"text":"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. In 1867, Luxembourg attained full independence under the condition that it promise perpetual neutrality. 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 EEC (later the EU), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency zone."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Western Europe, between France and Germany"
"text":"modified continental with mild winters, cool summers"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"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"
"text":"Luxembourgish (official administrative and judicial language and national language (spoken vernacular)) 55.8%, Portuguese 15.7%, French (official administrative, judicial, and legislative language) 12.1%, German (official administrative and judicial language) 3.1%, Italian 2.9%, English 2.1%, other 8.4% (2011 est.)"
"text":"Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) 70.6%, Muslim 2.3%, other (includes Buddhist, folk religions, Hindu, Jewish) 0.4%, unaffiliated 26.7% (2020 est.)"
"text":"air and water pollution in urban areas, soil pollution of farmland; unsustainable patterns of consumption (transport, energy, recreation, space) threaten biodiversity and landscapes"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Environmental Modification"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"modified continental with mild winters, cool summers"
"text":"the name derives from the Celtic \"lucilem\" (little) and the German \"burg\" (castle or fortress) to produce the meaning of the \"little castle\"; the name is actually ironic, since for centuries the Fortress of Luxembourg was one of Europe's most formidable fortifications; the name passed to the surrounding city and then to the country itself"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"constitutional monarchy"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Luxembourg"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"49 36 N, 6 07 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
},
"daylight saving time":{
"text":"+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October"
"text":"the name derives from the Celtic <em>lucilem</em> (little) and the German <em>burg</em> (castle or fortress) to produce the meaning of the \"little castle\"; the name is actually ironic, since for centuries the Fortress of Luxembourg was one of Europe's most formidable fortifications; the name passed to the city that grew around the fortress"
"text":"National Day (birthday of Grand Duke HENRI), 23 June; note - this date of birth is not the true date of birth for any of the Royals, but the national festivities were shifted in 1962 to allow observance during a more favorable time of year"
"text":"proposed by the Chamber of Deputies or by the monarch to the Chamber; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Chamber in two successive readings three months apart; a referendum can be substituted for the second reading if approved by more than a quarter of the Chamber members or by 25,000 valid voters; adoption by referendum requires a majority of all valid voters; amended many times, last in 2020"
"text":"limited to situations where the parents are either unknown, stateless, or when the nationality law of the parents' state of origin does not permit acquisition of citizenship by descent when the birth occurs outside of national territory"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Luxembourg"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"7 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal and compulsory"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"Grand Duke HENRI (since 7 October 2000); Heir Apparent Prince GUILLAUME (son of the monarch, born 11 November 1981)"
"text":"Prime Minister Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013) (As of 9 October 2023 - Acting as Caretaker until new government is formed); Deputy Prime Minister Francois BAUSCH (since 11 October 2019); Deputy Prime Minister Daniel KERSCH (since 4 February 2020)"
"text":"Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"the monarchy is hereditary; following elections to the Chamber of Deputies, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch; deputy prime minister appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister are responsible to the Chamber of Deputies"
"text":"unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms); note - a 21-member Council of State appointed by the Grand Duke on the advice of the prime minister serves as an advisory body to the Chamber of Deputies"
"text":"percent of vote by party - CSV 29.2%, LSAP 18.9%, DP 18.7%, ADR 9.3%, Green Party 8.6%, Pirate Party 6.7%, The Left 3.9%; seats by party - CSV 21, DP 14, LSAP 11, ADR 5, Green Party 4, Pirate Party 3, The Left 2; composition (as of October 2023) - men 42, women 18, percent of women 30%"
"text":"Supreme Court of Justice includes Court of Appeal and Court of Cassation (consists of 27 judges on 9 benches); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"judges of both courts appointed by the monarch for life"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Court of Accounts; district and local tribunals and courts"
"text":"Alternative Democratic Reform Party or ADR [Fred KEUP]<br>Christian Social People's Party or CSV [Claude WISELER]<br>Democratic Party or DP [Lex DELLES]<br>Green Party [Djuna BERNARD, Meris SEHOVIC]<br>Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP [Dan BIANCALANA, Francine CLOSENER]<br>Pirate Party [Starsky FLOR, Rebecca LAU]<br>The Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) [collective leadership, Central Committee]"
"text":"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; the coloring is derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms (a red lion on a white and blue striped field)"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"red, rampant lion; national colors: red, white, light blue"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Ons Heemecht\" (Our Motherland); \"De Wilhelmus\" (The William)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> \"Ons Heemecht,\" adopted 1864, is the national anthem, while \"De Wilhelmus,\" adopted 1919, serves as a royal anthem for use when members of the grand ducal family enter or exit a ceremony in Luxembourg"
"text":"high-income, EU-member European economy; global financial and information storage leader; high government spending; one of highest GDP per capita countries; unique audit accountancy based on company sizing; aging labor force; hit by COVID-19"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data exclude foreign workers; in addition to the figure for domestic labor force, about 150,000 workers commute daily from France, Belgium, and Germany"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text":"Luxembourg has a small telecom sector; there remains some pressure from regulatory measures, though no further reductions to fixed and mobile interconnection tariffs have been imposed through to 2024; high mobile penetration has slowed subscriber growth in the mobile market since 2005, though a recent law requiring SIM card registration has not had an adverse effect on the number of mobile subscribers despite network operators deactivating unregistered cards (2021)"
"text":"Luxembourg has a long tradition of operating radio and TV services for pan-European audiences and is home to Europe's largest privately owned broadcast media group, the RTL Group, which operates 46 TV stations and 29 radio stations in Europe; also home to Europe's largest satellite operator, Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES); domestically, the RTL Group operates TV and radio networks; other domestic private radio and TV operators and French and German stations available; satellite and cable TV services available"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"note":"<strong>note 1: </strong>since 2003, the Army has allowed EU citizens 18-24 years of age who have been a resident in the country for at least 36 months to volunteer<strong><br><br>note 2:</strong> 2023, women made up about 12% of the military's full-time personnel"
"text":"founded in 1881, the Luxembourg Army is responsible for the defense of the country and fulfilling the Grand Duchy’s commitments to NATO, European security, and international peacekeeping, as well as providing support to civil authorities in the event of emergencies, such as floods or disease outbreaks; the Army is an active participant in EU, NATO, and UN missions and has contributed small numbers of troops to multinational operations in such places as Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chad, Croatia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Mali, Mozambique, and Uganda; it trains and exercises regularly with EU and NATO partners and has contributed to the NATO battlegroup forward deployed in Lithuania since 2017; Luxembourg was one of the original 12 countries to sign the North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) establishing NATO in 1949<br><br>the combat forces of the Luxembourg Army are two companies of infantry and reconnaissance troops; the Army has no combat aircraft; in 2015, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed an agreement to conduct joint air policing of their territories; under the agreement, which went into effect in January 2017, the Belgian and Dutch Air Forces trade responsibility for patrolling the skies over the three countries (2023)"
"text":"aims to be the commercial space hub for Europe; LSA established largely to develop space policy, encourage and coordinate commercial space ventures, support space education, and to promote the country’s space-related capabilities internationally; has set up policy and funding initiatives aimed at encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship and attracting space-based industries; focused on developing commercial satellites and infrastructure (Luxembourg is home to some of the largest commercial satellite companies in the world), as well as other space sector capabilities and technologies, such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, remote sensing (RS), communications, and software; member of the European Space Agency (ESA), participates in ESA programs, and cooperates with individual ESA and EU member states; also has relations with other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UAE, and the US (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S"
