Map of Luxembourg | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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 (European Union).


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 2,586 km
Land: 2,586 km
Comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries: 359 km; Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km

Coastline: none - landlocked

Maritime claims: none - landlocked
Disputes: none

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 floodplain in the southeast

Elevation

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited)

Land use: arable land: 24%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and woodland 21%; other 34%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 392,405 (July 1992), growth rate 1.0% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Luxembourger(s; adjective - Luxembourg

Ethnic groups: Celtic base, with French and German blend; also guest and worker residents from Portugal, Italy, and European countries

Languages: Luxembourgisch, German, French; many also speak English

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 12 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation
Current issues note: landlocked

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Dependent areas

Independence: 1839

National holiday: National Day (public celebration of the Grand Duke's birthday), 23 June (1921)

Constitution: 17 October 1868, occasional revisions

Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
Chamber of Deputies: last held on 18 June 1989 (next to be held by June 1994); results - CSV 31.7%, LSAP 27.2%, DP 16.2%, Greens 8.4%, PAC 7.3%, KPL 5.1%, other 4.1%; seats - (60 total) CSV 22, LSAP 18, DP 11, Greens 4, PAC 4, KPL 1

Executive branch:

Legislative branch:

Judicial branch: Superior Court of Justice (Cour Superieure de Justice)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:

Diplomatic representation

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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview:
GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $7.83 billion, per capita $20,200; real growth rate 2.5% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for less than 3% of GDP (including forestry; principal products - barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; cattle raising widespread

Industries: banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate - 0.5% (1990; accounts for 25% of GDP

Labor force: 177,300; one-third of labor force is foreign workers, mostly from Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, and FRG; services 65%, industry 31.6%, agriculture 3.4% (1988)
Organized labor: 100,000 (est.) members of four confederated trade unions

Unemployment rate: 1.3% (1990)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $2.5 billion; expenditures $2.3 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1988)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $6.3 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: finished steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass, aluminum, other industrial products
Partners: EC 75%, US 5%

Imports: $7.5 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
Commodoties: minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods
Partners: Belgium 37%, FRG 31%, France 12%, US 2%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Luxembourg francs (LuxF) per US$1 - 32.462 (January 1992), 34.148 (1991), 33.418 (1990), 39.404 (1989), 36.768 (1988), 37.334 (1987; note - the Luxembourg franc is at par with the Belgian franc, which circulates freely in Luxembourg


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Electricity
Production: 1,500,000 kW capacity; 1,163 million kWh produced, 3,170 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 48 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 37 km; Moselle River

Merchant marine:
Civil air: 13 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs