Luxembourg Population: 514,862
28 VISITORS FROM HERE!«  Previous Country | Next Country  » Back to Flag Counter Overview |  |
| Background | |
| Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and an independent state under the Netherlands. It lost more than half of its territory to Belgium in 1839 but gained a larger measure of autonomy. Full independence was attained in 1867. Overrun by Germany in both world wars, it ended its neutrality in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and when it joined NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area. |
 |
| |
| Geography | |
| Landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | |
| Location: | Western Europe, between France and Germany |
| Geographic coordinates: | 49 45 N, 6 10 E |
| Area: | total: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km Size comparison: slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
| Land Boundaries: | total: 359 km border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims: | none (landlocked) |
| Climate: | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers |
| Terrain: | mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
| Natural resources: | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land |
| Land use: | arable land: 27.42% permanent crops: 0.69% other: 71.89% (includes Belgium) (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | NA |
| Natural hazards: | NA |
| Current Environment Issues: | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| ^Back to Top | |
| People | |
| Population: | 514,862 (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 18% (male 47,679/female 44,812) 15-24 years: 12.6% (male 33,182/female 31,860) 25-54 years: 42.3% (male 109,075/female 108,922) 55-64 years: 11.8% (male 30,481/female 30,422) 65 years and over: 15.2% (male 32,892/female 45,537) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 39.5 years male: 38.4 years female: 40.5 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.135% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 11.7 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 8.5 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 8.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 4.39 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 79.75 years male: 76.5 years female: 83.21 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.77 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.3% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 100 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg |
| Ethnic groups: | Luxembourger 63.1%, Portuguese 13.3%, French 4.5%, Italian 4.3%, German 2.3%, other EU 7.3%, other 5.2% (2000 census) |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000) |
| Languages: | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
| Government type: | constitutional monarchy |
| Capital: | name: Luxembourg geographic coordinates: 49 36 N, 6 07 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions: | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg |
| Independence: | 1839 (from the Netherlands) |
| National holiday: | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June; note - the actual date of birth was 23 January 1896, but the festivities were shifted by five months to allow observance during a more favorable time of year |
| Constitution: | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions |
| Legal system: | civil law system |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 20 January 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: the monarchy is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies note: government coalition - CSV and LSAP |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 7 June 2009 (next to be held by June 2014) election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 38%, LSAP 21.6%, DP 15%, Green Party 11.7%, ADR 8.1%, The Left 3.3%, other 2.3%; seats by party - CSV 26, LSAP 13, DP 9, Green Party 7, ADR 4, The Left 1 note: there is also a Council of State that serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies; the Council of State has 21 members appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister |
| Judicial branch: | Constitutional Court; judicial courts and tribunals (Superior Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation, 2 district tribunals, 3 lesser tribunals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office, Administrative Tribunal and Administrative Court); judges for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch |
| Political parties and leaders: | Alternative Democratic Reform Party or ADR [Jean SCHOOS]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV [Michel WOLTER]; the Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) [Fabienne LENTZ and David WAGNER]; Democratic Party or DP [Xavier BETTEL]; Green Party [Sam TANSON and Christian GOEBEL]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; other minor parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | ABBL (bankers' association); ALEBA (financial sector trade union); Centrale Paysanne (federation of agricultural producers); CEP (professional sector chamber); CGFP (trade union representing civil service); Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce); Chamber of Artisans (Chambre des Metiers); FEDIL (federation of industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (environment protection); OGBL (center-left trade union) |
| International organization participation: | ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Jean-Louis WOLZFELD chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 through 72 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert MANDELL embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail) telephone: [352] 46-01-23 FAX: [352] 46-14-01 |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Economy | |
| This small, stable, high-income economy - benefiting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - has historically featured solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and other products. Growth in the financial sector, which now accounts for about 27% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings, but Luxembourg has lost some of its advantages as a favorable tax location because of OECD and EU pressure. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for about 40% of its labor force. Luxembourg, like all EU members, suffered from the global economic crisis that began in late 2008, but unemployment has trended below the EU average. Following strong expansion from 2004 to 2007, Luxembourg's economy contracted 3.6% in 2009, but rebounded in 2010-11 before slowing again in 2012. The country continues to enjoy an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks among the highest in the world, and is the highest in the euro zone. Turmoil in the world financial markets and lower global demand during 2008-09 prompted the government to inject capital into the banking sector and implement stimulus measures to boost the economy. Government stimulus measures and support for the banking sector, however, led to a 5% government budget deficit in 2009. Nevertheless, the deficit was cut to 1.1% in 2011 and 0.9% in 2012. Even during the financial crisis and recovery, Luxembourg retained the highest current account surplus as a share of GDP in the euro zone, owing largely to their strength in financial services. Public debt remains among the lowest of the region although it has more than doubled since 2007 as percentage of GDP. Luxembourg's economy, while stabile, grew slowly in 2012 due to ongoing weak growth in the euro area. Authorities have strengthened supervision of domestic banks because of their exposure to the activities of foreign banks. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $42.19 billion (2012 est.) $41.89 billion (2011 est.) $41.47 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $56.2 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 1% (2012 est.) 1.6% (2011 est.) 2.7% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $80,700 (2012 est.) $81,900 (2011 est.) $81,900 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 0.4% industry: 13.6% services: 86% (2007 est.) |
| Labor force: | 208,200 note: data exclude foreign workers; in addition to the figure for domestic labor force, about 150,000 workers commute daily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2012 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 2.2% industry: 17.2% services: 80.6% (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: | 6% (2012 est.) 5.7% (2011 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 23.8% (2000) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 26 (2005) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.5% (2012 est.) 3.4% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 21.3% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $23.05 billion expenditures: $23.56 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 18.4% of GDP (2012 est.) 15.9% of GDP (2011 est.) note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions |
| Agriculture - products: | grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy and livestock products |
| Industries: | banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 6.2% (2011 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 2.49 billion kWh (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 132 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 5.973 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 3.216 billion kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 7.28 billion kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 1.183 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 1.183 billion cu m (2011 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | $500 million (2012 est.) $3.033 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $15.5 billion (2012 est.) $19.22 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 22.2%, France 15.6%, Belgium 13.2%, UK 7.3%, Italy 5.4%, Switzerland 4.3%, Netherlands 4.1% (2011) |
| Imports: | $25.08 billion (2012 est.) $26.54 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods |
| Imports - partners: | Belgium 30.3%, Germany 26%, France 10.8%, China 6.9%, Netherlands 5.8%, US 5.2% (2011) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.014 billion (31 December 2011 est.) $849 million (2010 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $2.146 trillion (30 June 2011) $1.892 trillion (30 June 2010) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $NA (31 December 2009 est.) $11.21 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $NA |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $67.63 billion (31 December 2011) $101.1 billion (31 December 2010) $105.6 billion (31 December 2009) |
| Exchange rates: | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7838 (2012 est.) 0.7185 (2011 est.) 0.755 (2010 est.) 0.7198 (2009 est.) 0.6827 (2008 est.) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 279,100 (2011) country comparison to the world: 121 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 765,000 (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables domestic: fixed line teledensity over 50 per 100 persons; nationwide mobile-cellular telephone system with market for mobile-cellular phones virtually saturated international: country code - 352 (2010) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .lu |
| Internet hosts: | 250,900 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 424,500 (2009) |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 2 (2012) country comparison to the world: 202 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2012) |
| Heliports: | 1 (2012) |
| Pipelines: | gas 142 km; refined products 27 km (2010) |
| Railways: | total: 275 km standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (243 km electrified) (2008) |
| Roadways: | total: 5,227 km paved: 5,227 km (includes 147 km of expressways) (2008) |
| Waterways: | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2010) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 49 by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 3, chemical tanker 20, container 10, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 12 foreign-owned: 48 (Belgium 11, Denmark 1, France 15, Germany 9, Japan 3, Netherlands 3, Switzerland 1, UK 5) registered in other countries: 18 (Italy 14, Malta 3, Panama 1) (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Mertert |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Military | |
| Military branches: | Army (2010) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-24 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; Luxembourg citizen or EU citizen with 3-year residence in Luxembourg (2012) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 118,665 females age 16-49: 117,456 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 97,290 females age 16-49: 96,361 (2010 est.) |
| ^Back to Top | |
«
Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter OverviewSource: CIA - The World Factbook