General: Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy and an independent state within the Netherlands in 1815. He lost more than half of the territory that went to Belgium in 1839, but received more autonomy. Full independence was gained in 1867. Devastated by Germany in both world wars, the country ceased to remain neutral, joining the Benelux Customs Union in 1948 and NATO the following year. In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six countries that formed the European Economic Community (later the European Union), in 1999 it joined the euro area.
Geography
Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany.
Geographic coordinates: 49° 45′ N. latitude, 6° 10’E
Reference map: Europe.
Area: total: 2,586 km2; land surface area: 2,586 km2; water surface area: 0 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island.
Land borders: total: 359 km; with neighboring states: with Belgium 148 km, with France 73 km, with Germany 138 km.
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked).
Maritime claims: none (landlocked).
Climate: temperate continental, mild winters, cool summers.
Relief: mostly moderately hilly uplands with wide shallow valleys; in the north, uplands pass into mountains, a steep slope to the valley of the Moselle River in the southeast.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Moselle River 133 m; highest point: Burgplatz 559 m.
Natural resources: iron ore (no longer mined), arable land.
Land use: arable land: 24%; cultivated land: 1%; pastures: 20%; forests and plantations: 35%; others: 20%.
Irrigated land: 10 sq. km. (including Belgium) (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: no data available.
Actual problems of the environment: air and water pollution in cities.
International agreements on environmental protection: member: Air pollution, Air pollution – nitrogen oxides, Air pollution – persistent organic pollutants, Air pollution – sulfur 1985, Air pollution – sulfur 1994, Air pollution – volatile organic compounds, Biodiversity, Climate change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Waste, Law of the Sea, Marine Pollution, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 1983, Tropical Timber 1994, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Change.
Note to the section “Geography”: has no access to the sea.
Population
Population: 442,972 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 18.91% (male 43,051; female 40,711); 15 to 64 years old: 67.03% (male 149,781; female 147,165); over 65: 14.06% (male 24,921; female 37,343) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 1.26% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 12.25 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 8.88 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: 9.26 people / 1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male/female; up to 15 years: 1.06 male/female; 15 to 64 years old: 1.02 male/female; over 65: 0.67 male/female; for the general population: 0.97 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 4.77 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 77.3 years; men: 74.02 years; women: 80.8 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 1.7 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.16% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: no data.
AIDS deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Luxembourger; adjective: Luxembourgish.
Ethnic groups: Celtic (French-German mix), Portuguese, Italians and other Europeans (guests and resident workers).
Believers: Catholics have an absolute numerical superiority over Protestants, Jews and Muslims; note: In 1979, it was legally prohibited to collect statistics on religion.
Language(s): Luxembourgish (national), German (business and administrative), French (business and administrative).
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 100% men; 100% female: 100% (1980 est.).
Politics
Common long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;
conventional short form: Luxembourg; local long form: Grand-Duche de Luxembourg; local short form: Luxembourg
State structure: constitutional monarchy. See a2zgov.com to know more about Luxembourg government and politics.
Capital: Luxembourg.
Administrative division: 3 districts: Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg.
Independence: since 1839 (from the Netherlands).
National holiday: National Day, June 23 (1921) (Birthday of the Grand Duchess Charlotte).
Constitution: adopted October 17, 1868, revised periodically.
Legal system: based on the civil law system; subject to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 18 years old; universal and mandatory.
chief of state: Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Crown Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981);
head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995), Deputy Prime Minister Lydie POLFER (since 7 August 1999);
Government: the council of ministers is recommended by the prime minister and appointed by the monarch; elections: no; hereditary monarchy; the prime minister and vice-premier are appointed by the monarch after a general election to the Chamber of Deputies; they are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies; note: government coalition is made up of CSV and DP.
Legislature: unicameral Chamber of Deputies (60 seats; members are elected by direct universal suffrage for 5 years); elections: last held 13 June 1999 (next to be held June 2004); election results: distribution of votes between parties: CSV 29.79%, DP 21.58%, LSAP 23.75%, ADR 10.36%, Green Party 9.09%, Left 3.77%; distribution of seats among parties: CSV 19, DP 15, LSAP 13, ADR 6, Green Party 5, Left 2; note: The Council of State, which includes 21 members, appointed and dismissed by the Grand Duke, based on the opinions of the government, the Chamber of Deputies, the Council of State, is an advisory body, whose opinion is taken into account by the Chamber of Deputies.
Judicial branch: courts of general jurisdiction: 3 world courts, 2 district courts, the Supreme Court of Appeal; administrative courts: State Prosecutor’s Office, administrative courts, Constitutional Court; judges of all courts are appointed by the monarch for life.
Political parties and leaders: Action Committee for Democracy and Justice (ADR) (Robert MEHLEN); Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) (also known as the Christian Social Party) (Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEP-GES); Democratic Party (DP) (Lydia POLFER); Green Party (Abbes JACOBY, Felix BRAS); Socialist Workers’ Party of Luxembourg (LSAP) (Jean ASSELBORN); Marxist and Reformed Communist Party (DEI LENK) (Left) (no official leader); other small parties.
Political influence groups and their leaders: Association of Bankers (ABBL); Financial Sector Trade Union (ALEBA); Federation of Agricultural Producers (Centrale Paysanne); professional associations (CER); Union of Civil Servants (CGFP); Chamber of Commerce; Chamber of Craftsmen (Chambre des Metiers); Federation of Industrialists (FEDIL); Center Right Trade Union (LCGP); Centre-Left Trade Union (OGBL).
Participation in international organizations: ACCT, Australia Group, Benelux, CCC, CE, EARC, 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 USA: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Arlette CONZEMIUS; office: 2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006; phone: [1] (202) 265-4171; fax: [\] (202) 328-8270; Consulates General: New York and San Francisco.
US Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador James C. HORMEL; embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, L-2535 Luxembourg City; postal address: American Embassy Luxembourg, Unit 1410, APO AE 09126-1410 (official mail); American Embassy Luxembourg, PSC 9, Box 9500, APO AE 09123 (personal mail); phone: [352] 46 01 23; fax: [352] 46 14 01.
Flag description: three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), white and blue; similar to the flag of the Netherlands, which has a darker blue stripe and is shorter; The flag of France is taken as a sample.
