Introduction :: LUXEMBOURG
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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 EEC (later the EU), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.
Geography :: LUXEMBOURG
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Western Europe, between France and Germany
49 45 N, 6 10 E
Europe
total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km
water: 0 sq km
country comparison to the world: 179
slightly smaller than Rhode Island
total: 327 km
border countries (3): Belgium 130 km, France 69 km, Germany 128 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
modified continental with mild winters, cool summers
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
mean elevation: 325 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m
iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land
agricultural land: 50.7%
arable land 24%; permanent crops 0.6%; permanent pasture 26.1%
forest: 33.5%
other: 15.8% (2011 est.)
0 sq km (2012)
most people live in the south, on or near the border with France
NA
air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland
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
landlocked; the only grand duchy in the world
People and Society :: LUXEMBOURG
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582,291 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg
Luxembourger 54.1%, Portuguese 16.4%, French 7%, Italian 3.5%, Belgian 3.3%, German 2.3%, British 1.1%, other 12.3%
note: represents population by nationality (2015 est.)
Luxembourgish (official administrative and judicial language and national language (spoken vernacular)) 88.8%, French (official administrative, judicial, and legislative language) 4.2%, Portuguese 2.3%, German (official administrative and judicial language) 1.1%, other 3.5% (2011 est.)
Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000)
0-14 years: 16.82% (male 50,445/female 47,525)
15-24 years: 12.26% (male 36,578/female 34,788)
25-54 years: 44.34% (male 132,434/female 125,748)
55-64 years: 11.63% (male 34,321/female 33,379)
65 years and over: 14.95% (male 38,614/female 48,459) (2016 est.)
population pyramid:
Europe
::LUXEMBOURG
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
total dependency ratio: 43.7%
youth dependency ratio: 23.6%
elderly dependency ratio: 20.1%
potential support ratio: 5% (2015 est.)
total: 39.2 years
male: 38.6 years
female: 39.9 years (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
2.05% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
11.4 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
7.3 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
16.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
most people live in the south, on or near the border with France
urban population: 90.2% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 1.71% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
LUXEMBOURG (capital) 107,000 (2014)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
30.2 (2012 est.)
10 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
total: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 210
total population: 82.3 years
male: 79.8 years
female: 84.9 years (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
1.61 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 180
6.6% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 82
2.9 physicians/1,000 population (2013)
5.4 beds/1,000 population (2010)
improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 98.5% of population
total: 97.6% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 1.5% of population
total: 2.4% of population (2015 est.)
NA
NA
NA
24.8% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 50
4.1% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 118
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 14 years (2012)
total: 22.6%
male: 26.1%
female: 18.1% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
Government :: LUXEMBOURG
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conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg
local long form: Grand Duchee de Luxembourg
local short form: Luxembourg
etymology: from the Celtic "lucilem" (little) and the German "burg" (castle or fortress) to produce the meaning of the "little castle"
constitutional monarchy
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
12 cantons (cantons, singular - canton); Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz
1839 (from the Netherlands)
National Day (birthday of Grand Duke Henri) 23 June; note - this date of birth is not the true date of birth for any of the Royals, but the festivities were shifted to allow observance during a more favorable time of year
history: previous 1842 (heavily amended 1848, 1856); latest effective 17 October 1868
amendments: adoption requires at least two-thirds vote by the Chamber of Deputies in two successive readings three months apart; a referendum can be substituted for the second reading if voted for by more than one-quarter of the Chamber members or by 25,000 valid voters; adoption by referendum requires a majority of all valid voters; amended many times, last in 2009 (2016)
civil law system
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: limited to situations where the parents are either unknown, stateless, or when the nationality law of the parents' state of origin does not permit acquisition of citizenship by descent when the birth occurs outside of national territory
citizenship by descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of Luxembourg
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
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 Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Etienne SCHNEIDER (since 4 December 2013)
cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies
description: unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - a 21-member Council of State appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies
elections: last held on 20 October 2013 (next to be held by June 2018)
election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 33.7%, LSAP 20.3%, DP 18.3%, Green Party 10.1%, ADR 6.6%, The Left 4.9%, other 6.1%; seats by party - CSV 23, LSAP 13, DP 13, Green Party 6, ADR 3, The Left 2
highest court(s): Superior Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation (consists of 27 judges on 9 benches); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)
judge selection and term of office: judges of both courts appointed by the monarch for life
subordinate courts: district and local tribunals and courts
Alternative Democratic Reform Party or ADR [Jean SCHOOS]
Christian Social People's Party or CSV [Marc SPAUTZ]
Democratic Party or DP [Corinne CAHEN]
Green Party [Francoise FOLMER and Christian KMIOTEK]
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Claude HAAGEN]
The Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) [Central Committee]
other minor parties
Business Federation Luxembourg or FEDIL [Nicolas BUCK, chairman]
Centrale Paysanne [Marc FISCH] (federation of agricultural producers)
Chamber of Artisans (Chambre des Metiers) [Roland KUHN]
Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce) [Carlo THELEN]
Chambre des Salaries or CSL [Jean-Claude REDING]
General Association of Officials (Confederation Generale de la Fonction Publique or CGFP [Romain WOLFF] (trade union representing civil service)
Greenpeace [Kumi NAIDOO]
LCGP [Patrick DURY] (center-right trade union)
Luxembourg Association of Bankers and Insurance Employees or ALEBA [Roberto SCOLATI]
Luxembourg Bankers Association or ABBL [Yves MAAS]
Mouvement Ecologique [Blanche WEBER] (environment protection)
OGB-L [Andre ROELTGEN] (center-left trade union)
ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, 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, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
chief of mission: Ambassador Sylvie LUCAS (since 16 September 2016)
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
US chief of mission: Ambassador David MCKEAN (since 14 April 2016)
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
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which uses a darker blue and is shorter; the coloring is derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms (a red lion on a white and blue striped field)
lion; national colors: red, white, light blue
name: "Ons Heemecht" (Our Motherland); "De Wilhelmus" (The William)
lyrics/music: Michel LENTZ/Jean-Antoine ZINNEN; Nikolaus WELTER/unknown
note: "Ons Heemecht," adopted 1864, is the national anthem, while "De Wilhelmus," adopted 1919, serves as a royal anthem for use when members of the grand ducal family enter or exit a ceremony in Luxembourg
Economy :: LUXEMBOURG
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This small, stable, high-income economy has historically featured solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. The industrial sector, initially dominated by steel, has become increasingly diversified to include chemicals, machinery and equipment, rubber, automotive components, and other products. The financial sector, which accounts for about 36% of GDP, is the leading sector in the economy. The economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for about 39% of its labor force.
Luxembourg experienced uneven economic growth in the aftermath of the global economic crisis that began in late 2008. Luxembourg's GDP contracted 3.6% in 2009, rebounded in 2010-12, fell again in 2013-14, but recovered in 2015. Unemployment has remained below the EU average despite having increased from a historically low rate of 4% in the 2000s to 7.1% in 2014.
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. Luxembourg has one of the highest current account surpluses as a share of GDP in the euro zone, and it maintains a healthy budgetary position and the lowest public debt level in the region.
Luxembourg has lost some of its advantage as a favorable tax location because of OECD and EU pressure. In 2015, the government’s compliance with EU requirements to implement automatic exchange of tax information on savings accounts - thus ending banking secrecy - has depressed banking activity and dampened GDP growth. Likewise, changes to the way EU members collect taxes from e-commerce has cut Luxembourg’s tax revenues, requiring the government to raise additional levies and to reduce some direct social benefits.
$58.74 billion (2016 est.)
$56.75 billion (2015 est.)
$54.13 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
country comparison to the world: 107
$60.98 billion (2015 est.)
3.5% (2016 est.)
4.8% (2015 est.)
4.1% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
$102,000 (2016 est.)
$100,800 (2015 est.)
$98,400 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
country comparison to the world: 2
23% of GDP (2016 est.)
23.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
24.8% of GDP (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 59
household consumption: 27.9%
government consumption: 16.4%
investment in fixed capital: 17.5%
investment in inventories: 0.2%
exports of goods and services: 210.3%
imports of goods and services: -172.3% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 0.2%
industry: 11.1%
services: 88.7% (2016 est.)
grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy and livestock products
banking and financial services, construction, real estate services, iron, metals, and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation and logistics, chemicals, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism, biotechnology
1.7% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
272,000
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 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
agriculture: 1.1%
industry: 20%
services: 78.9% (2013 est.)
6.7% (2016 est.)
6.9% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 78
NA%
lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 23.8% (2000)
30.4 (2013 est.)
26 (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
revenues: $25.85 billion
expenditures: $25.52 billion (2016 est.)
42.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33
0.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
21.4% of GDP (2016 est.)
21.4% of GDP (2015 est.)
note: data cover general government debt and include 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 int
country comparison to the world: 161
calendar year
-0.1% (2016 est.)
0.1% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 32
0.05% (31 December 2013)
0.3% (31 December 2010)
note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area
country comparison to the world: 142
$232.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$218.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
note: see entry for the EU for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circul
country comparison to the world: 19
$281.4 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$271 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
$110.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$108.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
$47.13 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$63.17 billion (31 December 2014 est.)
$78.64 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
$2.711 billion (2016 est.)
$3.189 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
$17.1 billion (2016 est.)
$17.81 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70
machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass
Germany 22.1%, Belgium 16.7%, France 16.6%, UK 4.7%, Italy 4.6%, Netherlands 4% (2015)
$18.33 billion (2016 est.)
$20.22 billion (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 74
commercial aircraft, minerals, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, luxury consumer goods
Belgium 27.6%, Germany 22.9%, China 11.7%, France 9.5%, US 8.4%, Netherlands 4.2%, Mexico 4.1% (2015)
$1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$771 million (31 December 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
$3.781 trillion (31 March 2016 est.)
$3.806 trillion (31 March 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
$NA
$11.21 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$NA
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
0.9214 (2016 est.)
0.885 (2015 est.)
0.885 (2014 est.)
0.7634 (2013 est.)
0.78 (2012 est.)
Energy :: LUXEMBOURG
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1.4 billion kWh (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 147
6.2 billion kWh (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112
2.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
7 billion kWh (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
2 million kW (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 113
27.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
1.9% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
9.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 152
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 148
0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
country comparison to the world: 159
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 162
56,030 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172
55,040 bbl/day (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
5 million cu m (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
978 million cu m (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
0 cu m (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
973 million cu m (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 58
0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
country comparison to the world: 156
11 million Mt (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
Communications :: LUXEMBOURG
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total subscriptions: 276,900
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 49 (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 119
total: 807,000
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 141 (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 162
general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: fixed-line teledensity about 50 per 100 persons; nationwide mobile-cellular telephone system with market for mobile-cellular phones virtually saturated
international: country code - 352 (2015)
Luxembourg has a long tradition of operating radio and TV services for pan-European audiences and is home to Europe's largest privately owned broadcast media group, the RTL Group, which operates 46 TV stations and 29 radio stations in Europe; also home to (2008)
.lu
total: 555,000
percent of population: 97.3% (July 2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
Transportation :: LUXEMBOURG
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number of registered air carriers: 3
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 119
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,830,972
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,309,473,324 mt-km (2015)
LX (2016)
2 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 202
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2013)
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
1 (2013)
gas 142 km; refined products 27 km (2013)
total: 275 km
standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (275 km electrified) (2014)
country comparison to the world: 125
total: 2,899 km
paved: 2,899 km (includes 152 km of expressways) (2011)
country comparison to the world: 167
37 km (on Moselle River) (2010)
country comparison to the world: 104
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)
country comparison to the world: 71
river port(s): Mertert (Moselle)
Military and Security :: LUXEMBOURG
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Luxembourg Army (Armee Luxembourgeoise) (2015)
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)
0.44% of GDP (2016)
0.43% of GDP (2015)
0.39% of GDP (2014)
0.38% of GDP (2013)
0.38% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 123
Transnational Issues :: LUXEMBOURG
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none
stateless persons: 82 (2015)
