GEOGRAPHY:
Andorra is a small, landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountain range and bordered by Spain and France. With an area of
468 km², it is the sixth smallest country in Europe and also the largest
of the European microstates.Andorra consists predominantly of rugged mountains, the highest being the Coma Pedrosa at 2,942 metres (9,652 ft), and the average elevation of Andorra is 1,996 metres (6,549 ft). These are dissected by three narrow valleys in a Y shape that combine into one as the main stream, the Gran Valira river, leaves the country for Spain (at Andorra's lowest point of 840 m/2,756 ft).
Andorra's climate is similar to that of its neighbours' temperate climates, but its higher elevation means there is, on average, more snow in winter, lower humidity, and it is slightly cooler in summer. There are, on average, 300 days per year of sunshine.
Phytogeographically, Andorra belongs to the Atlantic European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Andorra belongs to the ecoregion of Pyrenees conifer and mixed forest.
Landslides and avalanches are the main natural hazards. There are frequent earthquakes below Richter magnitude 2. There is no historical record of any damaging earthquakes in Andorra, but the Andorran government has studied the possibility of a future one.
HISTORY:
An autonomous and semi-independent coprincipality, Andorra has been
under the joint suzerainty of the French state and the Spanish bishops of
Urgel since 1278. It maintains closer ties to Spain, however, and Catalán
is its official language. In the late 20th century, Andorra became a
popular tourist and winter sports destination and a wealthy international
commercial center because of its banking facilities, low taxes, and lack
of customs duties. In 1990 Andorra approved a customs union treaty with
the EU permitting free movement of industrial goods between the two, but
with Andorra applying the EU's external tariffs to third countries.
Andorra became a member of the UN in 1993 and a member of the Council of
Europe in 1994. In 2002, Andorra shut down an incinerator that was
emitting 1,000 times the dioxin levels permitted by the EU.
On June 3, 2009, Jaume Bartumeu was elected the new head of government with 14 votes in the the 28-seat Parliament.
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