Luxembourg Education

 

Related Articles Geography Location: Western Europe, between France and Germany Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 6 10 E Map references: Europe Area: total: 2,586 sq km land: 2,586 sq km water: 0 sq km Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Rhode Island Land boundaries: total: 359 km border countries: Belgium 148 km, France 73 km, Germany 138 km Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: modified continental with mild winters, cool summers Terrain: mostly gently rolling uplands with broad, shallow valleys; uplands to slightly mountainous in the north; steep slope down to Moselle flood plain in the southeast Elevation extremes: lowest point: Moselle River 133 m highest point: Burgplatz 559 m Natural resources: iron ore (no longer exploited), arable land Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 21% other: 34% Irrigated land: 10 sq km (including Belgium) (1993 est.) Natural hazards: NA Environment - current issues: air and water pollution in urban areas Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea Geography - note: landlocked [back to top]

Religion, Language, and Education More than 95 percent of the inhabitants of Luxembourg are Roman Catholics. The national language, called Letzeburgesch (Luxembourgian), is a Germanic language. French and German are also used in official publications and in schools. Education is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15, and illiteracy is almost unknown. The University Center of Luxembourg (1969) is situated in Luxembourg City, and the country also has several schools of music and technology. Luxembourg, officially Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, country in western Europe, bounded by Belgium on the north and west, Germany on the east, and France on the south. With Belgium and the Netherlands, Luxembourg forms the Low, or Benelux, Countries. The country has an area of 2586 sq km (998 sq mi). Land and Climate Topographically, Luxembourg consists mainly of the upper basins of the Sûre (Sauer) and Alzette rivers. The highest point is Buurgplaatz (559 m/1835 ft), in the Ardennes Plateau in the north. The southern two-thirds of the country is a rolling plateau, the Bon Pays. Rich deposits of iron ore are found in the south. Luxembourg has a moderate climate with a mean annual temperature of 10° C (50° F) and a rainfall of about 815 mm (about 32 in) yearly. Population The inhabitants of Luxembourg are mostly of German and French background, but have a distinct national consciousness. The population of Luxembourg (1991) was 384,400, giving the country an overall population density of about 149 persons per sq km (about 385 per sq mi). The principal cities are centers of industrial production. The capital and largest city is Luxembourg-Ville, with a population (1991) of 75,377. Other important cities are Esch-sur-Alzette (24,012), Differdange (15,699), Dudelange (14,677), and Sanem (11,534). Economy Luxembourg is one of the world's most industrialized countries and has a high standard of living. The estimated annual national budget in the late 1980s included revenue of $2.2 billion and expenditure of $2.1 billion. Banking, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are the most important economic sectors. Major manufactures include iron and steel, processed food, rubber and plastic products, metal and machinery products, paper and printing products, food products, and chemicals. In the late 1980s the annual production of pig iron was about 2.5 million metric tons and crude steel 3.4 million tons; dwindling iron resources and reduced demand for Luxembourg's steel exports have weakened the metals industry since the mid-1970s. Agriculture also plays an important role in the country's economy. Principal crops include barley, rye, potatoes, oats, wheat, and wine grapes. Substantial numbers of cattle, hogs, and poultry also are raised. Luxembourg and Belgian foreign trade statistics are merged, because the two countries are joined in an economic union. See BELGIUM: ECONOMY: COMMERCE AND TRADE. Luxembourg has about 275 km (about 170 mi) of railroad and about 5100 km (about 3170 mi) of roads. The country had an estimated 191,760 telephones, 231,000 radios, and 94,000 television receivers in 1989. The principal daily newspapers in the late 1980s were the Lëtzebuerger Journal, Luxemburger Wort/La Voix du Luxembourg, and Le Républicain Lorrain, all published in the city of Luxembourg, and the Tageblatt/Zeitung fir Letzebuerg, printed in Esch-sur-Alzette. The unit of currency is the Luxembourg franc (30 francs equal U.S.$1; 1994), consisting of 100 centimes. Government The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a constitutional hereditary monarchy. The constitution, proclaimed in 1868 and later amended (especially in 1919), provides for a democratic government, with legislative power vested in a unicameral chamber of deputies composed of 60 members elected by universal suffrage of persons aged 18 and older at least every five years. The sovereign (the grand duke or grand duchess) has the constitutional right to organize the government, which consists of a prime minister, who is head of the government, and at least three other ministers. A council of state, appointed for life by the sovereign, acts in an advisory capacity. The three major political parties are the Christian Social party, the Socialist Worker party, and the Democratic party. Local Government Luxembourg is divided into 12 cantons, each subdivided into communes. Defense Luxembourg, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, maintains a small volunteer army consisting of about 800 members. History Under Roman rule, Luxembourg was included in the province of Belgica Prima; later it became a part of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia and of Charlemagne's empire. In 1060 the country came under the rule of Count Conrad, founder of the house of Luxemburg, which provided the Holy Roman Empire with four emperors in the 14th and early 15th centuries before being superseded in 1437 by the Habsburg dynasty. For the next four centuries, Spain and Austria alternately dominated the country. At the close of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Luxembourg was established as a grand duchy by the Congress of Vienna and placed under the rule of William I, king of the Netherlands. In 1830 the Belgian provinces of the Netherlands revolted, and the grand duchy joined them. In 1831 Belgium became an autonomous kingdom, and Luxembourg remained a part of the new country until 1839, when its western portion was ceded to Belgium and the remainder was recognized as a sovereign and independent state. The Dutch king retained nominal authority as grand duke. In 1842 Luxembourg became a member of the Prussian-led German customs union (Zollverein), and for the next quarter-century the grand duchy was under Prussian domination. Napoleon III, emperor of France, opened negotiations in 1866 with William III, king of the Netherlands, for the purchase of Luxembourg, but the proposal provoked a dangerous crisis in Franco-Prussian relations. War was averted by an international conference held in London in May 1867, which adopted a treaty guaranteeing the independence of the grand duchy and providing for its perpetual neutrality. With the death of William III in 1890 the grand ducal crown passed to Adolf of the German house of Nassau. German military forces occupied Luxembourg in August 1914, on the outbreak of World War I, and retained control of the country for the duration of the war. The grand duchy joined the League of Nations in 1920. During World War II Luxembourg was invaded by Germany on May 10, 1940. The reigning grand duchess, Charlotte, subsequently established a government-in-exile in London. In August 1942 the Germans proclaimed the grand duchy a part of the Third Reich. Allied military forces liberated Luxembourg in September 1944, and the country was restored to civilian control. On June 26, 1945, it became an original member of the United Nations. An agreement establishing a customs union among Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, known as Benelux, took effect on January 1, 1948. Under the terms of a constitutional amendment adopted later in 1948, Luxembourg abrogated its traditional neutrality. The same year the country became a founding member of the Brussels Treaty Organization and a participant in the European Recovery Program; it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Luxembourg signed the 1951 treaty creating the European Coal and Steel Community. In 1956 France agreed to assist in the electrification of the Luxembourg railroads; in exchange, the grand duchy permitted France to construct a canal along the Mosel River, which forms part of the Luxembourg frontier. Early in 1957, France, West Germany (now part of the united Federal Republic of Germany), and Luxembourg founded an international company to canalize the Mosel River. On January 1, 1958, the European Community (now called the European Union) went into effect, with Luxembourg as a founding member. In elections in 1959, the Christian Social party won a plurality in the legislature, and Pierre Werner, a Christian Socialist, formed a coalition cabinet. Treaties transforming the Benelux nations into a full economic union went into effect on November 1, 1960. On May 4, 1961, Prince Jean, the heir apparent, was sworn in as governor by his mother, Grand Duchess Charlotte. The duchess abdicated on November 12, 1964; immediately afterward, Jean became grand duke. The government of Prime Minister Werner resigned on October 29, 1968. In general elections in December, the Democratic party made strong gains, and Werner formed a new government of Christian Socialists and Democrats. In general elections in 1974 the Democrats and Socialists made strong gains, and Gaston Thorn, a Democrat, became prime minister at the head of a Democratic-Socialist coalition. Werner headed another coalition government during 1979-84, a period marked by a prolonged recession. After elections were held in June 1984, a Christian Social-Socialist Worker coalition led by Jacques Santer took office. Santer remained prime minister, but with a reduced majority, after the elections of June 1989 and June 1994. Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies ratified the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty) in July 1992. Clauses in the treaty relating to foreigners' electoral rights and monetary union would require changes to Luxembourg's constitution. Background: 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. People Population: 437,389 (July 2000 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 19% (male 42,375; female 40,109) 15-64 years: 67% (male 148,205; female 145,325) 65 years and over: 14% (male 24,446; female 36,929) (2000 est.) Population growth rate: 1.27% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 12.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 8.91 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: 9.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.) Infant mortality rate: 4.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 77.13 years male: 73.84 years female: 80.63 years (2000 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality: noun: Luxembourger(s) adjective: Luxembourg Ethnic groups: Celtic base (with French and German blend), Portuguese, Italian, and European (guest and worker residents) Religions: Roman Catholic 97%, Protestant and Jewish 3% Languages: Luxembourgian, German, French, English Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) [back to top] Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 314,700 (1999) Telephones - mobile cellular: 95,400 (1999) Telephone system: highly developed, completely automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable international: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable (Europe to North America) Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999) Radios: 285,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 8 (1999) Televisions: 285,000 (1998 est.) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 13 (1999) [back to top] Transportation Railways: total: 274 km standard gauge: 274 km 1.435-m gauge (242 km electrified; 178 km double track) (1998) Highways: total: 5,166 km paved: 5,166 km (including 118 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) Waterways: 37 km; Moselle Pipelines: petroleum products 48 km Ports and harbors: Mertert Merchant marine: total: 48 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,283,738 GRT/1,872,071 DWT ships by type: bulk 2, chemical tanker 10, container 1, liquified gas 18, passenger 4, petroleum tanker 6, roll-on/roll-off 7 (1999 est.) Airports: 2 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1999 est.) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1 under 914 m: 1 (1999 est.)