An Introduction to Luxembourg
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the only remaining country with that form of ruler (ie a Grand Duke). The northern third is the Ardennes plateau of the Oesling, the southern two thirds the lower-lying and more urbanised Gutland, and the country mixes Germanic and French/Romance cultural influences - and languages. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Europe (Other)
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GOVERNMENT: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
AREA: 2,586.4 sq km
POPULATION: 509,874 (2012 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Languages: Luxembourgish, French, German
Some business and general info
The Market Research Industry
Trade and Industry in Luxembourg
An older generation of Europeans associated the country with a broadcaster, Radio Luxembourg, which was founded in 1929 with the aim of avoiding strict French regulations permitting only public radio stations - one of its co-founders was CSF group, the main stockholder in Radio Paris. As a private station with a large audience in France and a strong news and current affairs service, it quickly gained a reputation for independent views, and its English language service - which began in 1933 - was a forerunner of pirate and commercial radio in Britain, given that up until 1973 the BBC, which allows no ads, had a monopoly on radio broadcasting in the UK. Radio Luxembourg also boasted and may have had the most powerful transmitter in the world. Its owner, RTL Group, was the owner of TVs Channel Five until July 2010.
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The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is the only remaining country with that form of ruler (ie a Grand Duke). The northern third is the Ardennes plateau of the Oesling, the southern two thirds the lower-lying and more urbanised Gutland, and the country mixes Germanic and French/Romance cultural influences - and languages.
Beginning with the tenth century acquisition of Lucilinburhuc now Luxembourg Castle by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes, a distinct territory and state grew up around the area and gained influence, providing three Holy Roman Emperors in the 14th and 15th centuries. It lost half its territory to Belgium in the 1830s; was one of the six founders of the EEC in 1957 and joined the Euro area on its inception in 1999. It is the site of the European Court of Justice and the official base of the Secretariat of the European Parliament, and his particularly close links with the two other Benelux countries.Luxembourg has one of the world's highest-income economies and highest quality of life ratings. Its t'x haven arrangements led to it being added in 2009 to the G20s grey list of nations with questionable banking arrangements, but as an investment fund centre it is second only to the US.
GDP: $41.2 bn (2011 est.); $80,119 per capita
Religions Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000)
Currency: Euro
Telephone Code: + 352
Banking and heavy industrial production - especially steel - underpin the economy of Luxembourg, which is stable, prosperous and export-intensive - according to the 2007 CIA fact book it had the second highest per capita gross domestic product in the world, behind Qatar. Although steel production is declining, growth in the financial sector (now 28% of GDP) has more than compensated, and solid growth, low inflation and low unemployment are features of life in Luxembourg - it has even recovered quickly after a brief reverse in 2009. The current account surplus is high and public debt remains among the lowest of the region.
60% of Luxembourgs workforce comes across the border from the neighbouring powers.
Exports in 2011 were $19.5bn - with chemicals, rubber products and glass getting in on steels act and Germany (22.3% in 2009), France (15.5%), Belgium (12.1%) and the UK (9.2%) are all key recipients. Imports are higher - $27.9bn in 2011 - with commodities including minerals, metals, foodstuffs and high quality consumer goods coming from partners including Belgium (31.4% in 2009), Germany (25.1%), France (11.6%) and China (9.2%).
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