164th Country Visitor - From ANDORRA.

The 164th country to visit my Blog comes from ANDORRA - a few hours ago. Thank you for visiting my blog - and it's time to learn something about this country:

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.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

Prime Minister: Antoni Martí (2011)

Chiefs of State (Coprinces): Nicolas Sarkozy for France and Joan Enric Vives Silília for Spain

Total area: 174 sq mi (451 sq km)

Population (2010 est.): 84,525 (growth rate: 0.38%); birth rate: 10.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.8/1000; life expectancy: 82.36; density per sq mi: 412

Capital and largest city: Andorra la Vella, 23,000

Monetary units: Euro

National name: Principat d'Andorra

Languages: Catalán (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese

Ethnicity/Race: Spanish 43%, Andorran 33%, Portuguese 11%, French 7%, other 6% (1998)

Religion: Roman Catholic (predominant)

National Holiday: Our Lady of Meritxell Day, September 8

Literacy rate: 100%

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2008): $4.22 billion; per capita $44,900. Real growth rate: 2.6%. Inflation: 2.3%. Unemployment: 7% (2008 est.).  

Arable land: 2.13%. Agriculture: small quantities of rye, wheat, barley, oats, vegetables; sheep.  

Labor force: 42,420 (2005); agriculture 0.3%, industry 20.3%, services 79.4%.  

Industries: tourism (particularly skiing), cattle raising, timber, banking.  

Natural resources: hydropower, mineral water, timber, iron ore, lead.  

Exports: $89.5 million f.o.b. (2008): tobacco products, furniture.  

Imports: $1.8 billion (2008): consumer goods, food, electricity.  

Major trading partners: Spain, France

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 35,400 (2005); mobile cellular: 64,600 (2005). 

Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 15, shortwave 0 (1998).  

Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997).  

Internet hosts: 15,486 (2007).  

Internet users: 23,200 (2006).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 269 km; paved: 198 km; unpaved: 71 km.  

Ports and harbors: none.  

Airports: none.

International disputes: none.

Photos:

 This is Andorra

 Andorra la Vella, capital of Andorra.

 Spas in Andorra

 the women's relay team

 school kids

 Miss Andorra..

Have a nice day....