(Principat d’Andorra; Principauté d’Andorre). Southern European state (468 km²). Capital: Andorra La Vella. Administrative division: districts (7). Population: 84,082 (2009 estimate). Language: Catalan (official), French, Spanish. Religion: Catholics 89.1%, other Christians 4.3%, Muslims 0.6%, Hindus 0.5%, non-religious / atheists 5%, others 0.5%. Monetary unit: euro (100 cents). Borders: France (N), Spain (S). Member of: Council of Europe, UN and OSCE.
Yearbook 2004
Andorra. Andorra made his debut as a participant in the Eurovision Song Contest, with a contribution in Catalan. The total population in Andorra is 77,276 people in 2020. It gave no further dividend; the ranking was 32nd place. The better it went for the country’s football team, which accounted for a historic first win in a competition when it beat Macedonia by 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying match.
Culture and Traditions
From a historical and cultural point of view, the peculiarities of the country are rather limited. In the various villages there are Romanesque churches, which have a similar appearance to the contemporary type buildings that arise in the Spanish Pyrenees. Characteristic are the turreted bell towers and stone arcades, often added at a later date. For the rest, the buildings and stone paths are the main distinguishing features of the best preserved villages. Catalan, the official language of Andorra, is a Romance language born from the mixture of Provençal, Castilian and French. As far as traditions are concerned, the Andorran people preserve the rigid ceremonials connected with the rites of weddings and births. Typically each village has its own festival, usually celebrated in the period between July and September, contrapas, the bal pla, the ballett de muntanya, accompanied by drums, bagpipes, croissants and fifes). In the religious field, the feast of the Virgin Mary, celebrated on 8 September, is of great importance. Village notables wear traditional costumes for ceremonies. § The cuisine is of Catalan derivation. Local dishes are roasts, especially lamb and rabbit and escudella, a mix of different types of meat (sausage, chicken and meatballs), cooked in the oven. The side dishes are based on cabbage and potatoes.
History
The peaceful life of the Andorran valleys was abruptly upset, in 1933, by popular unrest – organized by young people – in April and August: following them, a profound change was made in the constitutional order of the small state, in the sense that the Council of the Valley must be elected by universal suffrage and its sessions must be public; the Grand Council was overthrown and replaced (August) by a Provisional Council in view of the general elections. This state of affairs also led to a French intervention, which had the territory occupied by 50 gendarmes, and to a protest by the Andorranians against that intervention. The elections in September and December, which gave a large majority to the youth party – which was supported by the two principals, France and the bishop of Urgel – brought tranquility back to the country. In July 1934 a Dutchman, certain Skossyref or Escassirev, proclaimed himself prince of Andorra, under the name of Boris I, and issued a proclamation to the Andorranians: but he was arrested and forced to leave the country.