Luxembourg

Founded in 963, Luxembourg became a grand duchy in 1815 and a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands after the Congress of Vienna. When Belgium declared independence from the Netherlands in 1839, Luxembourg lost more than half of its territory to Belgium but gained a larger measure of autonomy within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  Luxembourg gained full independence in 1867 by promising to remain permanently neutral. Overrun by Germany in both world wars, its neutrality ended in 1948 when it entered into the Benelux Customs Union and 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.

Western Europe, between France and Germany

49 45 N, 6 10 E

Europe

slightly smaller than Rhode Island; about half the size of Delaware

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

modified continental with mild winters, cool summers

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

iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land

0 sq km (2012)

most people live in the south, on or near the border with France

occasional flooding

landlocked

Luxembourger 52.9%, Portuguese 14.5%, French 7.6%, Italian 3.7%, Belgian 3%, German 2%, Spanish 1.3%, Romania 1%, other 14% (2022 est.)

Luxembourgish (official administrative, judicial, and national language) 48.9%, Portuguese 15.4%, French (official administrative, judicial, and legislative language) 14.9%, Italian 3.6%, English 3.6%, German (official administrative and judicial language) 2.9%, other 10.8% (2021 est.)

Christian (predominantly Roman Catholic) 70.6%, Muslim 2.3%, other (includes Buddhist, folk religions, Hindu, Jewish) 0.4%, unaffiliated 26.7% (2020 est.)

1.26% (2025 est.)

9.24 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.66 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

10.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most people live in the south, on or near the border with France

120,000 LUXEMBOURG (capital) (2018)

31 years (2020 est.)

12 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.25 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.62 (2025 est.)

2.98 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

4.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

22.6% (2016)

51.1% (2022 est.)

air and water pollution in urban areas; soil pollution of farmland

modified continental with mild winters, cool summers

9.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

3.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

constitutional monarchy

12 cantons; Capellen, Clervaux, Diekirch, Echternach, Esch-sur-Alzette, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, Mersch, Redange, Remich, Vianden, Wiltz

civil law system

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Alternative Democratic Reform Party or ADR <br>Christian Social People's Party or CSV <br>Democratic Party or DP <br>Green Party <br>Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party or LSAP <br>Pirate Party <br>The Left (dei Lenk/la Gauche) 

ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, Benelux, BIS, CD, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

1839 (from the Netherlands)

National Day (birthday of Grand Duke HENRI), 23 June

<strong>description: </strong>three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and light blue<br><br><strong>history:</strong> the colors are derived from the Grand Duke's coat of arms

red rampant lion

red, white, light blue

<p>high-income EU and eurozone economy; global, highly capitalized banking sector; one of highest GDP-per-capita countries; strengthened domestic demand and lower interest rates contributing to economic growth; challenges include pension-system sustainability, labor-market dynamics, and energy price volatility</p>

$93.197 billion (2024 est.)

milk, wheat, barley, triticale, potatoes, pork, grapes, beef, rye, rapeseed (2023)

banking and financial services, construction, real estate services, iron, metals, and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation and logistics, chemicals, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism, biotechnology

-1.1% (2024 est.)

350,000 (2024 est.)

17.3% (2021 est.)

27.2% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Germany 18%, France 15%, Belgium 8%, Netherlands 7%, Italy 6% (2023)

iron blocks, gas turbines, plastic products, rubber tires, plastics (2023)

Belgium 26%, Germany 23%, France 10%, Netherlands 5%, USA 4% (2023)

cars, refined petroleum, electricity, plastic products, gas turbines (2023)

long national tradition of operating radio and TV services for pan-European audiences; 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, Soci&eacute;t&eacute; Europ&eacute;enne 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

.lu

LX

3 (2025)

11 (2025)

Luxembourg Army (l'Armée Luxembourgeoise) (2025)

approximately 900 active military personnel (2025)

the Luxembourg Army has a small mix of Western origin equipment (2025)

18-26 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (abolished 1969) (2025)

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 a number of multinational operations in parts of Africa, Europe, and Asia; 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>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 (2025)

the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA; established 2018) (2025)

Luxembourg Space Agency was established in 2018 to develop space policy, encourage and coordinate commercial space ventures, support space education, and promote the country&rsquo;s space-related capabilities internationally; has a national space strategy; has set up policy and funding initiatives (such as LuxIMPULSE) to encourage research, development, innovation, and entrepreneurship and attract space-based industries; focuses on developing commercial satellites and infrastructure, as well as other capabilities and technologies; hosts some of the largest commercial satellite companies in the world; member of the ESA since 2005 and participates in a variety of ESA programs; cooperates bilaterally with individual ESA and EU member states; also works with other foreign space agencies and industries, including those of Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the UAE, and the US (2025)

1980s - began creating a satellite telecommunications infrastructure for Europe<br><br>2014 - first privately built probe to successfully fly by the Moon (launched by China)<br><br>2018 - developed communications satellite (GOVSAT-1) to support the EU’s secure communications and space situational awareness program (GOVSATCOM)<br><br>2020 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space exploration and agreed to join the Moon exploration mission<br><br>2021 - launched Luxembourg’s Quantum Communications Infrastructure project (LuxQCI) in support of the EU’s Quantum Communications Infrastructure (EuroQCI)<br><br>2025 - launched the Luxembourg Earth Observation System (LUXEOSys) satellite, part of a national space-based remote sensing program