ANDORRA
1. Introduction
Officially The Principality of Andorra is a small landlocked country between France
and Spain, located in eastern Pyrenees.
It was formed in 1278 as a condominium under control of two princes and today president
of France and Bishop of Urgell. In 1994 was passed new constitution, which replaced old
constitution from 1278, and Andorra was declared a principality. The head of this
principality is still French president and Bishop of Urgell.
The official language is Catalan, but Spanish, French and Portuguese are commonly spoken.
Andorra is a member of UNO, CE and OSCE. It is not member of EU. [10][11]
1. Basic information
2.1 General[12]
Original name: Principat d’Andorra
Name: The Principality of Andorra
Area: 468 km²
Capital: Andorra la Vella
Population: 83 888 (2009)
Location: 2° e. l., 43° n. w.
Relief: Coma Pedrosa (2946 m) – Riu Runer
(840 m)
Landuse: 4% arable land, 45% pastures,
35% forests, 16% other
Geobiomes: temperate forests
Climate: mild
Image 1: Flag[1]
Image 2: Coat of arms[2]
2.2 Political status[12]
Established: 1278
Government type: principality
Regions: 7 parishes
Time: GMT +1
Integration: UNO, CE, OSCE
HDI: 0,838[13]
GDP: 42 500 USD
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2. Map skills
Image 3: Map of Andorra[3]
Image 4: Map of regions[4]
3. Population and settlement
3.1 Demography
The population of Andorra is approximately 84 000 people. It is the 202nd most populous
country in the world.
In 1948 the average population was 5 500 people. It grew to 25 700 within twenty years.
In 2000 the number of inhabitants was 65 900. In ten years the population grew to nearly
84 000 people. The density of population is 179 inhabitants/km².
The fertility rate in Andorra is 1,33 children born per woman. 15,5% are people between 014 years, 72,2% people are between 15-64 and 12,3% over 65. Life expectancy is 80 years
for men and 84 for women. It is the 4th highest life expectancy in the world.
Majority of people are Spanish (46%) and Andorrans (20%). Other minorities are: French,
Portuguese and Arabs. [14]
3.2 Religion
In Andorra there are 95% Roman Catholics. The patron saint of Andorra is Our Lady
of Meritxell. Our Lady of Meritxell is also a Roman Catholic statue depicting an apparition
of the Virgin Mary.
There is also Muslim community (3%). It is primarily made of North African immigrants. There
is a small community of Hindus and there live approximately 100 Jews. [10][27]
3.3 Languages
The historic and official language is Catalan, which is a Romance language. Because
of immigration and geographic proximity there are also commonly spoken Spanish, French
and Portuguese. Most Andorrans can speak one or more of these languages. English is not
so commonly spoken, but it is understood in major tourist destinations. [10]
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3.4 Settlement
Rank:
Parish:
Population:
Area:
1.
Andorra la Vella
24 574
30 km²
2.
Canillo
4 663
110 km²
3.
Encamp
13 225
84 km²
4.
Escaldes-Engordany
16 078
30 km²
5.
La Massana
9 664
65 km²
6.
Ordino
3 066
90 km²
7.
Sant Julià de Lòria
9 207
61 km²
Table 1: Population of parishes [15] [16] [18] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]
4. Economy
The principal component of economy of Andorra is tourism. It accounts for roughly
80% of GDP. In 2007 the GDP per capita was $42 500. It is estimated that annually visit
Andorra 9 million tourists. They are mostly attracted in Andorra’s duty-free status. Also
people from Spain and France are widely using shopping without taxes. It is the reason
why Andorra has a status of “tax haven”.
There is only 4% of arable land so most food has to be imported. There are 45% of
pastures and main livestock activity is sheep breeding.
Andorra is not a member of European Union but current currency is euro. It is also
treated as a member of EU for trade in manufactured good and as a non-member of EU for
agriculture products. The main manufacture goods are cigarettes, cigars and furniture. The
main agriculture products are wheat, barley, oats, vegetables, rye and sheep.
In Andorra there are deposits of iron in the valley of Ordino but the access is very difficult.
In addition to iron there are also mined small amounts of lead. [22]
5. Tourism
The key attractions are shrines, festivals and churches. These are located in Ordino,
Emcamp, Sant Julia de Loria, Les Escaldes and Santa Coloma. The best known shrine is
Our Lady of Meritxell. Big part of tourism takes of course skiing and capital Andorra la Vella
were are plenty of churches such as Santa Coloma Church. It is pre-Romanesque church
with a wooden framed ceiling and a quadrangular apse. The building was decorated with
12th century Romanesque mural paintings by the master painter of Santa Coloma. [23] [24] [25]
6. Key studies
Pyrenees in Andorra
Almost the whole area of Andorra takes Pyrenees. It is a range of mountains in southwest
Europe that separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. The highest
point is Aneto and its elevation is 3404 m. In Andorran Pyrenees there are iron mines
at several locations. There are also some hot springs in Les Escaldes in Andorra. The ski
resorts in Andorra are: Pas de la Casa, Soldeu and Vallnord.[26]
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7. Pictures
Image 6: Santa Coloma Church[6]
Image 5: Chapel od Meritxell[5]
Image 8: Chaldea Center[8]
Image 7: Andorra lake[7]
Image 9: Andorra la Vella[9]
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9. Videos
Sightseeing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji21497C9sk&feature=player_embedded
Little Europe: Andorra:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B10DiNXmFQM&feature=fvwrel
Sightseeing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2IB8WEVd5c&feature=player_embedded#!
10. Tasks




What is the official language of Andorra? Is there any other language which is
commonly spoken?
When was Andorra established? Who is the head of this principality?
What is currency of Andorra? Why?
Describe economy of Andorra.
11. Dictionary


Principality
Parish
12. References
12.1 Resources and tables
Encyklopedie UNIVERSUM A-F, díl 1., vydalo nakladatelství Odeon v Praze toku 2002
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra
[11] http://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra
[12] http://www.zemepis.com/Andorra.php
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index
[14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Andorra
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra_la_Vella
[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canillo
[17] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encamp
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escaldes-Engordany
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Massana
[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordino
[21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant_Juli%C3%A0_de_L%C3%B2ria
[22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Andorra
[23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Andorra
[24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Meritxell
[25] http://www.andorra.ad/en-US/Resources/Pages/Esglesia_Santa_Coloma.aspx
[26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorran_Jews
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12.2 Images
[1] Image 1:
http://www.olstars.com/images/flags/Big/ad.gif
[2] Image 2:
http://files.geoweb.webnode.cz/200000004-1359914534/Obr%C3%A1zek3.png
[3] Image 3:
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/adnewzzz.gif
[4] Image 4:
http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/europe/Andorra-plotical-map.gif
[5] Image 5:
http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/402677b9-57dc-4536-a90f-5c17bce271a3.jpg
[6] Image 6:
http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/andorra.jpg
[7] Image 7:
http://www.hola-andorra.com/arinsal/pics/juclar1.jpg
[8] Image 8:
http://www.metrolic.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/02/9caldea_centro_termoludico 01.jpg
[9] Image 9:
http://www.slantour.cz/foto/full/2771-andorra-la-vella.jpg