General Information

Capital:

Luxembourg 77,401 (1996 est.)

Area:

2,586 sq km (998 sq mi)

Form of government

Constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses

GDP per capita

Purchasing power parity-$34,200 (1999 est.)

Population

429,080 (July 1999 est.)

Ethnic composition

Luxembourg - 66.6%

Portuguese - 12.5%

Italian - 4.8%

French - 3.5%

Belgian - 2.6%

German - 2.3%

Other - 7.6%

Official Language(s)

Luxembourgian (national)

French (used for most official purposes)

German (lingua franca)

Minority Language(s)

German, French, English

Strictly speaking, Luxembourgian cannot be considered a minority language. It is spoken as a native language by nearly the entire Luxembourg population (about 290,000 speakers). However, a considerable number of foreigners (110,000 residents, 65,000 working along the border) neither speak nor understand Luxembourgian.

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