Andorra

agricultural land:

43.4%;

• arable land 5.5%;
• permanent crops 0%;
• permanent pasture 37.9%

forest:

34%

other:

22.6% (2011 est.)

• deforestation;
• overgrazing of mountain meadows contributes to soil erosion;
• air pollution;
• wastewater treatment and solid waste disposal

party to:

Biodiversity, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Andorran(s)

adjective:

Andorran

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.15 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

1.02 male(s)/female

total population:

1.06 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Principality of Andorra

conventional short form:

Andorra

local long form:

Principat d'Andorra

local short form:

Andorra

etymology:

• the origin of the country's name is obscure;
• since the area served as part of the Spanish March (defensive buffer zone) against the invading Moors in the 8th century, the name may derive from the Arabic "ad-darra" meaning "the forest"

• parliamentary democracy (since March 1993) that retains its chiefs of state in the form of a co-principality;
• the two princes are the president of France and bishop of Seu d'Urgell, Spain, who are represented in Andorra by the co-princes' representatives

name:

Andorra la Vella

geographic coordinates:

42 30 N, 1 31 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

history:

drafted 1991, approved by referendum 14 March 1993, effective 28 April 1993

amendments:

• proposed by the coprinces jointly or by the General Council;
• passage requires at least a two-thirds majority vote by the General Council, ratification in a referendum, and sanctioning by the coprinces (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the mother must be an Andorran citizen or the father must have been born in Andorra and both parents maintain permanent residence in Andorra

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

25 years

chief of state:

• French Coprince Emmanuel MACRON (since 14 May 2017);
• represented by Jean-Pierre HUGUES (since 15 June 2016) and Spanish Coprince Archbishop Joan-Enric VIVES i Sicilia (since 12 May 2003);
• represented by Josep Maria MAUN (since 20 July 2012)

head of government:

Head of Government (or Cap de Govern) Antoni MARTI PETIT (since 12 May 2011)

cabinet:

Executive Council designated by head of government

elections/appointments:

• head of government indirectly elected by the General Council (Andorran parliament), formally appointed by the coprinces for a 4-year term;
• election last held on 31 March 2015 (next to be held in April 2019);
• the leader of the majority party in the General Council is usually elected head of government

election results:

Antoni MARTI PETIT (DA) elected head of government; percent of General Council vote - 79%

description:

• unicameral General Council of the Valleys or Consell General de les Valls (a minimum of 28 seats; 14 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies (parishes) by simple majority vote and 14 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms);
• note - each voter casts two separate ballots - one for a national list and one for a parish list

elections:

last held on 1 March 2015 (next to be held in April 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - DA 34.5%, PLA 25.0%, PS-VA-IC-independent coalition 21.3%, SDP 9.6%, invalid votes 9.5%;
• seats by party - DA 15, PLA 8, PS-VA-IC-independent coalition 3, SDP 2

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice of Andorra or Tribunal Superior de la Justicia d'Andorra (consists of the court president and 8 judges organized into civil, criminal, and administrative chambers);
• Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 4 magistrates)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court president and judges appointed by the Supreme Council of Justice, a 5-member judicial policy and administrative body appointed 1 each by the coprinces, 1 by the General Council, 1 by the executive council president, and 1 by the courts;
• judges serve 6-year renewable terms;
• Constitutional magistrates appointed 2 by the coprinces and 2 by the General Council;
• magistrates' appointments limited to 2 consecutive 8-year terms

subordinate courts:

Tribunal of Judges or Tribunal de Batlles; Tribunal of the Courts or Tribunal de Corts

• Citizens' Initiative or IC [Sergi RICART] (including PS, VA, IC, and independents)
• Democrats for Andorra or DA [Antoni MARTI PETIT]
• Greens of Andorra or VA [Isabel LOZANO MUNOZ, Juli FERNANDEZ BLASI]
• Liberal Party or PLA [Jordi GALLARDO]
• Social Democratic Party or PS [Vincenc ALAY FERRER]
• Social Democratic Progress Party or SDP [Victor NAUDI ZAMORA]

note: Andorra has several smaller parties at the parish level (one is Lauredian Union)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Elisenda VIVES BALMANA (since 2 March 2016)

chancery:

2 United Nations Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 750-8064

FAX:

[1] (212) 750-6630

• 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 US Consulate General's office in Barcelona (Spain);
• mailing address:
  • Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada,
  • 23,
  • 08034 Barcelona,
  • Spain
  ;
• telephone: [34] (93) 280-2227;
• FAX: [34] (93) 280-6175

• three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red, with the national coat of arms centered in the yellow band;
• the latter band is slightly wider than the other 2 so that the ratio of band widths is 8:9:8;
• the coat of arms features a quartered shield with the emblems of (starting in the upper left and proceeding clockwise):
  • Urgell,
  • Foix,
  • Bearn,
  • and Catalonia
  ;
• the motto reads VIRTUS UNITA FORTIOR (Strength United is Stronger);
• the flag combines the blue and red French colors with the red and yellow of Spain to show Franco-Spanish protection

note: 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

name:

"El Gran Carlemany" (The Great Charlemagne)

lyrics/music:

Joan BENLLOCH i VIVO/Enric MARFANY BONS

note: adopted 1921; the anthem provides a brief history of Andorra in a first person narrative

agriculture:

0.5%

industry:

4.4%

services:

95.1% (2015)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

modern automatic telephone system

domestic:

modern system with microwave radio relay connections between exchanges

international:

country code - 376; landline circuits to France and Spain (2016)

• 1 public TV station and 2 public radio stations;
• about 10 commercial radio stations;
• good reception of radio and TV broadcasts from stations in France and Spain;
• upgraded to terrestrial digital TV broadcasting in 2007;
• roughly 25 international TV channels available (2016)