Andorra

Official name: Principality of Andorra

Capital city: Andorra la Vella

Internet country code: .ad

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

National anthem: “Hymna Andorra” (first line: “El gran Carlemany mon pare dels alarbs me deslliurà”), lyrics by Dr Benlloch, Episcopal Co-Prince of Andorra, music by Father Marfany

National motto: Virtus Unita Fortior

National flower: Grandalla (daffodil family)

Geographical description: Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain

Total area: 180 sq. mi. (468 sq. km.)

Climate: Temperate; snowy, cold winters and warm, dry summers

Nationality: noun: Andorran(s); adjective: Andorran

Population: 71,822 (July 2007 CIA est.)

Ethnic groups: Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6% (1998 CIA est.)

Languages spoken: Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese

Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic

(Catalan), Les Vallées d’Andorre (French), and Valls d’Andorra (Spanish).

General information. Andorra is a state located in the Eastern Pyrénées between France (on the north) and Spain (on the south). Area, 465 sq km (by other UN data, 453 sq km). Population in 1968, 18,000. Languages: Catalan, French, and Spanish. Religion, primarily Catholic. It is divided into six administrative parishes. Capital, Andorra la Vella (Andorra). Official calendar, Gregorian.

Constitution and government. Andorra is a republic, a joint protectorate of France and Spain. The corulers are the president of France and the bishop of Urgel; Andorra pays a symbolic tribute to both. The representative organ of Andorra is the General Council with 24 members chosen for four-year terms (half of the council is renewed every two years). From among its members the council chooses the first and second syndics, who exercise executive functions. The judicial system includes two bailles (civil judges)—one French and one episcopal—an appellate judge, a supreme court, and an episcopal church court; there is also a tribunal for criminal cases.

Natural features. Andorra occupies a small hollow, open to the south and framed in the west, north, and east by steep mountain slopes. The hollow is cut by valleys of the upper and middle courses of the Valira River (in the basin of the Ebro River) and its tributaries, and also partially by the Ariège River (in the basin of the Garonne River). The lowest areas lie at 880 m, the highest peaks rise to 2,900 m and more. There are numerous lakes of glacial origin. The climate is subtropical mountain; precipitation is 1,000–2,000 mm a year. The vegetative cover is dominated by mountain broadleaf (oak, beech, chestnut) and coniferous (fir, pine, spruce) forests. There is subalpine and alpine meadow.

Historical information. The first mention of Andorra in sources dates to 805. In the Middle Ages, the territory of Andorra was mainly the feudal possession of the counts of Foix and the bishops of Urgel. In 1278 the two parties concluded an agreement providing for joint suzerainty over Andorra. Subsequently the rights of the counts of Foix passed to the kings of France. A constitution was introduced in 1866, and the next year some limitations were made on the bishop’s power over internal matters of the parishes. However, the life and customs of the people of Andorra have retained vestiges of prefeudal and feudal relations to the present day (communal property in land, law based on customs, remnants of consanguinity, and so on).

There are two opposing political groupings in the country: the “Young Group” (the Andorran National Union) and the “Old Group.”