Andorra

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

Location:
Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain

Geographic coordinates:
42 30 N, 1 30 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 468 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 468 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 - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
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% (1998 est.)

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

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
female: 3.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births

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

Country name:
conventional long form: Principality of Andorra
conventional short form: Andorra
local short form: Andorra
local long form: Principat d'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)
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%
cabinet: Executive Council or Govern designated by the Executive Council president
head of government: Executive Council President Marc FORNE MOLNE (since 21 December 1994)

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
FAX: [1] (212) 750-6630
telephone: [1] (212) 750-8064

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

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% (1995-96)

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)

Industries:
tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber, banking

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - production by source:
NA (2001)

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

Agriculture - products:
small quantities of rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep

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 - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Andorra

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)

Radios:
16,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
0 (1997)

Televisions:
27,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.ad

Internet hosts:
3,200 (2001)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
1 (2000)

Internet users:
24,500 (2001)

Transportation Andorra

Highways:
total: 269 km
paved: 198 km
unpaved: 71 km (1994)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
none

Military Andorra

Military branches:
no regular military forces, Police Service of Andorra

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

Transnational Issues Andorra

Disputes - international:
none