Andorra: Five Things You May Not Know About the IMF’s 190th Member
IMF News, October 16, 2020
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- Authors: Ana Lariau, Jenny Lee IMF European Department October
- Published: October 16, 2020
Membership and accession process
- Andorra became the IMF’s 190th member when Elisenda Vives Balmaña signed the IMF’s Articles of Agreement at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
- Andorra applied for membership to the IMF in January 2020.
- The membership process, which included collecting economic information for the calculation of Andorra’s quota, was completed virtually due to the travel restrictions related to COVID-19.
- Several IMF departments worked together on the accession: European, Finance, Legal, Secretary’s, and Statistics.
Membership benefits and participation
- Membership allows the Andorran government to benefit from IMF policy advice as the country tackles the crisis caused by COVID-19 and develops policies for a sustained recovery.
- Specific benefits available to Andorra include:
- an annual review or “health check” of its economy by the IMF,
- technical assistance,
- access to IMF lending if needed,
- the ability to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring and Annual Meetings as a full member.
Five notable country facts
- Size and status:
- Andorra has an area of 181 square miles.
- It is about two-thirds the size of the island city-state of Singapore.
- Andorra is the largest among the six European microstates, followed by Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.
- Currency, governance, and EU relations:
- While it uses the euro, Andorra is not part of the euro area or the EU.
- The principality became a parliamentary democracy in May 1993 after a new constitution was approved by popular referendum.
- The head of government is the chief executive; the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell in Spain are the joint heads of state or “co-princes.”
- The country does not have its own currency and does not have a central bank.
- Before the euro, Andorra used the Spanish peseta and the French franc.
- Andorra is negotiating an Association Agreement with the EU to gain access to its internal market.
- Economy and visitors:
- The main industries are tourism, trade, and banking.
- Trade and tourism comprise close to 40 percent of the economy’s output.
- The financial sector accounts for another 20 percent.
- In 2019, Andorra received over 8 million visitors, mostly from Spain and France.
- Gender representation:
- Almost 47 percent of the parliamentarians, including the Speaker and the Alternate Speaker, are women.
- This nation of 77,000 has perfect gender balance among the ministers.
- These outcomes were achieved without any quotas or legal requirements.
- Environmental commitment:
- Andorra achieved a fivefold increase in its renewable energy capacity since 2016.
- Current efforts are focused on transportation and heating—the main sources of emissions in the country.
- The government has established long-term goals to reduce energy dependence and increase the production of renewable energy by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
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