Luxembourg





The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (also Luxemburg) is a landlocked country in
north-west Europe, bordered by France, Germany and Belgium.

                                        National motto: Mir w`lle bleiwe
                                                    wat mir sin
History                                   (Luxembourgish, We wish to stay
                                                   what we are)
                                         Official        French, German,
                                        languages       (Luxembourgish)
Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a
grand duchy in 1815 and an independent  Capital         Luxembourg
state under the Netherlands. It lost    Grand Duke      Grand Duke Henri
more than half of its territory to      Prime minister  Jean-Claude Juncker
Belgium in 1839, but gained a larger
measure of autonomy. Full independence  Area            Ranked 166th
was attained in 1867. Overrun by        Ê- Total        2,586 km2
Germany in both World Wars, it ended    Ê- % water      Negligible
its neutrality in 1948 when it entered  Population
into the Benelux Customs Union and when Ê- Total        Ranked 168th
it joined NATO the following year. In   (Year)          442,972
1957, Luxembourg became one of the six  Ê- Density      171/km²
founding countries of the European      Independence
Economic Community (later the European  Ê- Declared     1835
Union) and in 1999 it joined the euro   Ê- Recognised   May 11, 1867
currency area.
                                        Currency        Euro¹, Lux.
Politics                                                euro coins
                                        Time zone       UTC +1
                                        National
Luxembourg has a parliamentary form of  anthem          Ons HŽmŽcht
government with a constitutional        Internet TLD    .LU
monarchy by inheritance. Under the      Calling Code    352
constitution of 1868, executive power
is exercised by the Grand Duke and the  (1) Prior to 1999: Luxembourg franc
cabinet, which consists of a prime
minister and several other ministers.

Legislative power is vested in the Chamber of Deputies, elected directly to
5-year terms. A second body, the "Conseil d'Etat" (Council of State),
composed of 21 ordinary citizens appointed by the Grand Duke, advises the
Chamber of Deputies in the drafting of legislation.

Districts

Luxembourg is divided in to three administrative subdivisions, or districts:

   * Diekirch
   * Grevenmacher
   * Luxembourg

Geography

The north of the country, part of the Ardennes, has hills and low mountains,
with the Burgplatz as the highest point at 559 m. The rest of the country is
also hilly.

Luxembourg's southern and eastern borders are formed by a number of rivers,
among which the largest is the Moselle.

The capital Luxembourg is the largest city of the country. Other important
cities are Esch-sur-Alzette (a.k.a. Esch), to the south-west of the capital,
and Echternach, against the German border in the east.

Economy

The stable, high-income economy features moderate growth, low inflation, and
low unemployment. The industrial sector, until recently dominated by steel,
has become increasingly more diversified to include chemicals, rubber, and
other products. During the past decades, growth in the financial sector has
more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services, especially
banking, account for a growing proportion of the economy. Agriculture is
based on small family-owned farms. Luxembourg has especially close trade and
financial ties to Belgium and the Netherlands, and as a member of the EU,
enjoys the advantages of the open European market.

Demographics

As a small country, much of the population of Luxembourg originates from
neighbouring countries, and there are three languages spoken. Besides French
(spoken in neighbouring Belgium and France) and German (Germany),
Luxembourgish is spoken, which is a mixture of Germanic and Frankish language.

Virtually all Luxembourgers adhere to the Roman Catholic faith.