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
Luxembourg
Location:
Western Europe, between France
and Germany
Geographic coordinates:
49 45 N, 6 10 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:
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
total: 0.06 cu km/yr
(42%/45%/13%) per capita: 121 cu m/yr (1999)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues:
air and water pollution in
urban areas, soil pollution of farmland
Environment - international 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
total: 39 years
male: 38 years female: 40 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.188% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
11.77 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
8.43 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
8.54 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69
male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.62 deaths/1,000
live births male: 4.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.18
years male: 75.91 years female: 82.67 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.78 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
less than 500 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg
Ethnic groups:
Celtic base (with French and
German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and
Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers)
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.)
Government
Luxembourg
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:
based on civil law system;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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) 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 elections:
the monarch is hereditary; following popular elections to the Chamber of
Deputies, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority
coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; the deputy
prime minister is 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 are elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms) elections: last held 13 June 2004 (next
to be held by June 2009) election results: percent of vote by
party - CSV 36.1%, LSAP 23.4%, DP 16.1%, Green Party 11.6%, ADR 10%, other
2.8%; seats by party - CSV 24, LSAP 14, DP 10, Green Party 7, ADR 5
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:
judicial courts and tribunals
(3 Justices of the Peace, 2 district courts, and 1 Supreme Court of
Appeals); administrative courts and tribunals (State Prosecutor's Office,
administrative courts and tribunals, and the Constitutional Court); judges
for all courts are appointed for life by the monarch
Political parties and leaders:
Alternative Democratic Reform
Party or ADR [Robert MENLEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV
[Francois BILTGEN] (also known as Christian Social Party or PCS);
Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH];
Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; dei Lenk/la
Gauche (the Left); 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); Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of
Commerce); Chambre des Metiers (Chamber of Artisans); FEDIL (federation of
industrialists); Greenpeace (environment protection); LCGP (center-right
trade union); Mouvement Ecologique (protection of ecology); OGBL
(center-left trade union)
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph WEYLAND chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171/72
FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New
York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Ann WAGNER 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
Flag description:
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; design was based on the flag of
France
Economy
Luxembourg
Economy - overview:
This stable, high-income
economy - benefiting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany -
features 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 28% of GDP, has more than compensated
for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign owned and have extensive
foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The
economy depends on foreign and cross-border workers for about 60% of its
labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, suffered from the
global economic slump in the early part of this decade, the country
continues to enjoy an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per
capita ranks first in the world. After two years of strong economic growth
in 2006-07, turmoil in the world financial markets will slow Luxembourg's
economy in 2008, but growth will remain above the European average.
banking and financial services,
iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo
transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering,
tires, glass, aluminum, tourism
Belgium 26.3%, Germany 20.1%,
China 16.7%, France 8.5%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2006)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $291 million (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$265.1 million (2006 est.)
Debt - external:
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$79.4 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
euro (EUR)
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.7345
(2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Luxembourg
Telephones - main lines in use:
246,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
713,800 (2006)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried
cables domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; market
for mobile-cellular phones is virtually saturated with roughly 150
cellular phones per 100 persons international: country code -
352
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)
Radios:
285,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
5 (1999)
Televisions:
285,000 (1998 est.)
Internet country code:
.lu
Internet hosts:
132,090 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
8 (2000)
Internet users:
339,000 (2006)
Transportation
Luxembourg
Airports:
2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1 over
3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1 under
914 m: 1 (2007)
Heliports:
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 155 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 275 km
standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (243 km electrified)
(2006)
Roadways:
total: 5,227 km
paved: 5,227 km (includes 147 km of expressways) (2004)
Waterways:
37 km (on Moselle River) (2007)
Merchant marine:
total: 45 ships (1000
GRT or over) 682,955 GRT/858,985 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7,
chemical tanker 14, container 7, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 7
foreign-owned: 44 (Belgium 9, France 14, Germany 10,
Netherlands 1, UK 7, US 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals:
Mertert
Military
Luxembourg
Military branches:
Army (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
17-25 years of age for male and
female voluntary military service; soldiers under 18 are not deployed into
combat or with peacekeeping missions; no conscription (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 116,305
females age 16-49: 114,566 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 95,152
females age 16-49: 93,792 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 3,066
females age 16-49: 2,909 (2008 est.)
