or Govern designated by the Executive
Council president
elections: Executive Council president elected by the General
Council and formally appointed by the coprinces for a four-year
term; election last held 4 March 2001 (next to be held NA
2005)
election results: Marc FORNE MOLNE elected executive council
president; percent of General Council vote - NA
Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General
de las Valls (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular
vote, 14 from a single national constituency and 14 to represent
each of the 7 parishes; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 4 March 2001 (next to be held NA March
2005)
election results: percent of vote by party - PLA 46.1%, PSD
30%, PD 23.8%, other 0.1%; seats by party - PLA 15, PSD 6,
PD 5, independents 2
Judicial branch:
Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the
Courts or Tribunal de Corts; Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra
or Tribunal Superior de Justicia d'Andorra; Supreme Council
of Justice or Consell Superior de la Justicia; Fiscal Ministry
or Ministeri Fiscal; Constitutional Tribunal or Tribunal Constitucional
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party or PD (formerly part of National Democratic
Group or AND) [Ladislau BARO SOLO]; Liberal Party of Andorra
or PLA [Marc FORNE MOLNE] (used to be Liberal Union or UL);
Liberal Union or UL [Francesc CERQUEDA]; National Democratic
Group or AND [Ladislau BARO SOLO]; National Democratic Initiative
or IDN [Vicenc MATEU ZAMORA]; New Democracy or ND [Jaume BARTOMEU
CASSANY]; Social Democratic Party or PSD (formerly part of
National Democratic Group of AND) [leader NA]; Union of the
People of Ordino (Unio Parroquial d'Ordino) or UPO [Simo DURO
COMA]
note: there are two other small parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
CE, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, OSCE,
UN, UNESCO, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Jelena
V. PIA-COMELLA
chancery: 2 United Nations Plaza, 25th Floor, New York, NY
10017
telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064
FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630
Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Andorra; the US Ambassador
to Spain is accredited to Andorra; US interests in Andorra
are represented by the Consulate General's office in Barcelona
(Spain); mailing address: Paseo Reina Elisenda, 23, 08034
Barcelona, Spain; telephone: (3493) 280-2227; FAX: (3493)
205-7705
Flag description:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and
red with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow
band; the coat of arms features a quartered shield; similar
to the flags of Chad and Romania, which do not have a national
coat of arms in the center, and the flag of Moldova, which
does bear a national emblem
Economy Andorra Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy,
accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 9 million tourists
visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and
by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage
has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France
and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability
of goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its "tax
haven" status, also contributes substantially to the
economy. Agricultural production is limited - only 2% of the
land is arable - and most food has to be imported. The principal
livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output
consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra
is a member of the EU Customs Union and is treated as an EU
member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as
a non-EU member for agricultural products.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $19,000 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA
industry: NA
services: NA
Population below poverty line:
NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.3% (2000)
Labor force:
33,000 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 1%, industry 21%, services 78% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:
0% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $385 million
expenditures: $342 million, including capital expenditures
of NA (1997)
Agriculture - products:
small quantities of rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables;
sheep
Industries:
tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber, banking
Industrial production growth rate:
NA
Electricity - production:
NA kWh
Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports:
NA kWh; note - most electricity supplied by Spain and France;
Andorra generates a small amount of hydropower
Exports:
$58 million f.o.b. (1998)
Exports - commodities:
tobacco products, furniture
Exports - partners:
Spain 58%, France 34% (2000)
Imports:
$1.077 billion (1998)
Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, food, electricity
Imports - partners:
Spain 48%, France 35%, US 2.3% (2000)
Debt - external:
NA
Economic aid - recipient:
none
Currency:
euro (EUR)
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.12 (2001),
1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications Andorra Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
35,000 (2001)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
23,500 (2001)
Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections
between exchanges
international: country code - 376; landline circuits to France
and Spain
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
0 (1997)
Internet country code:
.ad
Internet hosts:
4,144 (2004)
Internet users:
24,500 (2001)
Transportation Andorra Top of Page
Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 198 km
unpaved: 71 km (1994)
Ports and harbors:
none
Airports:
none
Military Andorra Top of Page
Military branches:
no regular military forces, Police Service of Andorra
Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
Transnational Issues Andorra
|
Home