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The Economy of Luxembourg

Luxembourg Economy

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Economy - overview: This stable, high-income economy - benefiting from its proximity to France, Belgium, and Germany - has historically featured 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, suffered from the global economic slump in the early part of this decade, the country continues to enjoy an extraordinarily high standard of living - GDP per capita ranks third in the world, after Liechtenstein and Qatar. After two years of strong economic growth in 2006-07, turmoil in the world financial markets slowed Luxembourg's economy in 2008, but growth remained above the European average and is likely to remain so in 2009.

GDP:

GDP - real growth rate: 3.6% (2008 est.) 4.5% (2007 est.) 6.1% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita:

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 0.4% industry: 13.6% services: 86% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.5% highest 10%: 23.8% (2000)

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 26 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

Labor force: 207,100 of whom 125,400 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 2.2% industry: 17.2% services: 80.6% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.7% (2008 est.)

Budget: revenues: $22.25 billion expenditures: $22.08 billion (2008 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production: 3.01 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

Electricity - consumption: 6.748 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports: 2.887 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports: 6.847 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption: 60,640 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports: 281.5 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports: 63,760 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption: 1.329 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports: 1.329 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves: 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

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

Exports: $20.78 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

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

Exports - partners: Germany 21.1%, France 16.3%, Belgium 10.1%, Italy 7.4%, UK 7.1%, Netherlands 5.4%, Spain 5% (2007)

Imports: $28.12 billion c.i.f. (2008 est.)

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

Imports - partners: Belgium 27.4%, Germany 23.8%, China 17.1%, France 9.2%, Netherlands 5% (2007)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient:

Currency:

Currency code:

Exchange rates: euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Fiscal year: