世界各国

Luxembourg

Introduction to Luxembourg

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. Full independence was attained in 1867. 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 European Economic Community (later the European Union), and in 1999 it joined the euro currency area.

Government

Capital:

Luxembourg 

Independence:

1839 (from the Netherlands) 

National holiday:

National Day (Birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte) 23 June 

Economy

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, which now accounts for about 22% of GDP, has more than compensated for the decline in steel. Most banks are foreign-owned and have extensive foreign dealings. Agriculture is based on small family-owned farms. The economy depends on foreign and trans-border workers for more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country has maintained a fairly strong growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living. 

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $25.01 billion (2004 est.) 

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.6%
services: 82.9% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products:

barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits, wine grapes; livestock products 

Industries:

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

Transportation

Waterways:

37 km (on Moselle River) (2003)

Pipelines:

gas 155 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:

Mertert

Merchant marine:

total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 652,454 GRT/805,101 DWT
by type: chemical tanker 11, container 8, liquefied gas 4, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 7
foreign-owned: Belgium 7, Denmark 1, Finland 3, France 3, Germany 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 5, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 7, United States 3
registered in other countries: 1 (2003 est.)

Airports:

2 (2003 est.)

Heliports:

1 (2003 est.)