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.

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N 6 10 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 2,586 km²
Land: 2,586 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries
Total: 356 km
Border countries: (3) Belgium 148 km; , France 73 km; , Germany 135 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
Extremes highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited) arable land

Land use
Arable land: 24%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 20%
Forests and woodland: 35%
Other: 20%

Irrigated land: 10 km² (including Belgium) (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 442,972 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 1.26% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Luxembourger
Adjective: Luxembourg

Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend) Portuguese Italian Slavs (from Montenegro Albania and Kososvo) and European (guest and resident workers)

Languages: Luxembourgish (national language) German (administrative language) French (administrative language)

Religions
Note: 1979 legislation forbids the collection of religious statistics

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.91% (male 43,051; female 40,711)
15-64 years: 67.03% (male 149,781; female 147,165)
65 years and over: 14.06% (male 24,921; female 37,343) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.26% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.25 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.88 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.26 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution in urban areas soil pollution of farmland
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.77 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.3 years
Male: 74.02 years
Female: 80.8 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.16% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 100%
Male: 100%
Female: 100% (2000 est.)

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: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch Grevenmacher Luxembourg

Independence: 1839 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday: National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June

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, born 11 November 1981);
Head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Lydie POLFER (since 7 August 1999)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch
Elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and vice prime minister appointed by the monarch, following popular election to the Chamber of Deputies; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies
Note: government coalition - CSV and DP

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 13 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2004)
Election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 29.79%, DP 21.58%, LSAP 23.75%, ADR 10.36%, Green Party 9.09%, the Left 3.77%; seats by party - CSV 19, DP 15, LSAP 13, ADR 6, Green Party 5, the Left 2
Note: the Council of State or Conseil d'Etat, which has 21 members who are appointed and dismissed by the Grand Duke based on proposals from the government, the Chamber of Deputies, or the Council of State, is an advisory body whose views are considered by the Chamber of Deputies

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: Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Robert MEHLEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES]; Democratic Party or DP [Lydie POLFER]; Green Party [Abbes JACOBY and Felix BRAS]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Jean ASSELBORN]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties

International organization participation: ACCT Australia Group Benelux CCC CE EAPC EBRD ECE EIB EMU EU FAO IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU NATO NEA NSG OECD OPCW OSCE PCA UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WEU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS
In the us chancery: 2,200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 265-4,171
In the us fax: [1] (202) 328-8,270
In the us consulates general: New York and San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James C. HORMEL
From the us embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, L-2,535 Luxembourg City
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 9,126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9,500, APO AE 9,123 (personal mail)
From the us telephone: [352] 46 01 23
From the us 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 overview: The stable high-income economy 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 has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services especially banking account for a substantial proportion of the economy. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for 30% of its labor force. Luxembourg has a custom union with Belgium and the Netherlands and as a member of the EU enjoys the advantages of the open European market. It joined with 10 other EU members to launch the euro on 1 January 1999.

Real gdp growth rate: 5.7% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $36,400 (2000 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1%
Industry: 30%
Services: 69% (2000 est.)

Agriculture products: barley oats potatoes wheat fruits wine grapes; livestock products

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

Industrial production growth rate: 7.8% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 248,000 (of whom 70,200 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France Belgium and Germany) (2000)
By occupation services: 83.2%
By occupation industry: 14.3%
By occupation agriculture: 2.5% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate: 2.7% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $5.6 billion
Expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 7.8% (2000 est.)

Exports: $7.6 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: machinery and equipment steel products chemicals rubber products glass
Partners: EU 75% (Germany 25% France 21% Belgium 13% UK 8% Italy 6% Netherlands 5%) US 4% (1999)

Imports: $10 billion (c.i.f. 2000)
Commodities: minerals metals foodstuffs quality consumer goods
Partners: EU 81% (Belgium 35% Germany 26% France 12% Netherlands 4%) US 9% (1999)

Debt external: $NA

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); Luxembourg francs per US dollar - 34.77 (January 1999) 36.299 (1998) 35.774 (1997) 30.962 (1996); note - the Luxembourg franc is at par with the Belgian franc which circulates freely in Luxembourg

Electricity
Production: 648 million kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 36.88%
Production by source hydro: 53.09%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 10.03% (1999)
Consumption: 6.149 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 655 million kWh (1999)
Imports: 6.201 billion kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 314,700 (1999)
Mobile cellular: 215,741 (2000)

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
Domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable
International: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)

Internet
Country code: .lu
Service providers isps: 8 (2000)
Users: 86,000 (1999)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $131 million (FY98/99)
Percent of gdp: 1% (FY98/99)

Airports: 2 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: petroleum products 48 km

Railways
Total: 274 km
Standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1998)

Waterways: 37 km (on the Moselle)

Merchant marine
Total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 988,450 GRT/1,313,498 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 2, chemical tanker 11, container 2, liquefied gas 18, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 4 (2000 est.)