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Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Coat of arms of Luxembourg
Coat of arms
Motto: "Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn"  (Luxembourgish)
"We want to remain what we are"
Anthem: Ons Heemecht
"Our Homeland"

[1]

Royal anthemDe Wilhelmus 1
Location of  Luxembourg  (dark green)– on the European continent  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Location of  Luxembourg  (dark green)

– on the European continent  (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Luxembourg
Official languages Luxembourgish
French
German
Demonym(s) Luxembourgers
Government Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Henri (List)
Xavier Bettel (List)
Legislature Chamber of Deputies
Independence
9 June 1815
19 April 1839
• 2nd Treaty of London
11 May 1867
• End of personal union
23 November 1890
Area
• Total
2,586.4 km2 (998.6 sq mi) (175th)
• Water (%)
0.60%
Population
• 2011 estimate
511,840 (170th)
• 2001 census
439,539
• Density
194.1/km2 (502.7/sq mi) (67th)
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
• Total
$41.221 billion (94th)
• Per capita
$80,119 (2nd)
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
• Total
$58.412 billion (69th)
• Per capita
$113,533 (1st)
HDI (2011) Increase 0.867
very high · 25th
Currency Euro ()2 (EUR)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving side right
Calling code 352
ISO 3166 code LU
Internet TLD .lu3
  1. Not the same as the Het Wilhelmus of the Netherlands.
  2. Before 1999: Luxembourgish franc.
  3. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Luxembourg is a country in Western Europe; its official name is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: [Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg). It is a small country. It was one of the first countries in the European Union. It is also a member of the Benelux. The countries next to Luxembourg are Belgium, Germany, and France. Its population is 442,972. Which is big for its country's size.

Timeline

Geography

Luxembourg-CIA WFB Map
The largest towns are Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Dudelange, and Differdange.

Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and ranked 179th in size of all the 194 independent countries of the world; the country is about 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi) in size, and measures 82 km (51 mi) long and 57 km (35 mi) wide. It lies between latitudes 49° and 51° N, and longitudes 5° and 7° E.

To the east, Luxembourg borders the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, and to the south, it borders the French région of Lorraine. The Grand Duchy borders the Belgian Walloon Region, in particular the latter's provinces of Luxembourg and Liège, part of which comprises the German-speaking Community of Belgium, to the west and to the north, respectively.

The northern third of the country is known as the 'Oesling', and forms part of the Ardennes. It is dominated by hills and low mountains, including the Kneiff near Wilwerdange, which is the highest point, at 560 metres (1,837 ft). Other mountains are the 'Buurgplaaz' at 559 metres near Huldange and the 'Napoléonsgaard' at 554 metres near Rambrouch. The region is sparsely populated, with only one town (Wiltz) with a population of more than four thousand people.

Clerve Alscheid
Typical Luxembourg countryside near Alscheid

The southern two-thirds of the country is called the "Gutland", and is more densely populated than the Oesling. It is also more diverse and can be divided into five geographic sub-regions. The Luxembourg plateau, in south-central Luxembourg, is a large, flat, sandstone formation, and the site of the city of Luxembourg. Little Switzerland, in the east of Luxembourg, has craggy terrain and thick forests. The Moselle valley is the lowest-lying region, running along the southeastern border. The Red Lands, in the far south and southwest, are Luxembourg's industrial heartland and home to many of Luxembourg's largest towns.

The border between Luxembourg and Germany is formed by three rivers: the Moselle, the Sauer, and the Our. Other major rivers are the Alzette, the Attert, the Clerve, and the Wiltz. The valleys of the mid-Sauer and Attert form the border between the Gutland and the Oesling.

According to the 2012 Environmental Performance Index, Luxembourg is one of the world's best performers in environmental protection, ranking 4th out of 132 assessed countries Luxembourg also ranks 6th among the top ten most livable cities in the world by Mercer's.

Luxembourg has an oceanic climate, marked by high precipitation, particularly in late summer. The summers are warm and winters cool.

Government

Luxembourg is a parliamentary democracy lead by a constitutional monarch. Under the constitution of 1868, executive power is in the hands of the Governor and the cabinet, which consists of several other ministers.

Districts, cantons, and communes

Luxembourg is divided into 3 districts, which are further divided into 12 cantons and then 116 communes. Twelve of the communes have city status, of which the city of Luxembourg is the largest.

Districts

The districts are

  1. Diekirch
  2. Grevenmacher
  3. Luxembourg

Related pages

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Luxemburgo para niños

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