Assigned Blog #6
For this assigned blog, I chose to research and write about Luxembourg. The main reason I chose this country is because my relatives are from Luxembourg, so I wanted to learn more about it.
The official name for Luxembourg is the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The capitol is Luxembourg, and is also the largest city. Just over half a million people is the population of this country. The countries surrounding Luxembourg are Belgium, Germany, and France. The size of Luxembourg is about 998 square miles. Luxembourg is a representative democracy has a constitutional monarch. It is headed by a grand duke, which is a step below a king. A grand duchy is a country headed by a monarch. This makes Luxembourg the only grand duchy still remaining.
Luxembourg has a very advanced economy with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. They have very low increases in prices and have many new ideas for their economy. Many households have high-income jobs and low unemployment. According to the IMF, in 2011, Luxembourg was the second richest country in the world. Much of the economic success is due to banking and financing. Until the 1960’s Luxembourg was dependent on the steel industry. But then they moved to chemicals and rubber. Agriculture in Luxembourg mainly thrives on small and family owned farms. The agriculture is based on potatoes, wheat, barley, and livestock. They also sell a lot of alcohol. Luxembourg mainly trades with the Netherlands and Belgium.
The people of Luxembourg are called Luxembourgers. They speak three official languages; German, French, and Luxembourgish. But they also speak English and Portuguese. There are many religions in Luxembourg. Luxembourg is the 20th smallest ranked country of 194 for the smallest independent countries in the world.
The most interesting thing I found about Luxembourg is that their education system is trilingual! In the beginning years of primary school, are taught in Luxembourgish. The later years of primary school are taught in German, while secondary school is in French. It is required to know these three languages before graduation, but many students don’t. Many have the disadvantage of having immigrant parents who speak other languages.
In Luxembourg, 78 years old is the average life expectancy. Another thing I found interesting is that 15% of the population are immigrants. These immigrants are mostly from Portugal and Germany.
Sources:
"Luxembourg." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg>.
"Facts About Luxembourg." Interesting Facts about Luxembourg. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. <http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/facts-about-luxembourg-2107.html>;.
Comments
Well done Jenna! Hopefully you can visit Luxembourg someday!