No matter how much we know about the world and how much we learn about it, we still come across countries that surprise us. Andorra is one of these countries. We’re sure you’ve heard of Andorra while planning a trip to Europe, because despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, it’s literally a tourist paradise.
In fact, Andorra doesn’t have such a unique history or nature. Even if you go to their neighbors France and Spain, you will encounter similar things. However, this is a place that attracts millions of tourists, probably because it is a country with very low taxes. Let’s take a closer look at the interesting information about Andorra, where the prices are reasonable due to taxes, although the Euro is used.
Information about Andorra:
- Andorra has a unique political governance structure.
- Andorra is a tiny country.
- With some of its features, it continues to be the only one in the world and in Europe.
- Not as we know it, but Andorra is the world’s most popular tourist destination.
- The purpose of tourists going to the country is actually quite different.
- Andorra is the safest country in the world.
- The country is a tobacco paradise, but smoking is prohibited.
- About 10 percent of Andorra is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Andorra has a unique political governance structure:
Andorra, which had been in Muslim hands for many years, was taken by King Charlemagne in 803 and given to the bishop of Urgel in 819. In 1278, the Principality of Andorra was established with a special agreement signed. The country, which still officially uses the name of the Principality of Andorra today, has a system of government called the diarchy, which is now used only by Andorra.
The Andorran form of government can also be called a co-principle. Namely, Andorra is governed by the co-authority of two different persons with the title of prince. Interestingly, neither of these princes is in the country. One of the princes is the President of France, and the other is the Bishop of Urgell in Catalonia, a region of Spain. This system is also the only system in which a head of state is elected by another state.
Andorra is a tiny country:
Andorra is bordered by France to the north and Spain to the south. The land area of the landlocked country is only 468 square kilometers. It is the 16th smallest country in the world in terms of area and the 11th smallest country in the world by population. With a population of about 80,000 people, Andorra is only 40 kilometers from one end to the other. In other words, it is possible to travel the whole country even on foot. However, since it has a very mountainous geography, the walking path may not be as comfortable as you think.
It remains the only one in the world and Europe with some of its features:
Catalan, a language used in parts of Spain, is the official language of Andorra. Andorra is the only country in the world where Catalan is the official language. Although it is not a member of the European Union, the country uses Euro currency but does not have a national bank. Andorra la Vella, the capital of the country, is the highest capital in Europe with its height of 1023 meters.
Not as we know it, but Andorra is the world’s top tourist destination:
Of course, it would be a shame to say that Andorra is the country that attracts the most tourists when there are countries such as France, Italy, Mexico and Greece, but we can say that with another account. Namely, Andorra is the country that attracts the most tourists in the world according to its population. Although it has a population of only 80 thousand people, more than 10 million tourists come to the country every year. This makes Andorra the country that attracts the most tourists in the world by population.
The purpose of tourists going to the country is actually quite different:
The reason why a tourist travels to a place is to see the historical, geographical and cultural beauties of that country, but this is not the case for Andorra. Of course, there are countless beauties to visit here, but the best of them is low taxes. A tax of 1% on food and 4.5% on alcohol is levied in the country. In its neighbor Spain, these rates can reach 20 percent. For this reason, it is known that many tourists who come to the country are actually people from France and Spain who come here on a daily basis and do culinary shopping.
The people of Andorra already seem to be aware of this situation. So much so that there is a market or store for every 25 people in the country. Of course, these markets and stores do not rely on local people, but on those who come for shopping. You can even buy the products of the most well-known brands from the stores in Andorra, sometimes at 60 percent more affordable prices.
Andorra, the safest country in the world:
Why would not? Andorra has not officially participated in any war in millennia. Although it was occupied by France for a while, this situation was very short-lived. When he joined the United Nations in 1993, security reached its highest level. They say that if you leave your bag on a bench in the country, you can come back and get it from there. The fact that it is the 8th country with the highest life expectancy in the world, does not suffer from economic difficulties due to the abundance of tourists, and is comfortable enough to have its administrators elected to another country also helps us to understand more or less the reason for this security.
The country is a tobacco paradise, but smoking is prohibited:
Since Andorra is a small country, its agricultural areas are also quite small. The country’s farmers use a large part of this limited agricultural land to grow tobacco. Indeed, you will see tobacco orchards in unexpected places while traveling around the country. Cigarette prices in the country are very cheap compared to its neighbors due to both being a production center and tax situation. But interestingly, Andorra passed one of the strictest smoking bans in the world in 2014. So they say come and buy cigarettes here, but go poison yourself elsewhere. Let’s not forget that smoking has deadly harm to your health.
About 10 percent of Andorra is a UNESCO world heritage site:
There will be a country in Europe but it will not be a UNESCO world heritage, will it ever happen? Of course, Andorra, a tiny country, also has a UNESCO world heritage site. The Madriu Perafita Claror Valley in the country was recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2014. Interestingly, this valley is Andorra’s largest natural park and covers 9 percent of the country. Whatever you say here, there are glaciers, rocks, trees, green grass.
We talked about the extraordinary information about Andorra, some of which you have heard for the first time, about Andorra, which is a true tourism paradise despite being a small country. As you get to know such countries, one is once again amazed at what a strange place the world is.
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