Facts and figures on Luxembourg, one of the 17 countries sharing the euro currency.

ENTRY DATE: One of six founding members of the European Union, Luxembourg was a founding member of the currency union in 1999. Notes and coins began circulating on January 1, 2002.

PUBLIC DEBT: 7.65 billion euros ($10 billion) in 2010 or 19.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) (source: Eurostat). It is forecast to rise to 19.5 percent in 2011 and 20.2 percent in 2012. (European Commission)

PUBLIC DEFICIT: 1.1 percent of GDP in 2010 (Eurostat). Forecast 0.6 percent in 2011, 1.1 percent in 2012 and 0.9 percent in 2013 (European Commission).

GDP: 41.78 billion euros 2011 (Eurostat).

Economy forecast to grow 1.0 percent in 2012, 2.3 percent in 2013 (European Commission).

GDP per inhabitant in 2010 was 79,500 euros (Eurostat).

ECONOMY: Luxembourg is above all an international finance centre. The sector represents 28 percent of its annual economic output, and generates 75 percent of its tax take, although this has lost momentum since the global financial crisis kicked in during 2008.

For the last decade, Luxembourg has sought to diversify its economy, embracing new information technology, e-commerce and media.

Thanks to one of the EU's lowest sales tax rates (VAT), and inducements offered to key sectors, web giants Amazon, iTunes and eBay each house headquarter functions here -- a presence worth some 600 million euros to the state on the last available national data.

AVERAGE MONTHLY SALARY: 4,273 euros gross in 2010 (national statistics).

INFLATION: Forecast at 3.6 percent in 2011, 2.1 percent 2012 (European Commission).

UNEMPLOYMENT: Forecast at 4.5 percent in 2011, 4.8 percent in 2012 (European Commission).

CREDIT RATINGS: According to an EU government source Standard and Poor's has decided to leave Luxembourg's rating at AAA. Moody's and Fitch still have Luxembourg with a top triple-A rating, but Moody's has said it is reviewing all EU countries.

POPULATION: 511,840 as of January 1, 2011 (Eurostat)

CAPITAL: Luxembourg

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Luxembourgish, French and German

POLITICAL SET-UP:

-- Head of state: Grand Duke Henri de Luxembourg, who succeeded his father in October 2000.

-- Prime Minister: Jean-Claude Juncker, uninterrupted in power since 1995, making him Europe's longest-serving leader

-- Finance Minister: Luc Frieden

-- Next parliamentary elections: June 2014

WEBLINKS:

-- http://www.statistiques.public.lu/fr/index.html

-- http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu/forecasts/2011_autumn/lu_en.pdf

-- http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/themes

-- http://ec.europa.eu/news/economy/111110_fr.htm