Luxembourg Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
This stable, high-income economy 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 trans-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 has maintained a fairly strong growth rate and enjoys an extraordinarily high standard of living.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $25.01 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.2% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $55,100 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 0.5%
industry: 16.6%
services: 82.9% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
262,300 (of whom 87,400 are foreign cross-border workers primarily from France, Belgium, and Germany) (2000)

Labor force - by occupation:
services 90.1%, industry 8%, agriculture 1.9% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
3% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $5.5 billion
expenditures: $5.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $760 million (2002 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
1.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
457 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 57.3%
hydro: 25.2%
other: 17.5% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
6.07 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
744 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
6.389 billion kWh (2001)

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.)

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

Exports:
$8.571 billion f.o.b. (2002)

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

Exports - partners:
Germany 23.9%, France 20.1%, Belgium 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Italy 6.1%, Spain 4.5%, Netherlands 4.4% (2002)

Imports:
$11.61 billion c.i.f. (2002)

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

Imports - partners:
Belgium 29.7%, Germany 23%, France 13.2%, Taiwan 7.3%, Netherlands 4.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$NA

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

Currency:
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

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)