ANDORRA
FLAG: The national flag of the Principality of Andorra was adopted in 1866. The flag is a vertical tricolor of blue, yellow, and red with the coat of arms of Andorra in the center. Although the three vertical bars may at first appear to be of equal width, the center yellow bar is slightly wider than the other two so that the ratio of bar widths is 8:9:8. The overall flag ratio is 7:10.
The design is related to the flags of France, Catalonia and Foix, the lands historically linked with the small country. A flag of three bars is similar to that of the French Tricolor, while the pattern of a wider middle stripe can be noted on the Catalan flag (as the old royal symbol of the Crown of Aragon) and on the arms of the old County of Foix (currently part of France). The blue and red of the Andorran flag are also found on the French flag, with red and yellow also being the principal colors of the colors of the other two flags. From 1806 to 1866, Andorra's flag was a vertical bi-color of yellow and red. The motto in the coat of arms in the middle stripe Virtus Unita Fortior means "Virtue United is Stronger".
(Source: Wikipedia)
ANDORRA
(That tiny little country by the arrow - Distinctive co-principality between France and Spain)
CAPITAL: Andorra la Vella
POPULATION: 71,000
LANGUAGE: Catalan, French, Spanish and Portuguese
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 84 years
LAND: 468 sq km
MAJOR RELIGION: Christianity
CURRENCY: Euro
Andorra is a small land-locked country bordered by France and Spain. Little known facts about this tiny country. First, yes....it is a country. Not a fictional place conceived by George Lucas :D
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It is about 1,000 years old, it has a seat in the United Nations, an Olympic team and diplomatic relations with other countries. It is the 16th smallest country in the world, by land, and 11th in population.
Tobacco is one of the main crops in this little country...
(From 8 Facts About Andorra - link below): One fact that surprised me here is how much tobacco is produced in Andorra. It takes up a lot of what little farming space exists here. There used to be a cigarette factory in Andorra and because of its status as a tax haven, you can purchase cigarettes here much cheaper than you can in Spain or France. Cigarette smuggling has been a long problem (tradition) in Andorra where people would head up to the mountain tops to take smokes into Spain or France. Andorra is also one of the few places in Europe where you can still smoke indoors in public places.
Andorra is the world's only Co-Principality: A principality is a place ruled by a prince. Monaco is an example of a principality. Andorra, however, is a co-principality. They have two princes who jointly share the position of prince. Neither of the two is from Andorra, however. One is the President of France, who is currently Nicolas Sarkozy. The other co-prince is the Bishop of Urgell who is currently Joan Enric Vives Sicília. The position is a constitutional one similar to the British Monarchy and holds no real power. Except for limited things, the two princes must exercise their authority together, not separately. They are the only country where one of their heads of state (the President of France) is democratically elected by another country. The other prince (the bishop) is appointed by the head of state of another country (the Pope).
Andorra is the only country in the world with CATALAN as its official language: Catalan is spoken in Spain, bits of France and an even smaller hunk of Sardinia. However, the only country where it is the official language is in Andorra. I’m sure there are many people in Catalonia, however, who would like there to be at least one more country :)
Andorra has never been in a war in over a thousand years! (We could learn something from these folks)....Given its non-strategic location in the Pyrenees Mountains and lack of natural resources, Andorra has been without conflict almost since Charlemagne came through to fight the Moors. Technically, Andorra did declare war on Germany in WWI but never sent anyone into the conflict. Given Andorra’s lack of participation in WWI, they were forgotten about in the Treaty of Versailles and didn’t officially declare peace with Germany until 1957!
(Source: https://everything-everywhere.com/8-facts-about-andorra/)
Well, I am totally impressed at how many "only"s this little country has!
Because of its rugged terrain, earthquakes and landslides are a common occurrence.
What a fascinating little "micro" country! Hope you enjoyed (and learned) reading about ANDORRA (again, not the Star Wars place OR Darren Steven's mother-in-law) :D
Next stop: ANGOLA!
