Overview

The Principality of Andorra is an almost hidden state when viewed on a map, located on the border between France and Spain, high in the Pyrenees Mountains. Many of the statistical headings in the CIA World Factbook have NA (not available) beside them, but the most unusual entries compared to the vast majority of countries are: Economic aid � recipient: $0, Disputes � international: none, literacy: 100% and the highest life expectancy on Earth.

For a country with no agriculture or industry to speak of, in a modern context Andorra displays some parallels with James Hilton's mythical Shangri-La, the exception to the similitude being that close to 10 million tourist's visit Andorra each year, the population according to the World Factbook is less than 72 thousand. The Principalities main urban area and capital, Andorra la Vella measures a few kilometres in length and under a kilometre wide, but is the economic hub of a duty free country and an internationally recognised and respected tax haven. Despite having no airport of its own and no railways, Andorra's economy is dominated year round by tourism, to the extent that around 80% of the countries income is from the tourist sector. Travelling to Andorra is achieved exclusively by road from Spain or France. According to the Andorran social security in 2005 Andorra's workforce was just over 42 thousand with the largest single sector being the services.

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