Moving to another country, people are quite worried about the issue of one’s national structure. After all, an important factor in comfortable living there is social adaptation and the ability to assimilate with the local population. The Principality of Andorra is the best suited for this because almost entirely consists of migrants while indigenous Andorrans here are very few.
So there are only 10 thousand native Andorrans live here out of almost 80,000 population, which is the 1/8. On the whole, Andorrans here are about half of the total number of inhabitants, but these are representatives of other nations who have received citizenship.
In general, this question is very complex: different sources speak about different statistics and it is not possible today to determine the real descendants of the Catalan peasants who settled the local mountain valleys hundreds of years ago.
In any case, this country is very multi-European. Most of all Spaniards live here, but there are also a lot of French, Portuguese, there are British, Germans, and representatives of other nationalities.
How Andorra's demography developed
An interesting fact is that today this principality is a popular tourist destination and a very attractive country for living in. And some three hundred years ago there was practically no population here, this area was something like a wild province. In total, about 5,000 people lived here at that time and did not strive to grow for a couple of hundred years. All because of not the most favorable conditions for agriculture, cattle breeding, and life in general. The harsh mountain climate forced people to look for more livable conditions, which is why large Andorran diasporas still exist in many European countries. One of the largest, for example, is located in Spain, in Barcelona.
The situation changed around the 60s of the last century. At this moment, ski tourism began to gain great popularity, and the whole of Europe get known about such a miracle of nature as the principality of Andorra, with its virgin mountain valleys, unique architecture, and pleasant ecology.
If in 1954 the population of Andorra numbered a little more than 5,000 people, then already in 1970 this number increased to almost 20,000, and in 1981 there were almost 40,000 people. All thanks to the fact that the state found its "niche" and it became much easier to live here: jobs appeared, the state, which received more taxes, was able to implement them for social programs. Therefore, people stopped leaving country, and the birth rate has significantly increased here. Since then, the situation has not changed in any way — the population of this country is gradually growing, all for the same reasons.
What people like about life in Andorra
The Principality of Andorra attracts people for a variety of reasons. So immigrants from poor countries come here thanks to the opportunity to find work because there are a lot of jobs in the service sector. Some come here to invest in a developing tourism sector. Someone is looking for peace and tranquility here, unity with nature without interrupting civilization.
More than three-quarters of the workers in various service sectors in this country are foreigners. Thus, you can meet many Portuguese, Spaniards, and Moroccans in various positions in hotels, amusement parks, in the restaurant business, etc. In addition, there are a lot of those here who officially have the citizenship of a neighboring country (France or Spain), but live and work in Andorra, or vice versa — live in Andorra, but work in France.
This is due to the fact that living here is much cheaper due to the low taxes.
Therefore, do not be afraid of moving and assimilation issues in Andorra. When practically the whole country consists of immigrants and its economy is built on them, the national question never causes any issues.
If you have any questions regarding moving or traveling to the Principality of Andorra, you are interested in what you should pay attention to, what documents you need, and other related questions, then be sure to write to us and we will answer you.