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. In 1867, Luxembourg attained full independence under the condition that it promise perpetual neutrality. 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 zone.

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 2,586 km²
Land: 2,586 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 179
Comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island; about half the size of Delaware

Land boundaries
Total: 327 km
Border countries: (3) Belgium 130 km; , France 69 km; , Germany 128 km

Coastline: 0 km
Note: (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
Mean elevation: 325 m
Elevation extremes: 133 m
Note: lowest point: Moselle River

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 50.7% (2011 est.)
Forest: 33.5% (2011 est.)
Other: 15.8% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 0 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: occasional flooding

Geography
Note: landlocked; the only grand duchy in the world

Population
Distribution: most people live in the south, on or near the border with France: 605,764 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 171
Growth rate: 1.9% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 53
Below poverty line note: NA

Nationality
Noun: Luxembourger(s)
Adjective: Luxembourg

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Luxembourgish (official administrative and judicial language and national language (spoken vernacular)) 55.8%, Portuguese 15.7%, French (official administrative, judicial, and legislative language) 12.1%, German (official administrative and judicial language) 3.1%, Italian 2.9%, English 2.1%, other 8.4% (2011 est.)

Religions: Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) 70.4%, Muslim 2.3%, other (includes Buddhist, folk religions, Hindu, Jewish) 0.5%, none 26.8% (2010 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.74% (male 52,243 /female 49,183)
15-24 years: 12.06% (male 37,391 /female 35,650)
25-54 years: 44.18% (male 137,381 /female 130,252)
55-64 years: 11.9% (male 36,670 /female 35,442)
65 years and over: 15.11% (male 41,002 /female 50,550) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 43.6 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 23.5 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 20.1 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 5 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 39.3 years
Male: 38.7 years
Female: 39.9 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 54

Population growth rate: 1.9% (2018 est.)
Rank: 53

Birth rate: 11.6 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 170

Death rate: 7.3 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 123

Net migration rate: 15.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 2

Population distribution: most people live in the south, on or near the border with France

Urbanization
Urban population: 91% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.55% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 120,000 LUXEMBOURG (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland; unsustainable patterns of consumption (transport, energy, recreation, space) threaten biodiversity and landscapes
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 30.1 years (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.4 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 3.8 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 3 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 205

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.4 years (2018 est.)
Male: 79.9 years (2018 est.)
Female: 85 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 16

Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 178

Drinking water source
Urban: 0% of population
Rural: 0% of population
Total: 0% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 2.92 physicians/1000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 4.9 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 2.5% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 1.5% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 2.4% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 82
People living with hivaids: 1100 (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 133
Deaths note: <100 (2017 est.)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 22.6% (2016)
Rank: 74

Education expenditures: 4% of GDP (2014)
Rank: 111

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years (2012)
Male: 14 years (2012)
Female: 14 years (2012)

Country name
Conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Conventional short form: Luxembourg
Local long form: Grand Duche 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

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: 12 cantons (cantons, singular - canton); Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz

Independence: 1839 (from the Netherlands)

National holiday: 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 national festivities were shifted in 1962 to allow observance during a more favorable time of year

Constitution
History: previous 1842 (heavily amended 1848, 1856); latest effective 17 October 1868 (2016)
Amendments: proposed by the Chamber of Deputies or by the monarch to the Chamber; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Chamber in two successive readings three months apart; a referendum can be substituted for the second reading if approved 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)

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
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 only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Luxembourg
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

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 Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Etienne SCHNEIDER (since 4 December 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Felix BRAZ (since 5 December 2018)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch
Electionsappointments: 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

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list 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 14 October 2018 (next to be held by October 2023)
Election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 28.3%, LSAP 17.6%, DP 16.9%, Green Party 15.1%, ADR 8.3%, Pirate Party 6.4%, The Left 5.5%, other 1.9%; seats by party - CSV 21, DP 12, LSAP 10, Green Party 9, ADR 4, Pirate Party 2, The Left 2; composition - men 46, women 14, percent of women 23.3%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme 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: Court of Accounts; district and local tribunals and courts

Political parties and leaders: 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, Christian KMIOTEK]Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Claude HAAGEN]The Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) [collective leadership, Central Committee]other minor parties

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), 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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sylvie LUCAS (since 16 September 2016)
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 consulate: New York, San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador James Randolph Randy EVANS (since 19 June 2018)
From the us embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-2,535 Luxembourg City
From the us mailing address: Unit 3,560, APO-AE 9,126-3,560 (official mail)
From the us telephone: [352] 46-01-23 00
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; the coloring is derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms (a red lion on a white and blue striped field)

National symbols: red, rampant lion; national colors: red, white, light blue

National anthem
Name: Ons Heemecht (Our Motherland); De Wilhelmus (The William)
Lyricsmusic: 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 overview: This small, stable, high-income economy has historically featured solid growth, low inflation, and low unemployment. Luxembourg, the only Grand Duchy in the world, is a landlocked country in northwestern Europe surrounded by Belgium, France, and Germany. Despite its small landmass and small population, Luxembourg is the fifth-wealthiest country in the world when measured on a gross domestic product (PPP) per capita basis. 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, with a 2017 surplus of 0.5% of GDP, and the lowest public debt level in the region.Since 2002, Luxembourg’s government has proactively implemented policies and programs to support economic diversification and to attract foreign direct investment. The government focused on key innovative industries that showed promise for supporting economic growth: logistics, information and communications technology (ICT); health technologies, including biotechnology and biomedical research; clean energy technologies, and more recently, space technology and financial services technologies. The economy has evolved and flourished, posting strong GDP growth of 3.4% in 2017, far outpacing the European average of 1.8%.Luxembourg remains a financial powerhouse - the financial sector accounts for more than 35% of GDP - because of the exponential growth of the investment fund sector through the launch and development of cross-border funds (UCITS) in the 1990s. Luxembourg is the world’s second-largest investment fund asset domicile, after the US, with $4 trillion of assets in custody in financial institutions.Luxembourg has lost some of its advantage as a favorable tax location because of OECD and EU pressure, as well as the 'LuxLeaks' scandal, which revealed advantageous tax treatments offered to foreign corporations. In 2015, the government’s compliance with EU requirements to implement automatic exchange of tax information on savings accounts - thus ending banking secrecy - has constricted banking activity. Likewise, changes to the way EU members collect taxes from e-commerce has cut Luxembourg’s sales tax revenues, requiring the government to raise additional levies and to reduce some direct social benefits as part of the tax reform package of 2017. The tax reform package also included reductions in the corporate tax rate and increases in deductions for families, both intended to increase purchasing power and increase competitiveness.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 105

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 142

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 5

Gross national saving:
Rank: 82

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 30.2% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 16.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 16.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 230% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -194% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 0.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 12.8% (2017 est.)
Services: 86.9% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy and livestock products

Industries: 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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (2017 est.)
Rank: 134

Labor force:
Rank: 165
By occupation agriculture: 1.1%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 78.9% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 89

Population below poverty line
Note: NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 23.8% (2000)
Highest 10: 23.8% (2000)

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 132

Budget
Revenues: 27.75 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 26.8 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 1.5% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 23

Taxes and other revenues: 44.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 24

Public debt:
Rank: 183

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 109

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 157

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 186

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 18

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 18

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 51

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 52

Current account balance:
Rank: 34

Exports:
Rank: 74
Partners: Germany 25.6%, Belgium 17.6%, France 14%, Netherlands 5.1%, Italy 4.1%, UK 4.1% (2017)
Commodities: machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass

Imports:
Rank: 76
Commodities: commercial aircraft, minerals, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, luxury consumer goods
Partners: Belgium 32%, Germany 24.9%, France 11.1%, US 5.7%, Netherlands 4.9% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 137

Debt external:
Rank: 6

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $11.21 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 95

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: NA

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2016)
Production: 334.5 million kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 178
Consumption: 6.475 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 111
Exports: 1.42 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 51
Imports: 7.718 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 30
Installed generating capacity: 1.709 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 118
Generation sources fossil fuels: 25% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 189
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 131
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 8% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 122
Generation sources other renewable sources: 67% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 2

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 163
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 156
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 155
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 159

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products production rank: 167
Products consumption: 59,850 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products consumption rank: 96
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports rank: 173
Products imports: 59,020 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports rank: 73

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 160
Consumption: 792.8 million m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 96
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 141
Imports: 792.8 million m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 63
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 161

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 10.72 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 103

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 275,300 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 46 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 118
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 794,000 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 134 (2017 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 163

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system; by 2020 the government’s program is to provide a 1Gb/s service to all citizens, and to make Luxembourg the first fully fibred country in Europe; new law requiring SIM cards be registered has slowed down growth for mobile subscribers; 5G launch by 2020 (2017)
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity about 46 per 100 persons; nationwide mobile-cellular telephone system with market for mobile-cellular phones virtually saturated with 134 per 100 mobile-cellular (2017)
International: country code - 352 (2016)

Broadcast media: 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 Europe's largest satellite operator, Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES); domestically, the RTL Group operates TV and radio networks; other domestic private radio and TV operators and French and German stations available; satellite and cable TV services available (2016)

Internet
Country code: .lu
Users total: 567,698 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 97.5% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 148

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 212,900 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 36 (2017 est.)
Rank: 107

Military expenditures:
Rank: 143

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 (2017)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 3 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 119 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,830,972 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,309,473,324
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: LX (2016)

Airports: 2 (2013)
Rank: 202
With paved runways total: 1 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: 142 km gas, 27 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 275 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 275 km
Note: 1.435-m gauge (275 km electrified) (2014)
Rank: 124

Roadways
Total: 2,899 km (2011)
Paved: 2,899 km
Note: (includes 152 km of expressways) (2011)
Rank: 167

Waterways: 37 km
Note: (on Moselle River) (2010)
Rank: 104

Merchant marine
Total: 152 (2017)
By type: bulk carrier 3, container ship 21, general cargo 2, other 126 (2017)
Rank: 73

Ports and terminals
River port: Mertert (Moselle)

Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 83 (2017)