Information about Andorra

Andorra is situated in the eastern Pyrenees, between the Spanish province Catalonia (departement Alt Urgell) and the French departement Ariège. The border with Spain is 64 km, the border with French is 57 km.
The landscape is mountainous and the lowest point of Andorra is 840 meters.
More information on Wikipedia.

After the Second World War, only 6,000 people lived in the small mountain republic, almost all descended from Catalan families. Today there are more than 85,000 inhabitants, many of whom are foreigners.
More information on Wikipedia.

Catalan, a Roman language, is the only official national language in Andorra. Due to trading with France and Soain and the large number of foreigners, Spanish and French are also spoken and English is increasingly used in trade.

People lived in prehistoric times in the valleys of present-day Andorra, but the first time mention of habitation was made was in the 2nd century BC. by the Greek historian Polybius.
Exactly when Andorra became an independent state is unknown, although according to tradition it was Charlemagne who in 805 gave the Andorese a piece of land in exchange for their help in the fight against the Moors.
Due to its isolated location, Andorra has had little involvement with other countries, although nowadays it is closely linked to the EU, but without being a member of it.
More information on Wikipedia.

Andorra has a temperate climate with cold, damp winters with a lot of snow due to the altitude. The summers are usually dry but also cool (again due to the high location).
More information on Wikipedia.

Flora
The plant cover in Andorra is rather diverse, mostly dominated by deciduous trees (oak, chestnut, beech) and conifers (spruce, pine, silver fir and various types of juniper). There are vast alpine and sub-alpine meadows high in the mountains. In total there are more than 1100 different plant species in Andorra.

Fauna
There are countless mammals that live in the mountains and forests of Andorra, including bears, wolves, rabbits, and other small mammals. There is a limited amount of aquatic life: the small streams and rivers contain some fish, such as pike and trout, but the landlocked land has little else. The birds that spend time in Andorra are mainly adapted to the mountainous terrain and the most common birds are eagles, vultures and smaller wild birds such as ducks.

Andorra has always been economically focused on Spain. Under the Franco regime, the mountain state became a tax haven but also a smuggling country between France and Spain.
Today, tourism accounts for 80% of GDP. The banking sector, with its tax haven status, also contributes significantly to the economy and accounts for around 19% of GDP.

Andorra is well-equipped to welcome tourists and around 70% of the more than 10 million visitors a year come for winter sports such as skiing.
In addition, people come for the beautiful nature and it is a paradise for bargain hunters of mainly duty-free drinks, perfumery and cigarettes.