Interesting facts about Luxembourg

Population & Culture

• Luxembourg is the least populated country in the European Union, with only 465,000 inhabitants. It is also the 20th smallest of the 194 independent countries in the world.
• Luxembourgish, a Franconian dialect of High German, is the mother tongue of almost all Luxembourgers. In spite of this, most official (written) business is conducted in French, while German is the first language taught at school and used in the media.
• In 2006, there are 181,000 immigrants in Luxembourg, or 39.6% of the total population. 15% of the country’s inhabitants (more than a third of all immigrants) are of Portuguese origin.
• Luxembourg has won Eurovision five times (in 1961, 1965, 1972, 1973 and 1983), a feat only surpassed by Ireland.

History

• The original County, then Duchy of Luxembourg was about three times the size of the current country, and included most of the Belgian province of Luxembourg.
• From 1310 to 1437, the counts and then dukes of Luxembourg were also kings of Bohemia (the modern Czech Republic).
• The Luxembourg House also had three of its members elected Roman Germanic emperors: Henry VII (1312-1313), Charles IV (1355-1378) and Sigismund (1410-1437). The latter also reigned as king of Hungary from 1387. Sigismund’s daughter, Elisabeth of Luxembourg, married Albert II of Habsburg, who succeeded his father-in-law as emperor, and king of Bohemia and Hungary. From then on, apart from an interlude of three years, the Habsburgs were going to supply all the emperors until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806. One could thus say that the glorious destiny of the Habsburgs and the very foundation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was reached through their marriage to the Luxembourg House in 1422. Through this marriage also, the Habsburgs ruled as Dukes of Luxembourg from 1506 to 1813.

Political economics

• Luxembourg is the country with the highest nominal GDP per capita in the world. At US $ 115,000 in 2011, Luxembourg’s GDP per capita was almost three times higher than the EU average. Even adjusted to purchasing power parity (PPP), it remains the highest in the world after Qatar.
• Luxembourg is a well-known tax haven. As of March 2006, there were no fewer than 155 banks in the country.
• Luxembourg has the highest legal minimum wage in Europe (even higher than in Monaco) and the second highest in the world after Australia. In 2013, it was € 1,874.90 per month or € 10.83 per hour for unskilled workers over 18 years of age.
• The average unemployment rate in Luxembourg between 1982 and 2013 was 3.3%, the lowest in Europe.
• RTL (Radio Television Luxembourg) is the largest television, radio and production company in Europe. It has 34 television channels and 33 radios in 12 countries, including Channel Five in the United Kingdom and M6 in France, among those not known as “RTL”.
• Skype, the free internet call and instant messaging software, is based in Luxembourg.
• Amazon, Rakuten, Paypal and Rovi Corporation all have their European headquarters in Luxembourg.
• From 1944 to 2002, the Luxembourg franc had exactly the same value as the Belgian franc. Since 2002, the euro has replaced both currencies.
• Luxembourg was ranked 3rd best country in the European Union for business efficiency in 2005, after Finland and Denmark.
• The American organization “The Heritage Foundation” has ranked Luxembourg as the leading country in Europe and fourth in the world for economic freedom.