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Luxembourg's population is close to parity between nationals and foreigners as data published by Statec on Monday showed that the Grand Duchy counted over 300,000 foreigners as of November 2021, making up 47% of all residents.

The Grand Duchy's foreign population increased by 38% between 2011 and 2021 to reach more than 304,000 residents, whilst the Luxembourgish population increased at a slower rate of 16.5%, national statistics agency Statec said on Monday, publishing the results of a census carried out in 2021.

There were close to 340,000 people with Luxembourg nationality, accounting for 53% of the total population, while Luxembourgers by birth represented close to 51% of the population, Statec said.

Luxembourg's population reached 644,000 in 2021, up from 512,000 ten years previously, Statec said. The census, which is held every ten years, was carried out by post and online from November to December 2021.  

The census counted 180 nationalities as of November 2021, with the largest group of foreign residents being Portuguese nationals at 14.5% of the total population, representing around a third of all foreigners, followed by French nationals  at 7.6%, Italians at 3.7%, Belgians at 3.1% and Germans at 2.0%.

British and Chinese nationals constituted the largest non-EU residents at 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively, whereas Brazilians and US nationals made up 0.4% and 0.3% of the population

Luxembourg's population has grown by more than 25% over the past decade, according to the earlier census results, with immigration driving the country's largest yearly population increases ever recorded.

Attractive job market

The Grand Duchy's population is the fastest-growing in the EU, expanding at more than 15 times the rate of the bloc as a whole in the decade from 2011, census statistics published by Statec show. The EU's population increased by just 1.7% in the ten years to 2021. 

Luxembourg’s prominent position as a financial capital, together with its buoyant job market, high salaries and standard of living are continuing to attract immigrants from elsewhere in Europe and around the globe. 

Over 9,000 more people entered the country than left in 2021, a three-fold increase since 1990, Statec said. The average age of a typical Luxembourg resident rose by just one year, to 39, from the previous census.

Statec also said that in 2022, around 3,200 Luxembourg nationals left the country, the highest figure ever registered since recordkeeping started in 1967. Luxembourgers only constitute around a quarter of the workforce, which also includes over 200,000 cross-border commuters.

Almost one in ten new cross-border commuters is a Luxembourg citizen, according to data compiled by think tank Fondation Idea, as housing prices are forcing people to look for cheaper options abroad.