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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
Long isolated and
impoverished, mountainous Andorra has 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. |
| Location: |
Southwestern Europe, between
France and Spain |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
42 30 N, 1 30 E |
| 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: 4%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 45%
forests and woodland: 35%
other: 16% (1998 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
snowslides, 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 |
| Population: |
67,627 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
15.29% (male 5,425; female 4,917)
15-64 years: 72.06% (male 25,654; female 23,078)
65 years and over: 12.65% (male 4,299; female 4,254) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.17% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
10.29 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.41 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
6.82 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 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: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
4.08 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
83.47 years
male: 80.57 years
female: 86.57 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.25 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
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 |
| Literacy: |
definition: NA
total population: 100%
male: NA%
female: NA% |
| 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 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 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 France and Spain) |
| 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
Frederic de SAINT-SERNIN (since NA); Spanish Coprince Episcopal
Monseigneur Joan MARTI Alanis (since 31 January 1971), represented by
Nemesi MARQUES 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 16 February 1997 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results: Marc FORNE Molne elected executive
council president; percent of General Council vote - 64% |
| 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: |
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: |
Liberal Union or UL [Marc
Forne MOLNE] (renamed Liberal Party of Andorra or PLA); National
Democratic Group or AND [Ladislau BARO SOLA]; National Democratic
Initiative or IDN [Vincenc MATEU Zamora]; New Democracy or ND [Jaume
BARTOMEU Cassany]; 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: |
CCC, CE, ECE, ICAO, ICRM,
IFRCS, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO
(observer) |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant)
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
- 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 by a scarcity of arable
land, 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 -
$1.2 billion (1996 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
NA% |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$18,000 (1996 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): |
1.62% (1998) |
| Labor
force: |
30,787 salaried employees
(1998) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 1%, industry 21%,
services 78% (1998) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $385
million
expenditures: $342 million, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1997) |
| Industries: |
tourism (particularly
skiing), cattle raising, timber, tobacco, banking |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| 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
note: most electricity supplied by Spain and France;
Andorra generates a small amount of hydropower |
| Agriculture
- products: |
small quantities of tobacco,
rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep |
| Exports: |
$58 million (f.o.b., 1998) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
tobacco products, furniture |
| Exports
- partners: |
France 34%, Spain 58% (1998) |
| Imports: |
$1.077 billion (c.i.f., 1998) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
consumer goods, food,
electricity |
| Imports
- partners: |
Spain 48%, France 35%, US
2.3% (1998) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
none |
| Currency: |
French franc (FRF); Spanish
peseta (ESP); euro (EUR) |
| Currency
code: |
FRF; ESP; EUR |
| Exchange
rates: |
euros per US dollar - 1.0659
(January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US
dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996); Spanish pesetas
per US dollar - 149.40 (1998), 146.41 (1997), 126.66 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
32,946 (December 1998) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
14,117 (December 1998) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
NA
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) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
0 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
27,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ad |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
5,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total: 269 km
paved: 198 km
unpaved: 71 km (1994 est.) |
| Airports: |
none (2000 est.) |
| Military
- note: |
defense is the responsibility
of France and Spain |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
|
