| Languages of Andorra | |
|---|---|
| Official language(s) | Catalan |
| Main foreign language(s) | Spanish, French and Portuguese |
| Sign language(s) | French Sign Language |
The following languages are currently spoken in the Principality of Andorra.
Contents |
Catalan is the only official language of Andorra.[1] It is also the historical and traditional language of the country used by government, television, radio, and other national media and is the main language of all the people living in the territory of Andorran nationality, who constitute 33% of the total population.
It is also the main language of about 25% of Spanish immigrants (who constitute 43% of Andorra's population), usually those who immigrated since 1985 from nearby Catalonia or Valencia (where it's called Valencian).
Recently the Government of Andorra is enforcing the learning and use of the language within the immigrant labor force as a means to fully apply the constitution and overcome the issue of people living in a country without knowing its only native language.
The fact that Andorra is the only country in the world that has Catalan with official status in all of its territory led to the strange situation that the only native language of the country spoken by more than 10 million, with a thriving culture, and officially recognized by the United Nations, is only official for fewer than 50,000 of its speakers. The same situation applies to a possible integration within the European Union.
Spanish is the main language of about 70% of Spanish national immigrants (the remaining 5% speak Galician). Most came to the country between 1955 and 1995 from the traditionally less developed regions of southern, western and central regions of the Iberian Peninsula (Andalusia, Extremadura, Castile-La Mancha, Murcia, Galicia...) and from the ones next to the Bay of Biscay (Asturias, Cantabria...) that suffered the industrial crisis of the metallurgy due to the integration of Spain in the European Union.
The low degree of development of Andorra at that time, the precarious degree of education in the original territories of the immigrants, and the possibility of an invasion by Spain during the Franco regime reduced the ability of full integration of this population until 1993, when the constitution of the country was approved. Since then, Spanish, the language used by most of the population living in the country, had its status changed and is now a minority language (although remaining a huge minority with nearly 40% of the population).
Since Andorra also shares both Spanish and French education systems, children can be taught at school in the Spanish language, if parents choose it.
The traditional economic situation in southern Portugal (usually Algarve and Alentejo) prompted a huge migration flux to the country between 1960 and 1980, increasing the Portuguese population to 11% of the total.
The nearby border with France, the tax-free cheaper cost of living, and the opportunity for a good job within the thriving tourist industry resulted in 7% of the country's total population being french nationals, usually immigrants from the old French African colonies[2].
As with Spanish, children can be taught at school in the French language, if parents choose it.
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  | Constitution of Andorra - The constitution of the Principality of Andorra |
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