Luxembourg (2005) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 45,768/female 42,980)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 157,453/female 153,927) 65 years and over: 14.6% (male 27,573/female 40,870) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 2 (2004 est.) | 11 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 12.06 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $13.74 billion
expenditures: $14.49 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Luxembourg | Freetown |
Climate | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 402 km |
Constitution | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | - | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $1.28 billion (1999) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Peter TERPELUK, Jr.
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS-PACCOURD
chancery: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-4171 FAX: [1] (202) 328-8270 consulate(s) general: New York and San Francisco |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $147 million (2002) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $203.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | This stable, high-income economy - in between 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 22% 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 more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.735 billion kWh (2002) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 2.9 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 6.3 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.511 billion kWh (2002) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
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 Jean ASSELBORN (since 31 July 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch elections: none; 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 |
chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | 634 bbl/day (2001) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | Germany 22.1%, France 20.1%, Belgium 10.2%, UK 8.4%, Italy 7.3%, Spain 5.9%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.3% services: 83.1% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $58,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 6 10 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | - |
Heliports | 1 (2004 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 5,210 km
paved: 5,210 km (including 126 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Imports | 50,700 bbl/day (2001) | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Belgium 29.8%, Germany 22.6%, China 12.6%, France 12%, Netherlands 4.2% (2004) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, information technology, tourism and banking | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2004 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (includes Belgium) (1998 est.) | 290 sq km (1993 est.) |
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 | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 293,700 (of whom 105,000 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2004 est.) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (2004 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.28%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 76.32% (includes Belgium) (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members are elected by direct 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%; 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 |
unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.74 years
male: 75.45 years female: 82.24 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, between France and Germany | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 652,454 GRT/805,101 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 16, container 6, liquefied gas 2, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 6, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 40 (Belgium 12, Finland 3, France 8, Germany 10, Netherlands 4, United States 3) (2005) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $231.6 million (2003) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2003) | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | NA | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | 8.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
Pipelines | gas 155 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Francois BILTGEN]; Democratic Party or DP [Claude MEISCH]; Green Party [Francois BAUSCH]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Alex BODRY]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party dei Lenk/la Gauche (the Left) [no formal leadership]; other minor parties | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
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); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union) | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 468,571 (July 2005 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.25% (2005 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Mertert | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.12 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 274 km
standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified) (2004) |
total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
Religions | 87% Roman Catholic, 13% Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (2000) | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
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: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: country code - 352; 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) |
general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 355,400 (2002) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 473,000 (2002) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | 2 (1999) |
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 | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.79 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (December, 2004 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2003) | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |