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.

The city of Luxembourg, the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the European Union.

Luxembourg lies on the cultural divide between Romance Europe and Germanic Europe, borrowing customs from each of the distinct traditions. Luxembourg is a trilingual country; French, German, and Luxembourgish are official languages.

Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 480,222 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.8% (male 46,478/female 43,656) 15-64 years: 66.6% (male 161,466/female 158,261) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 28,530/female 41,831) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 38.9 years male: 37.9 years female: 39.9 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.207% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 11.84 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 8.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: 8.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.065 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.682 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.03 years male: 75.76 years female: 82.52 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 500 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg

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Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, Slavs (from Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo) and European (guest and resident workers)

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Religions: Roman Catholic 87%, other (includes Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim) 13% (2000)

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Languages: Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)

This stable, high-income economy - benefiting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - 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 28% 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 cross-border workers for about 60% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks second in the world.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $33.87 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $34.53 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 6.2% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $71,400 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2005 est.)

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Labor force: 203,000 of whom 121,600 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 1% industry: 13% services: 86% (2004 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 4.1% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 18.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $19.07 billion expenditures: $19.79 billion; including capital expenditures of $975.5 million (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: wine, grapes, barley, oats, potatoes, wheat, fruits; dairy products, livestock products

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Industries: banking and financial services, iron and steel, information technology, telecommunications, cargo transportation, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, tourism

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Industrial production growth rate: 4.3% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 3.203 billion kWh (2005 est.)

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Electricity - consumption: 6.14 billion kWh (2005 est.)

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Electricity - exports: 2.346 billion kWh (2005 est.)

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Electricity - imports: 5.287 billion kWh (2005 est.)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 62,420 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 283 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: 61,070 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 1.361 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 1.361 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: $4.63 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $19.55 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, steel products, chemicals, rubber products, glass

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Exports - partners: Germany 19.3%, France 15.5%, Italy 9.5%, UK 9.5%, Belgium 8.8%, Spain 5.3%, Netherlands 4.5% (2006)

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Imports: $24.22 billion c.i.f. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: minerals, metals, foodstuffs, quality consumer goods

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Imports - partners: Belgium 26.3%, Germany 20.1%, China 16.7%, France 8.5%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $232.2 million (August 2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $NA

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Economic aid - donor: ODA, $235.59 million (2004)

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Currency (code): euro (EUR) note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

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Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year