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Identity card
We invite you to visit the Principality of Andorra, the smallest
state in Europe in the heart of the Pyrenees.
On a stage of 468 km2 you will be the main characters in
numerous unforgettable experiences which you can enjoy
throughout the whole year.
Andorra is nature par excellence, a space of incomparable
beauty, ideal for open-air sports activities both in the summer
and in the winter. Trekking and skiing are two examples
of the activities you might find in the Principality.
Andorra is also a millenary country: Romanesque art,
museums and monuments, cultural routes, festivities
and celebrations... are just a small sample of its rich historical
legacy.
Discover a country in which two pillars of our culture, respect
and love of nature and its origins, live together in
perfect harmony with comfort, modernity and the latest
technologies.
Over 1,500 trades with the products of the best trademarks,
an exquisite gastronomy, an extensive quality hotel
offer, international cultural and sports events… and
much more!
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Administrative
organisation
The territory is structured
into seven local administrative
divisions known as
parishes: Canillo, Encamp,
Ordino, la Massana, Andorra
la Vella, Sant Julià
de Lòria and Escaldes-Engordany.
They are represented
and managed by
the town halls (comuns).
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Religion
Catholicism is the main
religion of the state,
although the Constitution
of Andorra establishes
freedom of religion.
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Political regime
Parliamentary co-principality.
The only country in the
world with two heads of
state, a special feature resulting
from the mediaeval
document known as Pareatges
and the historical
evolution of the country.
The co-princes, the bishop
of Urgell and the
President of the French
Republic, are the exclusive
Andorran heads of state
in person, jointly and
indivisibly. At the present
time they are his Excellency
Mr. Joan Enric Vives i Sicília
and his Excellency Mr.
Nicolas Sarkozy.
On March 14, 1993, the
first written constitution
of Andorra was signed
and the Principality became
a democratic, social
state in law.
The General Council
(Consell General) exercises
the legislative powers
and its members, the
councillors, are chosen
by universal suffrage for
four years.
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Economy
Trade and tourism (60%)
and finance (16%) are the
three motors behind the
economy and, at the same
time, the sectors which
generate most jobs.
Agriculture and stockbreeding,
the two axes
of the traditional economy
until the arrival of
tourism in the 1960s, now
only account for 0.36% of
the paid population.
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Official currency
Euro, which was the successor
of the Spanish
peseta and the French
franc, which coexisted
in the country until the
European currency came
into force.
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