Author Dmitrii Sheinkman Residence permit expert, tax adviser 29 October 2026 9 min read Message the author

Living in Andorra in 2026: pros and cons, housing prices, healthcare, schools and language

Life in Andorra means income tax of no more than 10%, safety, free schools and mountains three hours from Barcelona. The main drawback is housing: flats have risen by a third since 2023, listings ask about €8,000 per m², and only about 120 flats are offered for rent in the whole country. The population is 90,000, more than half of them foreign nationals.

Andorra attracts families with capital and business owners who value low taxes, calm and having Europe on the doorstep. Below are the pros and cons of life in the principality, based on official Andorran statistics for 2025–2026: housing, prices, healthcare, schools, language, climate, travel and safety. How to obtain the right to live there is covered in our guide to the Andorran residence permit.

Andorra in figures

Item	Value
Population	90,021 on 31.07.2026, 55.4% foreign nationals
Largest communities	Spanish 23.6%, Portuguese 9.5%, French 4.6%
Flat, sale price	€4,569.7 per m² in Q2 2026
Rent, new leases	€13 per m² a month (2024); about €27 per m² in listings
Inflation	+4.8% in August 2026
Minimum wage	€1,568.67 a month from 1 July 2026
Median wage	€2,408 a month gross (2025)
Income tax	10%, the first €24,000 a year tax-free
Altitude of the capital	about 1,023 m

Pros and cons of living in Andorra

Andorra wins on taxes, safety and schools and loses on housing, prices and distance: anything that needs a big city is in Barcelona or Toulouse.

Pros.

Taxes. Personal income tax is a single 10% rate with €24,000 a year tax-free, and income up to €40,000 is effectively taxed at 5%. Andorran dividends are tax-free for residents, and IGI (the local VAT) is 4.5%. You become tax resident after 183 days a year. How a company and its owner are taxed is covered in our guide to a company in Andorra.
Safety. In 2025 the police recorded 4,009 offences nationwide, 328 of them violent; intentional homicides are counted in single figures a year.
Free schools. Three public systems — Andorran, French and Spanish — are free; only two private schools charge fees.
Nature and sport. 308 km of ski pistes at three resorts within half an hour, and mountain trails in summer.
Fuel. In June 2026 a litre of 95-octane petrol cost €1.556, against about €1.94 in France (according to a French price service).

Cons.

Housing. Expensive and scarce, and foreigners pay a 6–10% tax when buying.
Inflation above the neighbours: +4.8% in August 2026 against +4.3% in Spain and +2.4% in France.
Language. Catalan is required to renew a work-based residence permit and for citizenship.
Healthcare. There is one hospital; complex cases are treated in Barcelona, Lleida and Toulouse.
Travel. No railway and no airport in the country; the nearest with scheduled flights is La Seu d’Urgell in Spain.
Tourists. 9.2 million visitors and 4.2 million vehicle entries in 2025 — the valleys get congested in season.
Tighter rules. Passive residence rose from €600,000 to €1,000,000, and the quota was cut by two thirds.

Housing in Andorra: buying and renting

According to official statistics, a flat sold for an average of €4,569.7 per m² in Q2 2026 — 32% more than in 2023 (€3,449, our calculation). These are all transactions, including older stock. In listings on the pisos.ad portal in the same quarter, flats averaged €8,027 per m²: €9,552 in Escaldes-Engordany, €7,855 in central Andorra la Vella, €6,704 in La Massana and €5,840 in Encamp. Non-residents make up 22.6% of buyers.

Foreign investment in property needs an authorisation and is taxed: 6% on a single home and 10% on anything else. It applies to non-residents and to residents with less than 3 of the last 10 years in Andorra, which includes new residents. For passive residence, a home counts as the investment if it costs more than €800,000.

Renting is the real bottleneck. 64.5% of Andorran households rent. New leases in 2024 averaged €13 per m²: about €1,365 a month for a 105 m² flat (our calculation). But there is almost nothing on the market: in Q2 2026 pisos.ad listed 117 flats for the whole country, averaging €2,833 a month for 105 m²; about €3,800 in Escaldes and about €3,400 in Andorra la Vella. Houses for rent: 19 listings, averaging €6,605 a month.

The government is holding the market back: since 2025 no new tourist-rental licences are issued for flats, foreigners may not invest in such property, and empty homes are taxed and can be temporarily taken over by the state. In June 2026 a law was passed to phase out the compulsory extension of old leases. Rent caps do not apply to leases above €2,500 a month, to houses or to leases with residents who have no right to work — for an affluent newcomer the price is set by the market.

The cost of living in Andorra

Prices rise faster than next door: inflation in Andorra was +4.8% in August 2026, +4.3% in Spain and +2.4% in France. The minimum wage from 1 July 2026 is €1,568.67 a month, the average wage for 2025 was €2,818 gross and the median €2,408. The standard IGI rate is 4.5% against 21% VAT in Spain and 20% in France, so electronics, clothing and fuel are cheaper, while housing and services cost more.

A rough guide for a family of four in Andorra la Vella: rent of €3,000–3,800 a month, private health insurance for a passive resident (mandatory), and a British school from €9,360 a year per child if the free system does not suit. Neighbouring countries’ taxes are in our summary of tax rates across Europe.

Healthcare: CASS and private insurance

Public healthcare runs through the CASS social security fund. It reimburses part of the official tariff, not of the doctor’s whole bill: a visit referred by your family doctor 75%, without referral 33%; tests and procedures 75%; hospital stays 90%; pregnancy and childbirth 100%. For doctors without a CASS agreement the refund is 20% of the tariff. Patients must register with a family doctor; gynaecologists, ophthalmologists and dentists can be seen without referral.

The country has one hospital, Nostra Senyora de Meritxell. When the right specialist is not available in Andorra, CASS refers patients to Barcelona, Lleida or Toulouse.

A passive resident cannot join CASS: they do not work in Andorra, and voluntary membership is only open from age 50 after 180 months of contributions. The law therefore requires private insurance covering 100% of medical costs in Andorra as well as incapacity and old age (for children and people over 60, medical cover only).

Schools and education

Andorra has three free school systems. In 2023 the Andorran system had 4,722 pupils, the French 3,376 and the Spanish 3,026. The Andorran system teaches in Catalan with French, Spanish and English; the French one leads to the French baccalauréat, the Spanish one to the Spanish diploma with Spanish at B2 and Catalan at B1.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is offered by two private schools: Àgora International School Andorra and British College of Andorra. British College fees are €9,360–14,970 a year plus a €2,860 enrolment fee (2025/26). For children who will go on to university in Spain or France, the free Spanish and French systems do the job at no cost.

Language: do you need Catalan?

The official language is Catalan, but most people use Spanish day to day, and French and Portuguese are widely heard. In a 2022 survey Catalan was the first language of 44% of residents and Spanish of 40%.

For paperwork Catalan is now compulsory. Since 26 April 2026 the holder of a work-based residence permit can renew it only with Catalan at A1 for the first renewal and A2 for the second (Act 6/2024). For passive residence, the self-employed and digital nomads, the law requires the government to introduce the same levels within five years. Citizenship requires Catalan at B1 (for those under 70) and a test of knowledge about Andorra.

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Climate and mountains

Andorra la Vella lies at about 1,023 m. On long-term averages January is about 2 °C, July about 19 °C, with about 800 mm of rain a year. Winter 2025–26 was mild: 4.4 °C on average and 32 days of frost, while precipitation was twice the norm. The ski season runs from late November or early December to April: 308 km of pistes at Grandvalira, Pal Arinsal and Ordino Arcalís, and more than 2.3 million skier days in 2024/25.

Transport and getting there

Andorra has no airport and no railway of its own. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Andorra–La Seu d’Urgell in Spain: Madrid and Palma in 2026, with Paris-Orly added from 2027. The bus to Barcelona airport takes about 3 hours and costs €33–35. In 2025, 4.2 million vehicles entered Andorra, three quarters of them from Spain, and there were 9.2 million visitors — in the ski season and at weekends the valleys are congested.

Safety

Andorra is a calm country. In 2025 the police recorded 4,009 offences (−2.5% on 2024): 2,255 crimes and 1,754 minor offences. 328 involved violence and 1,085 property, including 691 thefts; intentional homicides range from none to four a year. Bear in mind that these figures cover not only 90,000 residents but also 9 million visitors.

Key facts about living in Andorra

Income tax up to 10%, the first €24,000 a year tax-free, Andorran dividends tax-free.
Safe: 4,009 offences a year nationwide.
Three free school systems, IB at two private schools.
Housing is the main drawback: flats +32% since 2023, and 117 flats to rent nationwide.
Catalan is required to renew a work-based permit and for citizenship.
A passive resident needs private health insurance.

Frequently asked questions about living in Andorra

How much does it cost to rent a flat in Andorra?

New leases are signed at an average of €13 per m² a month, but there are almost no flats available. In listings in the second quarter of 2026, a flat of about 105 m² cost €2,833 a month on average, and about €3,800 in Escaldes.

How much does it cost to buy a flat in Andorra?

About €4,570 per m² in actual sales in the second quarter of 2026, and about €8,000 per m² in listings. A foreign buyer pays a 6% tax on a single home and needs a foreign investment authorisation.

Do you need to speak Catalan to live in Andorra?

Spanish or French is enough for daily life. But since April 2026 renewing a work-based residence permit requires Catalan at A1 and then A2, and citizenship requires B1. The same levels are due to be introduced for passive residence in the coming years.

Is healthcare free in Andorra?

No. CASS reimburses part of the official tariff: 75% for a visit referred by your family doctor and 90% for hospital stays. A passive resident is not covered by CASS and must have private insurance.

Are schools free in Andorra?

Yes, the three public systems, Andorran, French and Spanish, are free. Only the private Àgora and British College charge fees, and they offer the International Baccalaureate.

Is Andorra safe to live in?

Yes. In 2025 the police recorded 4,009 offences nationwide, 328 of them violent, and intentional homicides are counted in single figures a year.

How do you get to Andorra?

Only by road: there is no airport or railway. The bus from Barcelona airport takes about 3 hours, and the nearest airport with flights to Madrid and Palma is La Seu d’Urgell in Spain.