{ "title": "Andorra: Five Things You May Not Know About the IMF’s 190th Member", "publication": "IMF News, October 16, 2020", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/index.md", "summary": "

Today the IMF welcomed the Principality of Andorra as its 190th member. Andorra—a microstate situated between France and Spain—joined the IMF at a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C.

", "authors": [ "Ana Lariau", "Jenny Lee IMF European Department October" ], "publishDate": "2020-10-16", "sections": [ { "heading": "Membership and accession process", "content": "- 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.\n- Andorra applied for membership to the IMF in January 2020.\n- 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.\n- Several IMF departments worked together on the accession: European, Finance, Legal, Secretary’s, and Statistics." }, { "heading": "Membership benefits and participation", "content": "- 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.\n- Specific benefits available to Andorra include:\n - an annual review or “health check” of its economy by the IMF,\n - technical assistance,\n - access to IMF lending if needed,\n - the ability to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring and Annual Meetings as a full member." }, { "heading": "Five notable country facts", "content": "- Size and status:\n - Andorra has an area of 181 square miles.\n - It is about two-thirds the size of the island city-state of Singapore.\n - Andorra is the largest among the six European microstates, followed by Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.\n- Currency, governance, and EU relations:\n - While it uses the euro, Andorra is not part of the euro area or the EU.\n - The principality became a parliamentary democracy in May 1993 after a new constitution was approved by popular referendum.\n - 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.”\n - The country does not have its own currency and does not have a central bank.\n - Before the euro, Andorra used the Spanish peseta and the French franc.\n - Andorra is negotiating an Association Agreement with the EU to gain access to its internal market.\n- Economy and visitors:\n - The main industries are tourism, trade, and banking.\n - Trade and tourism comprise close to 40 percent of the economy’s output.\n - The financial sector accounts for another 20 percent.\n - In 2019, Andorra received over 8 million visitors, mostly from Spain and France.\n- Gender representation:\n - Almost 47 percent of the parliamentarians, including the Speaker and the Alternate Speaker, are women.\n - This nation of 77,000 has perfect gender balance among the ministers.\n - These outcomes were achieved without any quotas or legal requirements.\n- Environmental commitment:\n - Andorra achieved a fivefold increase in its renewable energy capacity since 2016.\n - Current efforts are focused on transportation and heating—the main sources of emissions in the country.\n - 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.\n\nInternational Monetary Fund\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus\n- PRESS CENTER\n- Read the press release\n- Watch the video\n- Andorra and the IMF\n- IMF Annual Meetings\n- membership to the IMF\n- quota\n- COVID-19\n- annual review\n- technical assistance\n- lending\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Ana Lariau, Jenny Lee IMF European Department October", "Published: October 16, 2020", "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 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:", "Size and status:", "Currency, governance, and EU relations:", "Economy and visitors:", "Gender representation:", "Environmental commitment:", "[https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus](https://www.imf.org/en/News/country-focus)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[Read the press release](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/10/16/pr20315-andorra-principality-of-andorra-becomes-imfs-190th-member)", "[Watch the video](https://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=6200723734001)", "[Andorra and the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/AND)", "[IMF Annual Meetings](https://meetings.imf.org/en/2020/Annual)", "[membership to the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/01/09/pr205-andorra-andorra-applies-for-imf-membership)", "[quota](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2016/07/14/12/21/IMF-Quotas)", "[COVID-19](https://www.imf.org/en/About/FAQ/imf-response-to-covid-19)", "[annual review](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Surveillance)", "[technical assistance](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/imf-capacity-development)", "[lending](https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Lending)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/14/na101620-andorra-five-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-imfs-190th-member/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T23:53:07.766Z" }