What's with Andorra?
This is interesting: people apparently live forever there. According to this 2002 SSA document (p.22), women's life expectancy is 86.5 years, the highest in Eureope. (Second among European countries is San Marino at 85.1 years, then Monaco at 83.1 years.) Among men, Andorra's life expectancy is 80.5 years (!) -- way ahead of second place San Marino at 77.6.
According to the CIA World FactBook, the comparable numbers for Canada currently are 76.9 years for men and 83.7 years for women.
It ain't because they're rich. Andorra is growing quickly, but its 2002 per-capita GDP -- $18,000 USD -- was just over half of San Marino's and 2/3 of Monaco's, and it's relatively low among the group of Western European nations. (The CIA World Factbook has it at $24,000 in 2004, which would put it in the middle of the pack of Western European nations.)
Is it that Andorrans don't have many kids? Andorra's depency ratio is apparently the lowest in Europe at 38.7 (for comparison, Germany's is 46.8 and the UK's is 53.3). Is there some sort of self-selection bias to living there? It's a tiny little country of 71,000 people.
It's also sort of an economic wild west. As in Monaco, there's no income tax and (unlike Monaco) a low payroll tax, and unemployment insurance and family allowances are apparently done on a case-by-case basis. And from the Factbook entry on Andorra's economy:
Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy, accounts for more than 80% of GDP. An estimated 11.6 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its partial "tax haven" status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is limited - only 2% of the land is arable - and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as a non-EU member for agricultural products.
Curious, curious stuff.
Update: Chris points out the obvious in comments: it's Andorra's traditional lack of industry (combined with everything else that makes people live long in southern Europe). Even among micro-states, San Marino has 42% of its labour force in industry, which probably accounts for much of the difference between the two in longevity.
According to the CIA World FactBook, the comparable numbers for Canada currently are 76.9 years for men and 83.7 years for women.
It ain't because they're rich. Andorra is growing quickly, but its 2002 per-capita GDP -- $18,000 USD -- was just over half of San Marino's and 2/3 of Monaco's, and it's relatively low among the group of Western European nations. (The CIA World Factbook has it at $24,000 in 2004, which would put it in the middle of the pack of Western European nations.)
Is it that Andorrans don't have many kids? Andorra's depency ratio is apparently the lowest in Europe at 38.7 (for comparison, Germany's is 46.8 and the UK's is 53.3). Is there some sort of self-selection bias to living there? It's a tiny little country of 71,000 people.
It's also sort of an economic wild west. As in Monaco, there's no income tax and (unlike Monaco) a low payroll tax, and unemployment insurance and family allowances are apparently done on a case-by-case basis. And from the Factbook entry on Andorra's economy:
Tourism, the mainstay of Andorra's tiny, well-to-do economy, accounts for more than 80% of GDP. An estimated 11.6 million tourists visit annually, attracted by Andorra's duty-free status and by its summer and winter resorts. Andorra's comparative advantage has recently eroded as the economies of neighboring France and Spain have been opened up, providing broader availability of goods and lower tariffs. The banking sector, with its partial "tax haven" status, also contributes substantially to the economy. Agricultural production is limited - only 2% of the land is arable - and most food has to be imported. The principal livestock activity is sheep raising. Manufacturing output consists mainly of cigarettes, cigars, and furniture. Andorra is a member of the EU Customs Union and is treated as an EU member for trade in manufactured goods (no tariffs) and as a non-EU member for agricultural products.
Curious, curious stuff.
Update: Chris points out the obvious in comments: it's Andorra's traditional lack of industry (combined with everything else that makes people live long in southern Europe). Even among micro-states, San Marino has 42% of its labour force in industry, which probably accounts for much of the difference between the two in longevity.
3 Comments:
Of couse Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, being micro-states, are completely non-industrial and always have been. Might help.
CHris
Yeah, that's almost certainly it. Still, it's funny that Andorra kicks even San Marino's ass in terms of longevity.
Wait -- not true. In fact, San Marino's labour force is 42% industrial. So there you have it I guess.
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