Home>Europe>Andorra

Location: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain

Geographic coordinates: 42 30 N, 1 30 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 450 sq km
land: 450 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area—comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 125 km
border countries: France 60 km, Spain 65 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 Valira 840 m
highest point: Coma Pedrosa 2,946 m

Natural resources: hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead

Land use:
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 56%
forests and woodland: 22%
other: 20% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: snowslides, avalanches

Environment—current issues: deforestation; overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion

Environment—international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography—note: landlocked

Population: 65,939 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 14% (male 4,880; female 4,527)
15-64 years: 73% (male 25,811; female 22,444)
65 years and over: 13% (male 4,196; female 4,081) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.24% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 10.27 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.46 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 17.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.15 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.12 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.08 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 83.46 years
male: 80.55 years
female: 86.55 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Andorran(s)
adjective: Andorran

Ethnic groups: Spanish 61%, Andorran 30%, French 6%, other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic (predominant)

Languages: Catalan (official), French, Castilian

Literacy: NA

Country name:
conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
conventional short form: Andorra
local long form: Principat d'Andorra
local short form: Andorra

Data code: AN

Government type: parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains as its heads of state a coprincipality; the two princes are the president of France and bishop of Seo de Urgel, Spain, who are represented locally by officials called veguers

Capital: Andorra la Vella

Administrative divisions: 7 parishes (parroquies, singular—parroquia); Andorra, Canillo, Encamp, La Massana, Les Escaldes, Ordino, Sant Julia de Loria

Independence: 1278

National holiday: Mare de Deu de Meritxell, 8 September

Constitution: Andorra's first written constitution was drafted in 1991; adopted 14 March 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 Veguer Jean-Pierre COURTOIS (since NA); and Spanish Coprince Episcopal Monseigneur Joan MARTI Alanis (since 31 January 1971) represented by Veguer Francesc BADIA Battalla (since NA)
head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE Molne (since 21 December 1994)
cabinet: Executive Council designated by the Executive Council president
elections: Executive Council president elected by the General Council and formally appointed by the coprinces; election last held 16 February 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)
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 16 February 1997 (next to be held NA February 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party—UL 57%, AND 21%, IDN 7%, ND 7%, other 8%; seats by party—UL 16, AND 6, ND 2, IDN 2, UPO 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Andorra at Perpignan, France, (two civil judges appointed by the veguers, one appeals judge appointed by the coprinces alternately); Ecclesiastical Court of the Bishop of Seo de Urgel (Spain); Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal des Cortes, (presided over by the two civil judges, one appeals judge, the veguers, and two members of the General Council)

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Group or AND [Oscar RIBAS Reig]; Liberal Union or UL [Francesc CERQUEDA]; New Democracy or ND [Jaume BARTOMEU Cassany]; Andorran National Coalition or CNA [Antoni CERQUEDA Gispert]; National Democratic Initiative or IDN [Vincenc MATEU Zamora]; Liberal Party of Andorra (Partit Liberal d'Andorra) or PLA [Marc FORNE]; Unio Parroquial d'Ordino or UDO [leader NA]
note: there are two other small parties

International organization participation: CE, ECE, ICRM, IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Juli MINOVES-TRIQUELL (also Permanent Representative to the UN)
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; note—Consul General Douglas R. SMITH makes periodic visits to Andorra

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 that do not have a national coat of arms in the center

Economy—overview: Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy, accounts for roughly 80% of GDP. An estimated 10 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 by a scarcity of arable land, and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing 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—$1.2 billion (1995 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: NA%

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$18,000 (1995 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): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 0%

Budget:
revenues: $138 million
expenditures: $177 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), sheep, timber, tobacco, banking

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity—production: 140 million kWh (1992)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA%
nuclear: NA%
other: NA%

Electricity—consumption: NA kWh

Electricity—exports: NA kWh

Electricity—imports: NA kWh

Agriculture—products: tobacco, rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep

Exports: $47 million (f.o.b., 1995)

Exports—commodities: electricity, tobacco products, furniture

Exports—partners: France 49%, Spain 47%

Imports: $1 billion (1995)

Imports—commodities: consumer goods, food

Imports—partners: France, Spain, US 4.2%

Debt—external: $NA

Economic aid—recipient: none

Currency: 1 French franc (F) = 100 centimes; 1 peseta (Pta) = 100 centimos; the French and Spanish currencies are used

Exchange rates: French francs (F) per US$1—5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Spanish pesetas (Ptas) per US$1—143.39 (January 1999), 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996), 124.69 (1995), 133.96 (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 21,258 (1983 est.)

Telephone system:
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections between exchanges
international: landline circuits to France and Spain

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: 10,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)

Televisions: 7,000 (1991 est.)

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 198 km
unpaved: 71 km (1991 est.)

Ports and harbors: none

Airports: none

Military—note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain

Disputes—international: none

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook