Luxembourg Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
This stable, high-income economy - in between France, Belgium, and Germany - features 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 22% 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 more than 30% of its labor force. Although Luxembourg, like all EU members, has suffered from the global economic slump, the country enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $27.27 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.3% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $58,900 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.3%
services: 83.1% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
293,700 (of whom 105,000 are foreign cross-border workers commuting primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 1%, industry 13%, services 86% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4.5% (December, 2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.4% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
19.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $13.74 billion
expenditures: $14.49 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2004 est.)

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

Industries:
banking, iron and steel, food processing, chemicals, metal products, engineering, tires, glass, aluminum, information technology, tourism and banking

Industrial production growth rate:
2.9% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
2.511 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
5.735 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
2.9 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
6.3 billion kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
50,650 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
634 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
50,700 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
865 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
867 million cu m (2001 est.)

Exports:
$13.4 billion f.o.b. (2003)

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

Exports - partners:
Germany 21.8%, France 20.1%, Belgium 10.5%, UK 9.3%, Italy 7.1%, Spain 5.6%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004)

Imports:
$16.3 billion c.i.f. (2003)

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

Imports - partners:
Belgium 30%, Germany 21.8%, France 12.5%, China 11.9%, Netherlands 4.5% (2004)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $147 million (2002)

Currency (code):
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)