- Anonymous -.
Luxemburg is the smallest country in the EU with 2586 square km in comparison to the UK which is .Due to its size the culture has been heavily influenced by the abutting/adjoining (?) countries like France, Germany and Belgium. The Luxemburgisch are therefore very open to new ideas and like a wide variety in terms of food. Problems relating to the size are the extremely high property prices and rental fees. It may prove difficult to find good locations at moderate prices.
Luxemburg is a parliamentary democracy and is deemed to be very stable. The unemployment rate of 2,5% and the inflation rate of 2.7% are fairly low. The GNP is estimated at 18,4 billion $US and the GNP Per Capita is 42.060 $US which makes it the richest nation in the world. A large amount of this wealth is due to the financial sector that employs over 20,000 people. This accounts for 11% of total employment. .
The infrastructure is well developed (airport, railway, lorries) so that transporting goods into or out of the country should not pose a problem. A major part of the population has mobile telephones, land line and internet access, so they can be easily reached for surveys or promotion. But regarding the fact that the spoken languages are Luxemburgisch, French and German it could be difficult to decide in which language to address the consumer. .
2.1. Different Nationalities.
One of the most significant issues regarding Luxemburg is the high percentage of foreigners in the country. They amount to 35% of the total population (438.000 inhabitants), this being the highest figure in the EU. Of those 36,9% are Portuguese, 13,5% Italian, 11,2% French, 8,9% Belgian and 6" German. Most Portuguese are employed in the construction, earning much less than the average Luxemburger. They usually speak French only, while a native Luxemburg speaks German and Luxemburgisch as well. This poses the question if there are any significant taste differences between certain nationalities.