Andorra is a country located in the Pyrenees, so it shares a border with Spain and France.
In the last decade, the number of new residents is constantly growing due to its fair taxation. In addition, it is a country that has a great offer of entertainment and is surrounded by natural places of great beauty. What is the official language of Andorra? Next, we tell you everything about this topic.
Andorra has one bilingual and polyglot population due to its geographical position. Its inhabitants use French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan to communicate. Some people find it curious that Catalan is spoken in the country, but you have to take into account that Andorra has a border with Lleida.
The official language of Andorra is Catalan. It is the language used in politics, institutions and the media, as well as being used by Andorrans. It should be noted that Andorra has one native population of one third, being the only European country where the native population is the minority. This makes it a multicultural country, with the presence of several nationalities.
Catalan is also the main language for approximately 25% of immigrants of Spanish descent, while Spanish ranks second as the most spoken language in the country, followed by French and Portuguese.
Over the years, the presence of Spanish speakers in Andorra has remained significant in the population. According to the censuses, in 1995, 34.6% of the inhabitants had Spanish as their mother tongue, while 15.4% considered it their second language, adding up to a total of 50%.
Over the following decades, this trend has remained relatively stable, with slight changes. In 2018, 43.2% of the population had Spanish as their mother tongue, and 14.4% used it as a second language, representing a total of 57.6%.
These data suggest that, although the proportion of Spanish speakers has experienced some fluctuations, the language continues to play an important role in the linguistic and cultural identity of the Andorran population.
Andorra has three education systems: Andorran, Spanish and French. The Andorran system, established in 1982 under the Ministry of Education and Culture, uses Catalan as the main language.
The Spanish system depends on the Ministry of Education of Spain since 1882 and was unified in 2016 in Maria Moliner Spanish College. This educational center teaches from kindergarten to high school, using Spanish as the vehicular language.
On the other hand, the French system it has 14 nursery and primary schools, along with the high school Lycée Comte de Foix, using French as the main language.
In conclusion, the language in Andorra it is an essential part of their identity. Although Catalan is official, Spanish, French and Portuguese are also languages in common use. This diversity not only benefits international communication and customer satisfaction, but also encourages the intercultural collaboration and stimulates cognitive skills, becoming a valuable asset for individual and business progress in the Pyrenean nation.
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