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Comparability is hampered by differences in local practice, including whether psychiatrically ill offenders are under the authority of the prison administration. People held in a form of custody not under the authority of a prison administration are not included in this figure. International Centre for Prison Studies. The number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1, live births in Andorra is 3.
This entry gives the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1, live births in the same year; included is the total death rate, and deaths by sex, male and female. This rate is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country. This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1, persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate.
The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.
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With its 85, people, Andorra is the th largest country in the world by population. It is the st largest country in the world by area with square kilometers. The landlocked Principality of Andorra is one of the smallest states in Europe, nestled high in the Pyrenees between the French and Spanish borders. For years, from to , Andorrans lived under a unique co-principality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders from onward, the French chief of state and the Bishop of Urgell.
A passport is necessary but a visa is not required for tourist or business stays of up to three months. Further information on Andorra can also be obtained from the Andorran Mission to the U. January 1 … New Year 's Day. December 25 … Christmas. New York , NY: Chelsea House Publishers, Highest point on mainland: Andorra is one of the smallest independent countries on earth.
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It is a landlocked nation does not have access to the sea located on the southern slopes of the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France. With a total land area of square kilometers square miles , Andorra is about two-and-one-half times the size of Washington, D. The country is divided into seven parishes. Andorra has a temperate moderate climate, but the winters are severe because of the high elevation. Snow completely fills the northern valleys for several months. Summers are generally warm and dry.
Most of the country's rainfall occurs from October to May. Andorra's terrain land is rough and mountainous. Surrounding the mountain peaks, which often rise higher than 2, meters 9, feet , there are many narrow gorges and valleys. There is very little level ground. All the valleys are at least meters 3, feet above sea level , and the mean midpoint between highest and lowest elevation is over 1, meters 6, feet. Andorra has several small mountain lakes that are usually named after the highest nearby peak. The Circle of Pessons is a series of small glacial pools linked together and set in the largest glacial granite circle in Andorra.
It is located near the Pessons Peak Pic dels Pessons. It has two branches and leads to six small open basins areas drained by rivers. Andorra is located in the chain of mountains known as the Pyrenees. Because of its mountainous terrain it is a very popular site for winter skiing. It is located near the western point where the borders between Andorra, France, and Spain meet. Further north along the border with France are the Cataperdis Peak Pic de Cataperdis , which rises to 2, meters 9, feet , and Tristaina Peak Pic de Tristaina , which rises to 2, meters 9, feet.
Near the southern border is Cabaneta Peak Pic de Cabaneta , with an elevation of 2, meters 9, feet. Archeological excavations have shown that the first inhabitants of Andorra were cave dwellers. Archeologists believe that groups of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers lived here between the 10, b. Arrow tips, flint stones, bone tools, ceramic fragments, and human remains have been found here. Andorra, the Pyrenean Country. Andorra la Vella is its capital and only city. Drained by the Valira River, Andorra comprises several high mountain valleys. Highways link the country with Spain and France.
Andorra is administratively divided into seven districts. Catalan is the official language, although Spanish, French, and Portuguese are also spoken. Most of the population is Roman Catholic. Until the s, farming, woodcutting, and smuggling were the main occupations. Andorra now has a prosperous tourist industry; skiing is particularly popular. Trade is duty-free and lack of taxation is attractive to foreign investment. The banking sector is also important to the economy. Cattle and sheep are raised, and Andorra's farms produce grains, vegetables, tobacco, and grapes.
Furniture and cigarettes are manufactured, and distilleries produce brandy and anisette. Iron and lead are mined. In the 9th cent. The French counts of Foix contested this overlordship, and finally in an agreement was reached providing joint suzerainty. The rights of the count passed by inheritance through the house of Albret to Henry IV of France, and from the French kings to the French presidents.
Long a semifeudal state with an ancient communal agrarian organization, Andorra was traditionally governed by a syndic-led council elected by heads of families. In , the country's first constitution established a parliamentary democracy with executive, legislative, and judicial branches; political parties and labor unions were legalized, and Andorra joined the United Nations. A member legislature, elected by popular vote for four-year terms, now effectively governs the country. The president of France and the bishop of Seo de Urgel remain titular co-princes and serve to link the tiny country with both France and Spain.
Andorra, located between France and Spain on the southern slope of the Pyrenees Mountains, is one of Europe's smallest countries. This landlocked country houses a population of approximately 66, in an area about two and one half times the size of Washington, DC. The population is 43 percent Spanish, 33 percent Andorran, and 24 percent other ethnic groups.
The official language is Catalan, but French and Spanish are also spoken. The Roman Catholic Church is the predominant religious institution. Andorra has a percent literacy rate, an average life expectancy of almost 84 years, a negligible unemployment rate, and no income tax. The country has become prosperous since World War II. Formal education for Andorran students begins at age 6 and is free and compulsory until age Students attend six years of primary school and four years of secondary school.
Instruction is provided in Catalan-, French-, and Spanish-language schools. About 50 percent of the students attend the French-speaking schools and the other 50 percent attend the Spanish or Catalan schools. Most teachers in Andorra are paid by Spain or France, but the schools are built and maintained by the Andorran government. In , about In , an enrollment of 9, students attended Andorra's primary and secondary schools; an additional 1, students were enrolled in higher education.
Although most higher education is completed in other countries, Andorra does have two graduate schools for nursing and computer science programs. The number of schools and the percent of the budget spent on education seem to indicate Andorra's interest in the future of its children.
With continued emphasis on educational development, Andorra will provide well for the education of its students. The World Factbook Directorate of Intelligence, 1 January Located in the Pyrenees Mountains between Spain and France , the Principality of Andorra was the last feudal state in Europe until , when it became a constitutional democracy. Its constitution transferred power from the two previously governing bodies, the French president and the Spanish bishop of Seu d'Urgel, to a popularly elected legislative body called the General Council of the Valleys.
Although the President and the Bishop remain the titular heads of state, all governmental operations are now overseen by Andorran officials.
Andorra's population is approximately 67,, and the country boasts a literacy rate of percent. Tourism accounts for approximately 80 percent of the economy, but international banking is also an important revenue source. Catalan is the official language, but Castilian and French are also spoken. Andorran law fully guarantees freedom of the press. Although Andorra only encompasses square miles, it supports two daily newspapers, El Periodic d'Andorra and Diari d'Andorra. Both are available online. There are also two major weekly newspapers, Informacions and 7 Dies.
All four publications publish in Catalan from the country's capital, Andorra La Vella. Two radio stations, one of which is state-owned, broadcast to approximately 16, radios, and six television stations reach approximately 27, televisions. Andorra has one Internet service provider.
El Periodic d'Andorra, Andorra Small, independent state situated high in the e Pyrenees between France and Spain. Andorra consists mainly of six valleys that drain to the River Valira. These deep glaciated valleys lie at altitudes of —m —ft. In the n , a lofty watershed forms the frontier with France, and to the s the land falls away to the Segre Valley in Spain. It is a rare surviving example of a medieval principality. In a new democratic constitution was adopted. The main sources of income include livestock rearing and agriculture, especially tobacco; the sale of water and hydroelectricity to Catalonia; tourism, particularly skiing; and the sale of duty-free goods.
Andorra a small autonomous principality in the southern Pyrenees , between France and Spain , whose independence dates from the late 8th century, when Charlemagne is said to have granted the Andorrans self-government for their help in defeating the Moors. Andorra retained a feudal system, and was governed jointly by the French head of state and the Spanish bishop of Urgel, until , when a revised constitution was adopted.
The first reference to Andorra appears in the writings of the Greek historian Polybius c. Andorra, historically, was a rural microstate whose population oscillated between four thousand and six thousand inhabitants. In the second half of the twentieth century, as it became a large international commercial center, the nation received larger migratory populations and developed into a multicultural society. Andorra has a total land surface of square miles square kilometers making it slightly less than five times the size of the city of Barcelona.
It is situated in the Pyrenees Mountains, bordered by Spain and France. The capital of the nation, Andorra la Vella Old Andorra , lies in the geographic center of the country, where the two tributaries of the Valira River merge. According to the census, the population stands at 65, of whom only The rest of the inhabitants are Spanish Moreover, more than 7, persons, generally children or youth of immigrant families, have no formal citizenship.
According to current legislation, foreigners can acquire citizenship after twenty years of residence in the country. Their children, born in Andorra, acquire citizenship at age eighteen. Catalan is the official language of Andorra. It is used throughout public administration, is taught in all schools, and is the language of all road signs. It is also the dominant language in communications media and is the language spoken by the national elites. In commercial signage, Catalan alternates with Spanish and French. Nevertheless, the dominant language of the street is Spanish.
The Spanish population represents the largest immigrant community in Andorra and, in addition, the majority of visitors and merchants who come to Andorra are also Spanish. The use of French is limited to populations in the extreme southwest of the country. Portuguese and other languages are limited to private settings. The Sanctuary of the Virgin of Meritxell, patron of the nation, constitutes the most important religious symbol for Andorrans and is also an attractive spot for tourist visits in the summer.
Its thirty Romanesque churches and other treasures of medieval art serve as historical referents as well as emblems of identity. Emergence of the Nation. The origins of Andorra can be situated between the Mesolithic and the Neolithic periods. The archaeological site of Balma Margineda dates back eight thousand years, although full territorial occupation was not achieved until b. During the Roman era, Andorra had a stable population.
Until the epoch of Arab occupation in the eighth century, Iberian populations mixed with peoples arriving from central Europe. At the beginning of the ninth century, the area was repopulated. The first document that refers to Andorra is the Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of Urgel c. In the eighth and ninth centuries, Andorra belonged to the County of Barcelona, which ceded sovereignty over the valleys of Andorra in to the Episcopal see of Urgel Spain.
At the end of the thirteenth century, after conflicts between the bishop of Urgel and the count of Foix, a Judicial Decision Pareatge was signed in that established the regime of coprinces that remains today. Currently, the two coprinces of Andorra are the president of the French Republic and the bishop of Urgel. Medieval rights over Andorra passed from the count of Foix to the king of Navarre in the fifteenth century, and then to the king of France in the sixteenth century; in the nineteenth century, they passed to the president of the republic.
Historically, Andorra has been a protectorate of France and Spain. This is manifest in several ways: This dualism has been expressed in multiple ways in recent centuries; Andorran factionalism also always has a pro-Spanish front and a pro-French front. Today, however, both state political powers and Andorran civil society have endeavored to consolidate a national identity that takes as its symbolic referents its medieval past, mythologizing the political peculiarity of the Pareatges.
Andorrans also identify themselves as a mountain society and have a special interest in leading sociopolitical and economic movements of the Pyrenean regions. The third pillar of identity is "Catalanness" catalanitat , which it shares with 11 million persons in the northeast of Spain and the southeast of France. As a culture shaped by transhumant seasonally transient shepherds in the past and international merchants in the present, Andorrans are open in character and interethnic relations are not conflictive.
Moreover, almost all immigrants come from European nations; hence, cultural differences are not strident. Urbanism in the nation reflects both its rural past and its commercial and urban present. While some municipalities such as Canillo and Ordino demonstrate an urbanism typical of any village of the Pyrenean or Alpine high mountains, the urban center formed by Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany has the face and structure of any typical Western urban commercial center. Other settlements, such as Sant Julia de Loria and Encamp, show a hybrid rural-urban style.
An urban rule also fixes the invented tradition of the "mountain style. Hence large commercial buildings and the majority of urban public buildings show an amalgam of invented tradition and modernity, combining stone with iron and large surfaces of glass. Nevertheless, the building of the national government is of modern design, constructed in concrete and glass. Meanwhile the seat of the Andorran parliament the General Council is a noteworthy sixteenth-century edifice, a kind of palace-fortress constructed totally of stone masonry.
The most notable elements of the Andorran patrimony are its thirty Romanesque churches, almost all of them small, built between the ninth and the thirteenth centuries. Some of them conserve frescoes and wood carvings of great value, such as the Virgin of Canolic which dates to the twelfth century.
There are also remains of old castles and medieval fortifications and magnificent examples of rural homesteads. The small Romanesque sanctuary of Santa Maria de Meritxell, patroness of Andorra, caught fire in While it was restored, the famous Barcelona architect Ricard Bofill was commissioned to build a new one. A large building, the new sanctuary uses traditional materials such as stone and black slate despite its modern, functional concepts.
Almost 60 percent of the Andorran population resides in the capital center. Here, the style of life and uses of space are similar to any other European city. Yet, there is no pattern of spatial segregation on the basis of ethnicity, even if there exists a clear territorial division of social class: Food in Daily Life. The diet in Andorra is based on consumption of meat, garden vegetables, and some fish.
The most common winter dish, in rural and urban zones, is escudella, a soup of veal, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. Some immigrant communities have different customs: Portuguese eat more cod and Indians, more vegetarian food. Normally, the midday meal is eaten near the workplace in a restaurant. Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Many Catholic families still avoid eating meat on Fridays. At the feast of the Virgin of Meritxell, Andorran families often eat outdoors after the solemn midday mass: The Christmas cycle is also an occasion for the organization of family meals. Until about the middle of the twentieth century, the Andorran economy was based on transhumant shepherding and the breeding of cattle and horses.
Andorrans also grew some tobacco, while agriculture was oriented to the production of cereals, potatoes, and garden vegetables.
Microstates and the European Union
Because of the climate, the rocky relief, and the small size of its territory, the country always ran a deficit in agricultural production. Today, due to the commercial orientation of its economy, agriculture has disappeared. Only tobacco survives, with its production tripling since the early s. Coupled with enormous quantities of imported tobacco, this production feeds a strong tobacco industry serving visitors to the country as well as smuggling.
Almost all that Andorrans consume and sell to millions of visitors comes from importation, principally from Spain and France but also from Japan and other countries of the Far East. Yet another extremely important economic activity for the Andorran economy is the banking sector, because of the nation's condition as a "fiscal paradise. Land Tenure and Property. Most Andorran land is of communal ownership, including the woods and alpine meadows that occupy more than 80 percent of the territory.
This situation recurs throughout the Pyrenees , originating in medieval local codes. Private property is found near villages, constituted by homes, rural structures, cultivated fields, and gardens. The exploitation of goods is managed by local administrations comuns which, in addition, also exercise many functions typical of city halls. The benefits of the exploitation of these goods revert to citizens in the form of infrastructure, equipment, creation of work, scholarships for students, and social service endeavors.
Today, four of the seven municipal units parroquies that form the country have one or more winter resorts, from which they also gain great benefits. The only properties of the state are the courses and banks of the rivers, and roads and highways. Andorra has always had fluid commercial relations with France and Spain, including smuggling. During the Spanish Civil War — and the World War II — , the volume of exchanges increased, since Andorra was a platform through which to supply belligerent nations.
In addition, the economic isolation of Spain during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco , from to , favored the commercial activity of Andorra, which supplied equipment, machine parts, vehicles, and other consumer goods. The foundation of the new Andorran economy, however, is retail commerce in major consumer goods, oriented toward buyers in nearby regions of Spain and France. Andorra's industrial development is extremely limited. Apart from tobacco, the most important industry is construction along with its derivative industries, hospitality industries, and semi-artisanal activities such as jewelry.
Commerce and tourism are based on the importation of all goods and services from third countries. There are sixty import-export companies handling such goods as gasoline, automobiles, beverages, tobacco, machinery, optical and electronic products, food, clothing, and shoes. Electronic goods come from Japan and other Asian sources, while the rest come from Europe. Large Andorran firms belong almost exclusively to Andorran citizens, although there are also some enterprises founded by Spaniards and Frenchmen who have acquired citizenship through their years of residence.
Foreigners, Spanish and French, dominated professional positions until recently; high enrollments of university students have fostered a process of nationalization in this occupational level. Employment in construction, transport, commerce, and public services police and sanitation , like work in hotels, tend to employ resident alien workers depending on their ability and level of instruction. Class differences in Andorra are quite clear and possess marked characteristics, such as residence. Practically all the original Andorran population belongs to the high or medium-high stratum of society as the first group to arrive in the nation.
The rest of the Spanish population is basically salaried, although there are executive groups and small entrepreneurs among them. Most Portuguese are found in less-skilled labor positions, especially in hostelry and construction. The French population comprises bureaucrats and small-scale entrepreneurs in hostelry or commerce. Symbols of Social Stratification. Apart from evocative differences of residence, other indicators of class difference include fashion. The Andorran elite sport well-known international brands, which contrast with the sobriety of the rest of the society.
Automobiles are also a highly visible indicator of consumption. Following the constitution, Andorra is a parliamentary coprincipality, headed by the president of France and the bishop of Urgel. The Andorran parliament the General Council includes twenty-eight members, half elected by local constituencies and half by national votes. This system seeks an equilibrium between territory and demography. Elections are held every four years. The winning parliamentary group forms the government. Leadership and Political Officials. For decades, access to political power in Andorra was linked to two great entrepreneurial families.
In the last decade, however, important transformations have emerged from the application of the constitution. Andorran politics are constructed on the basis of influence groups, who defend local and family interests. The elaboration of electoral lists is the result of a complex process of compromise and alliance among client groups. Given the small size of the electorate some fifteen thousand voters , electoral processes presuppose a face-to-face relation between candidates and electors that is maintained after the election.
Social Problems and Control. The judicial system is constituted at three levels: While all three handle civil and labor affairs, only the first two deal with criminal matters. One might also appeal to a fourth jurisdiction, the Tribunal Constitutional. A corps of judiciary police, distinct from ordinary police, also serves the government. Crime in Andorra is very low. Foreign defendants tend to be extradited to their country of origin. The most frequent crimes are robbery, fraud, and drug trafficking.
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Labor conflicts, for unjustified firing, are the most frequent incidents of judicial action. Since there is no direct taxation in Andorra, the state has limited resources to maintain the level of opulence that characterizes the country. This means its capacity to implement welfare programs is limited. The principal demands of foreign workers, the most fragile and needy social sector, focus on housing and child care in order to secure the position of female workers. Recently, the government attempted a low-interest credit system through Andorran banks to encourage home ownership, but the results were below expectations.
The number of child care centers has grown, but still fails to meet demand. Andorran organizations are undeveloped, despite the presence of associations in sports, culture, the arts, and business. Unions are not legally accepted, although they exist in clandestine form. All civil associations must be run, legally, by an Andorran citizen. Thus the foreign population has enormous difficulties in constituting associations.
The Spanish Embassy helps the Council of Spanish Residents, an association that looks after the needs and interests of that group.
Given Andorra's status as a developed nation, foreign nongovernmental organizations are absent. The Relative Status of Women and Men. Andorran society, with its strong rural origins, maintained a marked segregation on the basis of gender roles until the late twentieth century. All public activity was exercised by men, representing the family. Rapid urbanization, changes in lifestyle, and the commercial orientation of the economy have forced a rapid modification in the economic and work roles of women.
Today, their public visibility is total, even if their presence in political spheres remains inferior to that of men, despite consistent progress. Marriage is not controlled by any limits except class and not always by that. Marriages between Andorrans and Spaniards or French are normal.
The family remains the basic social unit, more important than the individual, despite the accelerated evolution of Andorran society. Most enterprises and business are organized through the family, distributing functions according to capacities and the level of study of each member.
These family groups, following the institution of the familia troncal stem family , incorporate a married pair and their children. Formerly, the inheritance system passed nearly all the patrimony to one of the sons: Today, this tendency is maintained only at a symbolic level through the transmission of the family home. In the case of rural holdings, only the inheriting son can marry and reside with his wife and children on the family land; however, current family businesses are different.
Any child can remain tied to the family business after marriage, although there remains a tendency towards an heir who will follow the father in the operation of the business. Networks of kinship are only activated through rituals of sociability for reasons of alliance or political patronage. Child Rearing and Education. Andorran children, as in many other European nations, are placed in child care settings before three years of age, and much of the care and instruction of these children thereafter is done by scholastic institutions.
Insufficient relationships between parents and children are noticeable at times. The extended work hours of parents, who often do not return home until 8: Cases of youth maladjustment, quite frequent in Andorra and affecting all social sectors, are explained by psychologists as stemming from this relationship deficit.
Until , when an Andorran public school system was created, there were only French and Spanish schools. Each parroquia municipal unit had a primary school in each system. There were also seven intermediate educational institutions. According to official data, 63 percent of the juvenile population was enrolled in intermediate education in — Roughly 11 percent of the population between eighteen and twenty-four attends university, especially in Spain and France.
Even though Andorra lacks a formal religion, Roman Catholicism is hegemonic. One fundamental element of this presence rests on the role of the bishop of Urgel as coprince and, at the same time, head of the Andorran Church. Apart from the Jehovah 's Witnesses, there are no public religious alternatives in Andorra.
Rituals and Holy Places. All public ceremonies, including some sessions of the parliament, are accompanied by a Catholic mass. The Andorran festive calendar adapts to the Catholic liturgical calendar, and the nation, like every parroquia, has a patron saint and a collection of religious and lay celebrations. The Andorran medical system is guaranteed through a general hospital, situated in the capital, as well as various clinics and private medical centers.
Every population center has a family medical service. Alongside official medicine, traditional curing practices based on herbal knowledge also survive. There are no shamanistic practices of curing curanderismo in Andorra.
Reading about Andorra
In addition to the national festival of the Virgin of Meritxell 8 September , each parroquia has its own patronal festival. Given the commercial orientation of the nation which remains open for business especially when neighboring nations have holidays , the only formal holidays are Christmas and New Year 's Day. Support for the Arts. Both the state and communal administrations support artistic formation and creativity.
Conservatories of music and art schools are scattered around the nation. Andorran literary production does not cross the frontiers of the small country, except in the case of writer A. There are nonetheless groups of historians and folklorists interested in recovering oral traditions and studying and teaching the nation's history. In music, the two great figures of classical music, the Claret brothers, who play violoncello and violin, have gained great prestige throughout Europe. Approach to the History of Andorra , Baudon de Mony, Charles.
Revue des Pyrenees et de la France Meridionale , 4: The Valley of Andorr , Comas d'Argemir, Dolors, Joan J. Vida e instituciones del pueblo de Andorra. L'Andorra del segle XIX , La llengua catalana a Andorra. Pujadas, translated by Gary W. Andorrans make up only about 30 percent of the population of Andorra.
More than half of the population is Spanish, and the remaining population is French less than 10 percent. To learn more about the Spanish, refer to the chapter on Spain in Volume 8. Information on the French can be found in the chapter on France in Volume 3. Compiled from the November Background Note and supplemented with additional information from the State Department and the editors of this volume.
See the introduction to this set for explanatory notes. Life expectancy —76 yrs. Legislative—Parliament General Council , founded , consisting of 28 members. Judicial—Civil cases heard in first instance by four judges batlles and in appeals by the one-judge Court of Appeals. The highest body is the five-member Superior Council of Justice. Criminal cases are heard by the Tribunal of Courts in Andorra la Vella.
Hydroelectric power, mineral water , timber, iron ore, lead. Major activities are commerce and banking; no official figures are available. Andorrans live in seven valleys that form Andorra's political districts. French and Spanish are also spoken. Education law requires school attendance for children up to age A system of French, Spanish, and Andorran public schools provides education up to the secondary level.
Schools are built and maintained by Andorran authorities, who pay also for Andorran teachers. French and Spanish schools pay for their own teachers. Andorran schools follow the Spanish curriculum, and their diplomas are recognized by the Spanish education system. In July , the University of Andorra was established. The number of students makes it impossible for the University of Andorra to develop a full academic program, and it serves principally as a center for virtual studies, connected to Spanish and French universities.
Andorra is the last independent survivor of the March states, a number of buffer states created by Charlemagne to keep the Muslim Moors from advancing into Christian France. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in return for their fighting the Moors.