Luxembourg (2007) | World (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg | 267 nations, dependent areas, other, and miscellaneous entries |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 46,478/female 43,656)
15-64 years: 66.6% (male 161,466/female 158,261) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 28,530/female 41,831) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.6% (male 933,647,850; female 886,681,514) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 1,975,418,386; female 1,931,021,694) 65 years and over: 7% (male 188,760,223; female 241,449,691) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products | - |
Airports | 2 (2007) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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Area | total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
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. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the drop in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | 11.84 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 21.37 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $18.68 billion
expenditures: $18.65 billion (2006 est.) |
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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 |
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Climate | modified continental with mild winters, cool summers | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones from a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 356,000 km |
Constitution | 17 October 1868; occasional revisions | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form: Luxembourg local long form: Grand Duche de Luxembourg local short form: Luxembourg |
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Death rate | 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.93 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $2 trillion for less developed countries (2000 est.) |
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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
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Disputes - international | none | - |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $235.6 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | traditional worldwide foreign aid $50 billion (1997 est.) |
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, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks second in the world. | Growth in global output (gross world product, GWP) rose to 4.8% in 2000 from 3.5% in 1999, despite continued low growth in Japan, severe financial difficulties in other East Asian countries, and widespread dislocations in several transition economies. The US economy continued its remarkable sustained prosperity, growing at 5% in 2000, although growth slowed in fourth quarter 2000; the US accounted for 23% of GWP. The EU economies grew at 3.3% and produced 20% of GWP. China, the second largest economy in the world, continued its strong growth and accounted for 10% of GWP. Japan grew at only 1.3% in 2000; its share in GWP is 7%. As usual, the 15 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations experienced widely different rates of growth. The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that eat up gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, and in Canada. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from the economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. Continued financial difficulties in East Asia, Russia, and many African nations, as well as the slowdown in US economic growth, cast a shadow over short-term global economic prospects; GWP probably will grow at 3-4% in 2001. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses serious economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. (For specific economic developments in each country of the world in 2000, see the individual country entries.) |
Electricity - consumption | 6.315 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - exports | 3.131 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - imports | 6.392 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - production | 3.156 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Buurgplaatz 559 m |
lowest point:
Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers) | - |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | - |
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 1 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: 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 |
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Exports | 283 bbl/day (2004) | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | Germany 19.3%, France 15.5%, Italy 9.5%, UK 9.5%, Belgium 8.8%, Spain 5.3%, Netherlands 4.5% (2006) | in value, about 75% of exports from the developed countries |
Fiscal 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 | - |
GDP | - | GWP (gross world product) - purchasing power parity - $43.6 trillion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 32% services: 64% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.2% (2006 est.) | 4.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 6 10 E | - |
Geography - note | landlocked; the only Grand Duchy in the world | - |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2000) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | 61,070 bbl/day (2004) | $6 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | Belgium 26.3%, Germany 20.1%, China 16.7%, France 8.5%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2006) | in value, about 75% of imports by the developed countries |
Independence | 1839 (from the Netherlands) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.3% (2006 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Industries | banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
52.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2006 est.) | all countries 25%; developed countries 1% to 3% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically (2000 est.)
note: national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from stable prices in Japan to hyperinflation in a number of Third World countries |
International organization participation | ACCT, AsDB, Australia Group, Benelux, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 10,350 (2000 est.) |
Irrigated land | NA | 2,481,250 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 | - |
Labor force | 203,000 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2006 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.) |
agricultue NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km |
the land boundaries in the world total 251,480.24 km (not counting shared boundaries twice) |
Land use | arable land: 23.94%
permanent crops: 0.39% other: 75.67% (includes Belgium) (2005) |
arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 26% forests and woodland: 32% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language) | - |
Legal system | based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | all members of the UN plus Switzerland are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.03 years
male: 75.76 years female: 82.52 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
63.79 years male: 62.15 years female: 65.51 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
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Location | Western Europe, between France and Germany | - |
Map references | Europe | World, Time Zones |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone:
24 NM claimed by most, but can vary continental shelf: 200-m depth claimed by most or to depth of exploitation; others claim 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary exclusive economic zone: 200 NM claimed by most, but can vary territorial sea: 12 NM claimed by most, but can vary note: boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 NM; 43 nations and other areas that are landlocked include Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
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) |
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Military branches | Army | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2005 est.) | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) |
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 | - |
Nationality | noun: Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg |
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Natural hazards | NA | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land | the rapid using up of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | 8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 155 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Gast GIBERYEN]; 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) | - |
Population | 480,222 (July 2007 est.) | 6,157,400,560 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 1.207% (2007 est.) | 1.25% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Chiba, Houston, Kawasaki, Kobe, Marseille, Mina' al Ahmadi (Kuwait), New Orleans, New York, Rotterdam, Yokohama |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | total: 275 km
standard gauge: 275 km 1.435-m gauge (243 km electrified) (2006) |
total:
1,201,337 km includes about 190,000 to 195,000 km of electrified routes of which 147,760 km are in Europe, 24,509 km in the Far East, 11,050 km in Africa, 4,223 km in South America, and 4,160 km in North America; note - fastest speed in daily service is 300 km/hr attained by France's Societe Nationale des Chemins-de-Fer Francais (SNCF) Le Train a Grande Vitesse (TGV) - Atlantique line broad gauge: 251,153 km standard gauge: 710,754 km narrow gauge: 239,430 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000) | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.065 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.682 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | - |
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:
NA domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 246,700 (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 713,800 (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (1999) | NA |
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 | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | 1.78 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.1% (2006 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 37 km (on Moselle River) (2007) | - |