Luxembourg national statistical office, STATEC, has announced that as of 1 January 2021, 634,730 inhabitants reside in Luxembourg, of which 52.8% have Luxembourgish nationality (includes dual nationals).

During 2020, the population of the Grand Duchy increased by 8,622 people. This increase, mainly due to net immigration, is slowed down by the COVID-19 health crisis.

During the year 2020, a natural balance (births - deaths) of 1,850 people and a migratory balance (arrivals - departures) of 7,620 people were observed. The percentage of international migration in population growth is 88% in 2020. This represents a 1.4% population growth between 1 January 2020 and 1 January 2021 which is less than that observed during the last years when it fluctuated between 2.0% and 2.5%.

As of 1 January 2021, the average age of the population is 40.4 years for women and 38.9 years for men. Foreign residents are significantly younger than Luxembourgers. The average age for Luxembourg women is 42.5 years compared to 37.9 years for foreign women. For Luxembourgish men, the average age is 40.1 years compared to 37.7 years for foreign men.

Increase in births

The number of births rose from 6,230 in 2019 to 6,459 in 2020. This 3.7% increase is due to the higher number of births of children of Luxembourg nationality (+ 5.9% compared to 2019), as well as the number of non-Luxembourgish newborns (+ 1.3%). The total fertility rate rose from 1.34 in 2019 to 1.37 children per woman in 2020. 

Rising mortality due to the COVID-19 crisis

In 2020, the number of deaths amounted to 4,609. It increased by 7.6% compared to 2019 (4,283 deaths). Among the 4,609 deaths, there were slightly more male (51.5%) than female (48.5%) deaths. The population of Luxembourg nationality accounts for 76.2% of deaths.

The average age of the deceased is 81.0 years for women and 74.8 years for men. Life expectancy at birth has hardly changed and is 84.6 years for women and 80.1 years for men.

In 2020, deaths from COVID-19 represent 11.0% of deaths (and even 13.6% of deaths observed between mid-March and the end of December). Since the declaration of the first death due to COVID-19, on 13 March 2020 and the end of December, STATEC has counted 3,749 deaths. This corresponds to 399 additional deaths compared to the year 2019 and to 477 more deaths compared to 2018. This number of additional deaths largely coincides with the 501 deaths officially due to COVID-19 communicated by the Ministry of Health for this period. 

Compared to the monthly average of deaths recorded during the last two years, a higher number of deaths was observed during 2020 with the exception of the months of January, February, June and July 2020, where the number of deaths is lower or comparable. This observation is particularly true for the months of November and December 2020: in November, STATEC recorded 144 additional deaths compared to the 2018/2019 average (+37.8%) and 120 additional deaths compared to the 2018/2019 average (+32.2%) for the month of December.

Luxembourg, a country of immigration

The health crisis due to COVID-19 with the resulting travel limitations has also impacted international migratory flows. In 2020, Luxembourg experienced 22,490 international arrivals and 14,870 departures. Net migration, the difference between immigrants and emigrants, is 7,620 people.

In 2020, arrivals were lower than in previous years. Uncertainties on the labour market and travel restrictions following the Coronavirus mean that fewer people have settled in Luxembourg. Emigrations have also fallen, but less markedly.

Since 2014, the French have overtaken the Portuguese - who were always in the lead before that date - as the second largest nationality group in the Grand Duchy. The latter have even been slightly ahead of the Italians since 2018. In recent years, the Portuguese share in total net immigration has decreased and represents only 8.3% of net migration in 2020. The French are leading...

In 2020, their share of net immigration was 17.0%. The migratory flows of Italians went from 3.9% in 2010 to 10.9% in 2020 of the total migratory surplus. Regarding our two other neighbouring countries, the share of Belgians in net immigration is 4.0% while that of Germans is limited to 3.1%. 

The share of Luxembourgers remains stable

Compared to 2019, the number of naturalisations fell from 11,451 to 9,387 (-18.0%). Among these naturalisations, 50.6% were granted to people not having their residence in Luxembourg. Among these people, there are 1,679 people living in Brazil (35.4% of non-residents), 1,611 in France and 680 in Belgium.

The percentage of Luxembourgers in the overall population remains stable. It stood at 52.8% on 1 January 2021. 

Decrease in marriages

Following the restrictions due to COVID-19, the number of marriages in 2020 was down compared to 2019: their number dropped from 2,143 in 2019 to 1,803 in 2020 (-15.9%). Among these marriages, 39 were same-sex marriages: 23 between two men and 16 between two women. Following new legal provisions (law of 27 June 2018 establishing the judge in family cases), the number of divorces increased sharply in 2019. This number decreased by around a quarter between the last two years and was 1,447 in 2020.