The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, abbreviated to Luxembourg - Lëtzebuerg by the locals, is the second smallest country in the European Union.
It is ranked 179th in size of all the 194 independent countries in the world (2,584 km² - 82 km long - 57 km wide).
Luxembourg has an estimated population of 540,000 in 2014. As of 2014, it is estimated that 55% of the population is comprised of Luxembourgians and 45% of foreign nationality.
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| Monument of Grand Duchesse Charlotte |
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a representative democracy with a constitutional monarch. It is headed by Grand Duke Henri and it is the world's only remaining grand duchy.
Luxembourg is a trilingual country, having Luxembourgish - Lëtzebuergesch, French and German as official languages. Lëtzebuergesch is a Moselle Franconian language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. It is the mother tongue of the local population and the main language spoken at home. About 400,000 people worldwide speak Luxembourgish.
Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominatly Romain Catholic.
25% of the Luxembourgians are atheists or agnostics.
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| Steeple of Notre-Dame Cathedral (during renovation in 2010) |
The City of Luxembourg is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU, notably the European Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors, parts of the European Commission, the Secretariat of the European Parliament, the European Investment Bank and the European School of Luxembourg.
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| European Quarter at the Kirchberg |
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| Luxembourg is the headquarter of the Court of Justice |
The Schengen Agreement, which introduced a harmonised visa policy for member states, was signed in Luxembourg. Schengen is a small wine-making village at the southeastern tip of the country, near the tripoint where the borders of Germany, France and Luxembourg meet.
Famous EU personalities from Luxembourg :
The EU "founding father" Robert Schuman
The politician Gaston Thorn
(former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and EU Commission President)
The politician Jacques Santer
(former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and EU Commission President)
The politician Jean-Claude Junker
(former Prime Minister, President of the European Council and President of the Eurogroup)
The EU "founding father" Robert Schuman
The politician Gaston Thorn
(former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and EU Commission President)
The politician Jacques Santer
(former Prime Minister of Luxembourg and EU Commission President)
The politician Jean-Claude Junker
(former Prime Minister, President of the European Council and President of the Eurogroup)