Menu
Global Europe
  • Eastern Europe
    • Economy
    • Music
  • European Union
    • Italy
    • Ireland
  • More Continents
    • Ports in Southern Africa
    • Music in Central America
    • Asia History
  • History
    • Albania Recent History
    • Andorra Recent History
    • Armenia Recent History
    • Austria Recent History
    • Azerbaijan Recent History
    • Belarus Recent History
    • Belgium Recent History
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina Recent History
    • Bulgaria Recent History
    • Croatia Recent History
    • Czech Republic Recent History
    • Denmark Recent History
    • Estonia Recent History
    • Finland Recent History
    • France Recent History
    • Georgia Recent History
    • Germany Recent History
    • Greece Recent History
    • Hungary Recent History
    • Iceland Recent History
    • Ireland Recent History
    • Italy Recent History
    • Latvia Recent History
    • Liechtenstein Recent History
    • Lithuania Recent History
    • Luxembourg Recent History
    • Macedonia Recent History
    • Malta Recent History
    • Moldova Recent History
    • Monaco Recent History
    • Netherlands Recent History
    • Norway Recent History
    • Poland Recent History
    • Portugal Recent History
    • Romania Recent History
    • San Marino Recent History
    • Slovakia Recent History
    • Slovenia Recent History
    • Spain Recent History
    • Sweden Recent History
    • Switzerland Recent History
    • Ukraine Recent History
    • United Kingdom Recent History
    • Vatican Recent History
    • Yugoslavia Recent History
  • Arts and Literature
    • Albania Arts and Literature
    • Austria Arts and Literature
    • Belarus Arts and Literature
    • Belgium Arts and Literature
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina Arts and Literature
    • Bulgaria Arts and Literature
    • Croatia Arts and Literature
    • Czech Republic Arts and Literature
    • Denmark Arts and Literature
    • Estonia Arts and Literature
    • Finland Arts and Literature
    • France Arts and Literature
    • Germany Arts and Literature
    • Greece Arts and Literature
    • Hungary Arts and Literature
    • Iceland Arts and Literature
    • Italy Arts and Literature
    • Latvia Arts and Literature
    • Lithuania Arts and Literature
    • Luxembourg Arts and Literature
    • Malta Arts and Literature
    • Moldova Arts and Literature
    • Montenegro Arts and Literature
    • Netherlands Arts and Literature
    • Northern Macedonia Arts and Literature
    • Norway Arts and Literature
    • Poland Arts and Literature
    • Portugal Arts and Literature
    • Romania Arts and Literature
    • Serbia Arts and Literature
    • Slovakia Arts and Literature
    • Slovenia Arts and Literature
    • Spain Arts and Literature
    • Sweden Arts and Literature
    • Switzerland Arts and Literature
    • Ukraine Arts and Literature
    • United Kingdom Arts and Literature
  • Mass Media
    • Mass Media in Czech Republic
    • Mass Media in Denmark
    • Mass Media in Eastern Europe
    • Mass Media in Finland
    • Mass Media in France
    • Mass Media in Germany
    • Mass Media in Greece
    • Mass Media in Iceland
    • Mass Media in Italy
    • Mass Media in Lithuania
    • Mass media in Netherlands
    • Mass Media in North America
    • Mass Media in Northern Europe
    • Mass Media in Norway
    • Mass Media in Oceania and Australia
    • Mass Media in Russia
    • Mass Media in South America
    • Mass Media in Southern Europe
    • Mass Media in Spain
    • Mass Media in UK
    • Mass Media in Ukraine
    • Mass Media in Western Europe
Global Europe
Andorra

Andorra

Posted on April 6, 2020April 14, 2020 by globalsciencellc

Andorra is a principality, with its status as an independent state. The country is located in southwestern Europe, on the southern slope of the eastern Pyrenees. Andorra has no coastline and borders France and Spain. With its present borders, Andorra is one of Europe’s oldest states. Andorra is often referred to as one of Europe’s “small putt countries”.

In 1921 El Gran Carlemany (The Great Karl the Great) became the national anthem. The text is written by Juan Benlloch y Vivó. Enric Marfany Bons has written the tune.

Geography and environment

With an area of ​​468 km 2 Andorra is the size of the municipality of Oslo. The country is located in the Pyrenees mountain range. Rough mountains dominate the landscape, with 65 peaks over 2000 meters in height. The highest mountain is Pic de la Pedrosa at 2943 meters above sea level, while the lowest point is Gran Valira at 840 meters above sea level. With a length of 35 kilometers, Vilara is the most important river. It flows into Ebro, Spain.

Andorra’s climate has many similarities to the climate of neighboring countries, France and Spain, but the country has some cooler summers and some more snow due to the mountain landscape.

The Madriu-Perafita-Claror cultural landscape is a valley in Andorra that is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

People and society

Andorra’s population is 85,708 (2018). In 2018, the population was reduced by 0.01 per cent. The birth and death rates per 1000 inhabitants are 7.3 and 7.4 respectively. The number of children per woman is 1.41 (2018). 88 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The capital of Andorra la Vella is the most densely populated.

Life expectancy is 85.3 years for women and 80.7 years for men. 45.27 per cent of the population is in the age group 25 to 54 years (2018).

88.2 percent of the population belongs to the Catholic Church. Catalan is an official language, but it is also spoken in Castilian, French and Portuguese.

In 1973, the country introduced voting rights for women.

State and politics

Andorra became a parliamentary democracy in 1993. The country is a princely state and has its own head of government, but Spain and France are responsible for the country’s foreign policy. The head of state is the president of France and the bishop of Urgel in Spain. These have local representatives in Andorra, but do not have veto rights.

In the April 2019 elections, the Democratic Party for Andorra (DA) lost the majority in parliament, but remained the largest party. Together with the party Units per al Progrés, the Andorra (DA) Domorates formed a new majority government with Xavier Espot Zamora as prime minister.

Andorra is divided into seven parishes (Parròquies). Each parish is administered by a people-elected municipal council.

France and Spain have military responsibility for Andorra, and the country has no defense of its own. Andorra is not a member of the EU, but has its own agreements for duty-free goods. The country is a member of the UN, the Council of Europe, the ICC and the OSCE.

History

Andorra regained his freedom from Charlemagne in 819 AD, after many years of war against the Moors. Andorra was in the period 1278–1993 a principality divided between Spain and France. During World War II, the country was an escape route for Allied forces and for Jews persecuted by Gestapo. By a new constitution in 1993, the country became an independent state with principality as state form.

Economy and business

Andorra’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1.6 per cent in 2018 against 1.7 per cent in 2017. In 2018, GDP per capita amounted to USD 42,487. Unemployment is 3.7 percent (2016).

Andorra had a long standing as a tax haven. Andorra’s trade and cooperation agreement with the EU, however, has led the Andorra government to practice a more transparent tax policy. Following strong pressure from France, an income tax of maximum 10 per cent was introduced in 2018.

In 2009, the Andorra government agreed on extended cooperation with several countries on the exchange of financial information. In 2012, Norway and Andorra signed an agreement on the exchange of tax information.

The service industries contribute 54.5 per cent of the country’s GDP and employ 95.1 per cent of the working population. The tourism industry is important. Around ten million tourists visit the country every year. The banking and finance sector is well developed and of importance for foreign investment. The country’s currency is the euro.

Agriculture contributes 11.9 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs 0.5 per cent of the working population (2015). The industry contributes 33.6 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs 4.4 per cent of the working population (2015).

Andorra

Knowledge and culture

The educational system in Andorra is divided, and there are Catalan, Spanish (Castilian) and French schools.

Andorra university Universitat d’Andorra was founded in 1997. The university offers including Bachelor programs in nursing, teacher training and business administration.

Andorra has one state television channel and two public radio channels. The digital network is well developed.

Recent Posts

  • History of the Netherlands
  • Portugal Attractions
  • Politics and Economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • France Attractions
  • Politics and Economy of Malta

Categories

©2022 Global Europe