Andorra

Andorra is a very small (468 square kilometers), mountainous, and highly urbanized country located between France and Spain in southwestern Europe. The primary industries are tourism (80 percent of gross domestic product [GDP]) and banking. Andorra is a prosperous country and in 2007 ranked 14th in the world with a per capita GDP of $42,500. Life expectancy in Andorra is among the highest in the world, at 80.3 years for men and 84.8 years for women. Male and female literacy are both reported as 100 percent, and about equal numbers of men and women enroll in tertiary education.

Andorra's high standard of living and lack of an income tax attract many immigrants and it has a high rate of net migration (6.89 migrants per 1,000 population, 13th highest in the world). This offsets Andorra's low birth rate (10.35 per 1,000 population, 166th in the world) and total fertility rate (1.33 children/woman, 205th in the world) and gave the country a moderate growth rate of 1.135 percent in 2009.

[Page 65]Andorra is a parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage at age 18; women gained the right to vote in 1970 and to serve in public office in 1973. Today, women hold 25 percent of seats in the national parliament. Since 1993, the constitution has guaranteed equal civil rights for women and many are employed: in 2007, women constituted 46.6 percent of employees in the nonagricultural sector.

The predominant religion is Roman Catholic, with small populations of Protestants, Muslims, and Hindus. The influence of the Catholic Church may be seen in the fact that Andorra does not recognize divorce and that abortion is legal only to save the woman's life. However, since 2005 Andorra has recognized civil unions between same-sex partners, although same-sex marriage is not legal as of 2010. The legal age of marriage for both men and women is 16. Andorra has a high standard of healthcare, which is reflected in excellent maternal and child health. Childhood vaccination rates range from 84 percent for hepatitis B to 99 percent for DTP (a compound vaccine protecting against diphtheria, pertussis or whooping cough, and tetanus). The infant mortality rate is 3.68 per 1,000 live births, ranking 211th out of 225 reporting countries.