I | INTRODUCTION |
Andorra, country in southwestern Europe, located high
in the eastern Pyrenees Mountains between France to the north and Spain to the
south. Andorra is one of the smallest nations in the world, with an area of 468
sq km (181 sq mi) and a population (2008 estimate) of 72,413. The capital and
largest city is Andorra la Vella (population, 2004 estimate, 22,035).
Andorra is a rugged land marked by deep gorges,
narrow valleys, and towering mountains. The lowest part of Andorra stands about
914 m (3,000 ft) above sea level. Due to its alpine location, winters are cold,
and heavy snowfall frequently blocks the mountain passes, especially the road
linking Andorra to France. Summers are cool, dry, and sunny.
Isolated for centuries, Andorra had become a
popular tourist destination by the 1950s. Although tiny, Andorra offers some of
the best skiing and snowboarding in the Pyrenees. Great hiking, mountain biking,
and stunning alpine scenery attract visitors in summer. But most of the visitors
to Andorra are day travelers from France or Spain, who take advantage of
Andorra’s duty-free shopping. Merchants selling electronic goods, alcohol,
tobacco, and luxury items crowd the streets of Andorra la Vella and other nearby
towns.
Tourism is Andorra’s main source of revenue,
but some Andorrans still raise sheep and cattle as they have since ancient
times. In the summer months, villagers herd livestock up the mountains to graze
in alpine pastures. Most of the small patches of land suitable for cultivation
are used to grow tobacco.
For more than 700 years Andorra was ruled
jointly by the leader of France and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel in
northwestern Spain. These leaders, known as the “princes of Andorra,” served as
overlords of Andorra. The country formally remains a co-principality (jointly
ruled by princes) to the present day. In 1993 Andorrans adopted their first
constitution, which established the country as an independent democratic
co-principality. Today, the president of France and the Bishop of Urgel remain
Andorra’s heads of state, but their roles are largely ceremonial.
II | LAND AND RESOURCES |
Andorra occupies a region of gorges and
valleys in the eastern Pyrenees. The country is almost completely encircled by
high mountains. The Coma Pedrosa, which rises to 2,946 m (9,965 ft), is
Andorra’s highest peak.
Over the centuries, settlers have cleared
much of Andorra’s original alpine forest cover, including birch, pine, and fir,
creating pastures in valleys and on the slopes. Overgrazing by livestock has
caused soil erosion in some mountain meadows.
Andorra is drained by the Valira River. Many
streams meet to form the Valira, which flows south into Spain. Waterpower is one
of Andorra’s few significant natural resources, and it permits the country to
produce nearly half of its electricity needs. Andorra has small deposits of iron
and lead, but they have not been mined extensively because of the high costs of
transportation. Some marble is also quarried.
III | PEOPLE |
The citizens of Andorra account for only
about one-fourth of the entire population. French and Spanish immigrants,
allowed residence in Andorra under a strict quota system, make up the majority
of the remaining population. Most native Andorrans trace their ancestry to
Catalonia.
Andorra’s official language is Catalan,
which is spoken by about 30 percent of the population as a first language.
Spanish is spoken by more than half the population, and a small percentage of
residents speak French as a mother tongue. Few Andorrans speak English. Roman
Catholicism, the religion of 89 percent of Andorrans, exerts a strong influence
on social and cultural life.
Most of the people of Andorra live in seven
small towns. The capital and largest town is Andorra la Vella, with a population
of 22,035. Located on the Valira River in west central Andorra, the town is a
center for the retail trade in duty-free goods. Other sizable towns include
Escaldes-Engordany, Encamp, Saint Julià de Lòria, and La Massana. The overall
population density of Andorra is 155 persons per sq km (401 per sq mi).
IV | ECONOMY |
Before World War II, Andorra’s economy was
based largely on farming and the processing of tobacco and timber (see
Forestry). Tourism has boomed since the 1950s and now dominates the
principality’s economic life. Andorra receives more than 3 million tourists and
more than 8 million excursionists (day trippers) every year. Visitors are
drawn by the excellent facilities for winter sports, the sunny alpine climate,
the old churches and quaint towns, and the availability of a wide assortment of
duty-free goods. Andorra also collects revenues on the sales of its distinctive
postage stamps, which are purchased by tourists and collectors.
Financial services emerged as an important
facet of Andorra’s economy in the 1990s, aided by strict banking secrecy laws
and low business taxes. In 2002 Andorra refused to sign an Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agreement on tax evasion that would
have compelled the country to share information about potential tax evasion and
make transparent its own banking arrangements.
Because only about 4 percent of Andorra’s
land is suitable for cultivation, most food is imported. Nevertheless,
farming—especially sheep and cattle grazing and the growing of tobacco—remains a
visible feature of Andorran life and culture. Andorra manufactures cigarettes
and cigars, and timber harvested from Andorra’s slopes is used to produce
furniture. In 2004, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) listed Andorra’s Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley as a World
Heritage Site (see World Heritage Committee) for its living tradition of
mountain pastoral farming and culture.
Although Andorra is not a member of the
European Union (EU), in 1990 it signed a customs union with the EU that
regulates the duty-free allowances permitted visitors to the country. In 2002
Andorra adopted the EU’s common currency, the euro. Previously, Andorra
had used the Spanish peseta and the French franc, both of which
were also replaced by the euro.
Andorra has no railroad or airport but
possesses an excellent road system. Even so, heavy traffic frequently clogs the
streets of Andorra’s towns. Public television and radio broadcasting services
are provided by Andorra Televisió and Radio Nacional d’Andorra. Andorrans also
have access to broadcasts from France and Spain. There are two major daily
newspapers, el Periodicó and Diari d’Andorra.
V | GOVERNMENT |
For 715 years Andorra was ruled jointly by
Spanish and French co-princes—respectively the Bishop of Urgel and, in modern
times, the president of France. Under this arrangement, which granted Andorra a
limited form of autonomy, responsibility for domestic affairs was delegated to
an elected general counsel (Consell General de las Valls). Judicial
matters, foreign affairs, and defense remained under the control of the
co-princes.
In March 1993 Andorrans voted to end this
semifeudal system (see Feudalism) in a referendum establishing Andorra as
an independent democracy. Under the constitution approved by the referendum,
Andorra’s first-ever executive, judicial, and legislative bodies were set up.
The Andorran legislature is the General Council. The council’s 28 members are
popularly elected to four-year terms. The executive organ of government is the
Executive Council, which is headed by a president (prime minister) who is
elected by the General Council and formally appointed by the co-princes. The
president appoints the other members of the Executive Council.
Andorra’s constitution permits it to pursue
its own foreign relations and to join international organizations of its own
choosing. In 1993 Andorra was admitted to the United Nations (UN), and it joined
the Council of Europe in 1994. The co-princes formally remain Andorra’s heads of
state but retain little real authority; they hold veto power only over
legislation affecting Andorra’s borders or security. France and Spain share
responsibility for Andorra’s defense.
VI | HISTORY |
Andorra has been an independent principality
since the early Middle Ages. It is the last surviving remnant of the March
States, or buffers states, created by Charlemagne in the early 900s AD to
prevent Muslims in Spain from advancing north into Christian France. According
to Andorran tradition, Charlemagne granted autonomy to Andorrans as a reward for
fighting against the Muslims.
For many years, the right to rule Andorra was
disputed by the Count of Foix of France and the Bishop of Urgel of Spain. The
dispute was resolved in 1278 when the count and bishop were made joint
overlords, or co-princes, of Andorra. The count’s rights later passed to the
French crown and later to the president of France. To this day, Andorra pays an
annual token tribute, called the questia, alternately to the president of
France and to the Bishop of Urgel.
Andorra remained neutral in both World War I
and World War II. The principality gained a reputation as a smuggling center
during the Spanish Civil War, when French goods passed through Andorra to Spain,
and during World War II, when Spanish goods passed through Andorra to
France.
In 1970, women were granted the right to
vote. In 1991, representatives of the president of France and the Bishop of
Urgel agreed to recognize Andorra’s sovereignty and to permit the principality
to draft a constitution. Despite some opposition from traditionalists, a
referendum in March 1993 approved a new constitution, which came into force on
May 4, 1993. The first general election under the new constitution took place in
December 1993, and Oscar Ribas Reig was elected president (prime minister) of
the Executive Council. Reig resigned in November 1994 and was replaced by Marc
Forné Molné. In elections in February 1997 and March 2001 Molné’s government was
overwhelmingly reelected.
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