Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 2,586 sq km
land: 2,586 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island

Land boundaries:
total: 359 km
border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km

Coastline: 0 km (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 floodplain in the southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Moselle River 133 m
highest point: Burgplatz 559 m

Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited)

Land use:
arable land: 24%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland : 21%
other: 34%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: air and water pollution in urban areas

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified : Desertification, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea

Geography - note: landlocked

Population: 448,569 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years : 18.9% (male 43,634; female 41,164)
15-64 years: 67% (male 151,364; female 149,156)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 25,486; female 37,765) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.25% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 12.06 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 8.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 9.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years:1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over:0.67 male(s)/female
total population:0.97 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.48 years
male : 74.2 years
female: 80.97 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun : Luxembourger(s)
adjective: Luxembourg

Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, and European (guest and worker residents)

Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3%

Languages: Luxembourgish, German, French, English

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male : 100%
female: 100%(2000 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
conventional short form : Luxembourg
local long form: Grand-Duche de Luxembourg
local short form: Luxembourg

Data code: LU

Government type: constitutional monarchy

National capital: Luxembourg

Administrative divisions: 3 districts; Diekirch, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg

Independence: 1839

National holiday: National Day, 23 June (1921) (public celebration of the Grand Duke's birthday)

Constitution: 17 October 1868, occasional revisions

Legal system: based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 Jean-Claude JUNCKER (since 1 January 1995) and Vice Prime Minister Lydie POLFER (since 7 August 1999)
cabinet : Council of Ministers appointed by the sovereign, responsible to the Chamber of Deputies
elections : none; the grand duke is a hereditary monarch; prime minister and vice prime minister appointed by the sovereign but are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies

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 12 June 1994 (next to be held by June 1999)
election results: percent of vote by party - CSV 29.79%, DP 21.58%, LSAP 23.75%, ADR 10.36%, Green Party 9.09%, the Left 3.77%; seats by party - CSV 19, DP 15, LSAP 13, ADR 6, Green Party 5, the Left 2
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

Judicial branch: Superior Court of Justice or Cour Superieure de Justice, judges are appointed for life by the Grand Duke; Administrative Court or Tribunale Administratin

Political parties and leaders: Action Committee for Democracy and Justice or ADR [Robert MEHLEN]; Christian Social People's Party or CSV (known also as Christian Social Party or PCS) [Erna HENNICOT-SCHOEPGES]; Democratic Party or DP [Lydie POLFER]; Green Party [Abbes JACOBY and Felix BRAS]; Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Jean ASSELBORN]; Marxist and Reformed Communist Party DEI LENK (the Left) [no formal leadership]; 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); LCGP (center-right trade union); OGBL (center-left trade union)

International organization participation: ACCT, Australia Group, Benelux, CCC, CE, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA,IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: AmbassadorArlette 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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Gerald LOFTUS
embassy: 22 Boulevard Emmanuel-Servais, 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

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

Economy - overview: This stable, high-income economy 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 has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Services, especially banking, account for a substantial proportion of the economy. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly robust growth rate. On 1 January 2002, Luxembourg - together with 11 of its EU partners - began to replace its circulating national currency with the euro.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $19.2 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $43,400 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:1%
industry: 30%
services: 69% (2000 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2.4% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total: 262,300 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2000)
by occupation : services 90.1%, industry 8%, agriculture 1.9% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:2.4% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.44 billion
expenditures: $4.44 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum

Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (2001 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 1.2 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 467.7 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 6.158 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products

Exports:
total value: 735 million kWh (2000)
commodities: finished steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass, aluminum, other industrial products
partners :EU 85% (Germany 24%, France 21%, Belgium 13%), US 4% (2000)

Imports:
total value: $10.25 billion (c.i.f., 2000)
commodities: minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods
partners:EU 88% (Belgium 37%, Germany 25%, France 13%), US 4% (2000)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $160 million (1999)

Currency: 1 Luxembourg franc (LUF) = 100 centimes

Exchange rates: Leuros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Luxembourg francs per US dollar - 34.77 (January 1999), 36.299 (1998), 35.774 (1997)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 314,700 (1999)

Telephone system: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable
international: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)

Radios: 285,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:5 (1999)

Televisions: 285,000 (1998 est.)

Railways:
total: 274 km
standard gauge :274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified) (2001)

Highways:
total : 5,166 km
paved: 5,166 km (including 118 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1999)

Waterways: 37 km; Moselle

Pipelines: petroleum products 48 km

Ports and harbors: Mertert

Merchant marine:
total: 60 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,487,752 GRT/2,123,579 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, chemical tanker 13, container 8, liquefied gas 19, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 6

Airports: 2 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
Total1
under 914 m : 1 (2001)

Military branches: Army, National Gendarmerie

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49 : 113,557 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 93,429 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 2,565 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $147.8 million (FY01/02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.8% (FY01/02)

Disputes - international: none