Luxembourg

• 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

agricultural land:

50.7%;

• arable land 24%;
• permanent crops 0.6%;
• permanent pasture 26.1%

forest:

33.5%

other:

15.8% (2011 est.)

total:

0.06 cu km/yr (65%/33%/1%)

per capita:

135.9 cu m/yr (2010)

noun:

Luxembourger(s)

adjective:

Luxembourg

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

conventional short form:

Luxembourg

local long form:

Grand Duche de Luxembourg

local short form:

Luxembourg

name:

Luxembourg

geographic coordinates:

49 36 N, 6 07 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 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 festivities were shifted to allow observance during a more favorable time of year

• previous 1842 (heavily amended 1848, 1856);
• latest effective 17 October 1968;
• amended many times, last in 2008 (2008)

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 Xavier BETTEL (since 4 December 2013); Deputy Prime Minister Etienne SCHNEIDER (since 4 December 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers recommended by the prime minister, appointed by the monarch

elections/appointments:

• 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

description:

• unicameral Chamber of Deputies or Chambre des Deputes (60 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by 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

elections:

last held on 20 October 2013 (next to be held by June 2018)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - CSV 33.7%, LSAP 20.3%, DP 18.3%, Green Party 10.1%, ADR 6.6%, The Left 4.5%, other 6.1%;
• seats by party - CSV 23, LSAP 13, DP 13, Green Party 6, ADR 3, The Left 2

highest court(s):

Superior 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:

judges of both courts appointed by the monarch for life

subordinate courts:

district and local tribunals and courts

• Business Federation Luxembourg or FEDIL [Nicolas SOISSON]
• Centrale Paysanne [Marc FISCH] (federation of agricultural producers)
• Chamber of Artisans (Chambre des Metiers) [Roland KUHN]
• Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce) [Carlo THELEN]
• Chambre des Salaries or CSL [Jean-Claude REDING]
• General Association of Officials (Confederation Generale de la Fonction Publique or CGFP [Romain WOLFF] (trade union representing civil service)
• Greenpeace [Kumi NAIDOO]
• LCGP [Patrick DURY] (center-right trade union)
• Luxembourg Association of Bankers and Insurance Employees or ALEBA [Roberto SCOLATI]
• Luxembourg Bankers Association or ABBL [Yves MAAS]
• Mouvement Ecologique [Blanche WEBER] (environment protection)
• OGB-L [Andre ROELTGEN] (center-left trade union)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jean-Louis WOLZFELD (since 11 September 2012)

chancery:

2200 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-4171 through 72

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-8270

consulate(s) general:

New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Charge d'Affaires Alison SHORTER-LAWRENCE

embassy:

22 Boulevard Emmanuel Servais, L-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

• 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)

name:

"Ons Heemecht" (Our Motherland); "De Wilhelmus" (The William)

lyrics/music:

Michel LENTZ/Jean-Antoine ZINNEN; Nikolaus WELTER/unknown

note: "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

agriculture:

1.1%

industry:

20%

services:

78.9% (2013 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.5%

highest 10%:

23.8% (2000)

general assessment:

highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity over 50 per 100 persons; nationwide mobile-cellular telephone system with market for mobile-cellular phones virtually saturated

international:

country code - 352 (2010)

• 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 (2008)

total:

275 km

standard gauge:

275 km 1.435-m gauge (275 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 124

total:

2,899 km

paved:

2,899 km (includes 152 km of expressways) (2011)

country comparison to the world: 168

• 18-24 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• Luxembourg citizen or EU citizen with 3-year residence in Luxembourg (2012)

males age 16-49:

118,665

females age 16-49:

117,456 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

97,290

females age 16-49:

96,361 (2010 est.)

male:

3,263

female:

3,084 (2010 est.)