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People
Social and Cultural Demography
The population of Andorra is approximately 90,000 in total. The people of Andorra live in seven urbanized valleys that form Andorra's political districts.
Andorrans are a minority in their own country; Spanish, French, and Portuguese residents make the up the majority of the population. According to Andorran government statistics, ethnic Andorrans comprise 33 percent of a total population of over 81 million. About 43 percent of the population is Spanish; 11 percent is Portuguese; 7 percent is French. Other ethnic groups account for the remaining 6 percent.
Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion with almost 100 percent of the population subscribing to this Christian denomination.
The national language is Catalan, a romance language related to the Provençal groups. It is spoken by more than 6 million people in the region comprising French and Spanish Catalonia. French and Castilian Spanish also are spoken. The literacy rate is 100 percent.
Human Development
Andorrans have an average life expectancy at birth for the total population is 82.5 years -- 85 years for females and 80 years for males, according to recent estimates. The birth rate is 10 births per 1,000 population, according to recent estimates, while the infant mortality rate is 3.84 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Education law requires school attendance for children up to age 16. A system of French, Spanish and Andorran lay schools provide education up to the secondary level. Schools are built and maintained by Andorran authorities, but teachers are paid for the most part by France or Spain. About 50 percent of Andorran children attend the French primary schools, and the rest attend Spanish or Andorran schools. About 7.7 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures in this country; about 3.2 percent of GDP is spent on educational expenditures. Access to education, sanitation, water, and health is regarded to be very good. In July 1997, the Andorran Government passed a law on universities and shortly afterward, the University of Andorra was established. Neither the geographically complex country nor the number of students makes it possible for the University of Andorra to develop a full academic program, and it serves principally as a center for virtual studies, connected to Spanish and French universities. The only two graduate schools in Andorra are the Nursing School and the School of Computer Science. Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com; see Bibliography for research sources.
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