Today it’s time to expand my knowledge of Andorra beyond the fact it’s a micro-state with a reputation as a budget ski destination for rowdy Brits.
Andorra is far bigger than I thought. It turns out there are many smaller countries. Yes, Andorra is the largest of Europe’s micro states, being larger than Malta, Lichtenstien and over 200 times the size of Monaco.
The official and historic language is Catalan. In fact, Andorra is the only country where Catalan is the official language. Andorra is also the only country in the world to be a parliamentary co-principality.
Wait, a what? A co-principality is essentially a country where the position of head of state is shared between two unelected people. In this case, two unelected foreigners: the president of France and the Catholic bishop of Urgell of Catalonia. This makes the president of France, in his capacity as prince of Andorra, an elected monarch, although he is not elected by Andorran people.
So, to summarise Andorra has two unelected heads of state. One of which is elected by another country. That’s Brexiteer-level idiosyncrasy if you ask me.
Andorra’s main hustle is tourism. It reportedly receives over 10 million tourists a year, although this statistic is a little dubious as the only cited source is a deceased Andorran website. None of this really matters though as Andorra is definitely home to Europe’s largest spa, even if it does look like a North Korean take on London’s The Shard.
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