| Basic data | |
| Capital | Andorra la Vella |
| Population | 79,535 (2021) |
| Language | Catalan, Spanish, French |
| Religion | catholic |
| State system | parliamentary co-principality |
| Head of State | French President E. Macron and Bishop of la Seo d’Urgell JE Vives |
| Head of government | Xavier Espot Zamora |
| Currency name | Euro (EUR) |
| Travel | |
| Time shift | is not against CET |
| Economy | 2021 |
| Nominal GDP (billion USD) | 3 189 |
| Economic growth (%) | 12.1% |
| Inflation (%) | 3.3% |
| Unemployment (%) | 2.2% |
Andorra is a small Pyrenean country bordering France to the north and Spain to the south. The state establishment is a parliamentary co-principality, where the function of head of state is formally performed by the French president and the bishop from La Seu d’Urgell in Spain.
Executive power is exercised by the government, the legislative unicameral parliament (Consell General), which consists of 28 members of parliament. The executive, legislative and judicial powers are fully within the competence of Andorra.
Since the country has less than 80,000 inhabitants, business activities are also limited. A significant source of income is tourism and related activities, the banking sector and services.
A number of Spanish and French companies operate in Andorra through subsidiaries.
Although it is a small market, the low income tax rate of 10% is interesting. In recent years, a number of people and companies that do business in the field of social media and online services are heading to Andorra, due to lower tax rates than in neighboring countries.
In 2021, the government announced active support for this type of business. Andorra has maintained a balanced state budget in recent years, unemployment is just 2.2% and economic growth is expected to reach 7.1% in 2022.
The business culture is very similar to other southern European countries, especially personal contact and ideally knowledge of Spanish or French is important.
Basic information about the territory
Subchapters:
- System of governance and political tendencies in the country
- Foreign policy of the country
- Population
The system of governance and political tendencies in the country
Official name of the country: Principality of Andorra (Principat d’Andorra, Principauté d’Andorre, Principado de Andorra)
Head of State: The function of head of state is formally exercised by France and Spain, namely the French President and the Spanish Bishop of La Seu d’Urgell. In Andorra itself, both heads of state have their deputies. Check computerminus to learn more about Andorra political system.
The executive, legislative and judicial powers are within the competence of Andorra and are reflected in its full international legal subjectivity.
Characteristics of the political system: Andorra is a parliamentary co-principality. The legislative body is the unicameral General Council (Consell General), which has 28 members elected for 4 years. The last parliamentary elections took place on April 7, 2019. The winner of the elections was the center-right party Democrats for Andorra (DA), which also ruled in the previous period.
Composition of the government: The government is the executive body. It is headed by the Prime Minister. In 2019, a coalition government was formed under the leadership of the Andorran Democrats (DA) together with the Andorran Liberal Party (Liberals d´Andorra) and the Party of Engaged Citizens (Ciutadans Compromesos), which has a parliamentary majority of 17 seats out of the 28-member parliament.
Government Cabinet: (as of 6/5/2022)
- Prime Minister (Cap de Govern) – Xavier Espot Zamora
- Head of the Government Office, Minister of Economy and Business – Jordi Gallardo Fernández
- Minister of Finance and Government Spokesman – Èric Jover Comas
- Minister of Foreign Affairs – María Ubach Font
- Minister of Justice and Interior – Josep M. Rosell Pons
- Minister of Tourism and Telecommunications – Jordi Torres Falcó
- Minister for Territorial Affairs and Housing – Víctor Filloy Franco
- Minister of Social Affairs, Youth and Equality – Judith Pallarés Cortés
- Minister for the Environment, Agriculture and Sustainability – Silvia Calvó Armengol
- Minister of Health – Albert Font Massip
- Minister of Education and Higher Education – Ester Vilarrubla Escales
- Minister of Culture and Sports – Sílvia Riva González
- Minister of State Administration and Administrative Reform – Trini Marín González
More detailed information, including news, can be found on the Andorran government portal: www.govern.ad
Political parties
Government parties:
- Democrats of Andorra (DA)
- Liberal Party of Andorra (L’A)
- Party of Engaged Citizens (CC)
Opposition and non-governmental parties:
- Social Democratic Party (PS)
- Social Democracy and Progress (SDP)
- Andorra for Change (APC)
- Third Way (Terceravía)
- Andorra Greens (Vd’A)
Foreign policy of the country
Since Andorra is a small country (468 km2), its main priority is good relations with its big “neighbors” – France and Spain.
The basic document establishing these relations is the Treaty of Good Neighbourhood, Friendship and Cooperation between the Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic and the Principality of Andorra, which primarily includes the recognition of sovereignty by Spain and France, the establishment of diplomatic relations, Andorra’s support for joining international organizations, the willingness of Spain and France to represent Andorra’s interests in third countries or international organizations and their commitment to provide, upon request, the services of their embassies in those countries where Andorra does not have them. Check relationshipsplus for Andorra defense and foreign policy.
Good relations with Spain were confirmed in 2021, when Andorra was the host country of the Ibero-American Summit.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez support Andorra in concluding the Association Agreement with the EU.
Andorra is currently watching with concern the events in Catalonia, with which it shares a common language and border.
In addition to neighboring countries, Andorra focuses primarily on developing relations with the EU, USA and Canada. Andorra has embassies and missions only in Madrid, Paris, Brussels, Vienna, Strasbourg, Lisbon, New York and Geneva.
Andorra has non-resident ambassadors for most European countries, including the Czech Republic.
Good relations exist with African francophone states (linguistic proximity), economic cooperation is developing with Asia (primarily with Japan and China). The Philippines has a special status because of the strong Filipino community in the country.
Population
- Number of registered inhabitants: 79,535
- Density per km 2: 166 inhabitants/km 2
- Share of the economically active population: 45 thousand, i.e. 82.6%
- Average annual population increase: 1.47
- Average age: 41.95 years
- Religious composition: majority Catholic
- Life expectancy: 8years
- Age structure: 0–14 years 14%, 15–64 years 72%, over 65 years 14%
Population by nationality (2021)
Andorrans 38,429
Spaniards 19,716
Portuguese 8,885
French 3,549
Others 8,956
A total of 79,535
Source: Departament d´Estadística Govern d´Andorra, data from 28/04/2022