The new “Population Atlas”, produced by the University of Luxembourg, Liser and Statec using data from the 2021 census, highlights a profound demographic transformation in the Grand Duchy. Whilst population growth remains among the fastest in Europe, it is no longer reflected solely in the expansion of Luxembourg City. The country is now organised around a network of urban centres, whilst the contrasts between a rural north and a heavily urbanised south remain a defining feature.

Growth among the strongest in Europe

With a population of nearly 682,000 at the start of 2025, compared with 643,941 in the 2021 census, Luxembourg continues to experience exceptional population growth. Between the 2011 and 2021 censuses, Luxembourg gained 131,588 additional residents, representing a 25.7% increase over ten years, corresponding to an average annual growth rate of 2.3% – one of the highest on the European continent. However, this growth is not uniform.

Diversity is the defining feature of the resident population. In 2021, 49.3% of residents were born abroad. Whilst the Portuguese community remains the largest foreign community in the country (11.3% of the total population), the fastest-growing group is that of people born outside the European Union, who now account for 15.5% of the population. This diversity is reflected in language use. Whilst Luxembourgish is the main language for 48.9% of respondents nationwide, this figure drops to 25.3% in the capital. In the workplace, the picture is changing: French is becoming widely used throughout the country (spoken by between 42.9% and 83.2% of the working population, depending on the region).

A redesigned regional structure

Beyond these demographic figures, the new “Population Atlas” shows that population growth is gradually reshaping the country’s territorial organisation. The first observation is that population concentration remains extremely high. Luxembourg City now has 136,161 inhabitants, representing nearly one in five residents. Next comes Esch-sur-Alzette with 37,922 inhabitants, followed by Differdange, which has passed the 30,000-resident mark. The five largest municipalities alone account for more than 36% of the population, whilst the 13 largest municipalities now account for more than half of the country’s inhabitants.

All urban areas are gaining residents, but some are growing much faster than others. The sharpest increases are concentrated in several municipalities to the west of Luxembourg City, in the north-west of the country and to the east of Mersch. Conversely, parts of the mining region, several municipalities in the east of the Grand Duchy and some on the eastern outskirts of the capital are showing more moderate growth.

The study thus highlights that population growth does not undermine the existing regional balance, but rather tends to strengthen areas that are already attractive.

A country that is becoming increasingly urban…

One of the main findings of the atlas concerns trends in urbanisation. The researchers show that Luxembourg no longer revolves solely around its capital. Whilst Luxembourg City remains the only true urban centre according to international criteria, its influence now extends continuously towards Hesperange, Strassen, Bertrange and Walferdange.

At the same time, the south of the country is developing into a genuine conurbation, where the various urban centres are gradually being linked by a continuous built-up area. From Pétange to Schifflange, the urban areas are growing closer together to the point of forming an almost continuous whole.

Another notable development is the emergence of a more polycentric spatial organisation. Mersch is now joined by several intermediate centres – Niederanven, Contern, Steinfort, Wiltz and Junglinster – which form a ring of semi-dense municipalities around the capital. The Nordstad is also consolidating its position with the emergence of a continuous peri-urban area around Diekirch and Ettelbruck.

… without erasing the North-South divide

Despite this scattered urbanisation, the country remains characterised by a very clear geographical divide. The south continues to have the highest population densities, with Luxembourg City, Esch-sur-Alzette, Differdange and Dudelange. The north, by contrast, remains largely rural, with many municipalities having fewer than 3,000 inhabitants.

A detailed analysis using one-square-kilometre grids also reveals that, in 2021, 41.5% of the national territory consisted of uninhabited grid cells. The most densely populated areas are concentrated around Luxembourg railway station and the centre of Esch-sur-Alzette, whilst much of the north of the country remains much more sparsely populated.

Work and mobility: a country of commuters

The labour market is characterised by a high degree of specialisation. One third of the resident workforce (33.7%) are employed in intellectual and scientific professions, a category heavily concentrated in the central conurbation. This concentration of jobs creates a massive geographical disconnect: 73.1% of the workforce work in a different municipality from the one in which they live. The car remains the dominant mode of transport for 69% of the working population. However, a paradigm shift is evident in the capital: over the past ten years, the proportion of people using a car to commute to work there has fallen by 17 percentage points, from 55.6% to 38.5%.

The level of education is closely linked to urban geography. Holders of a master’s degree or a PhD are concentrated in the capital (46.4%) and its inner suburbs. Finally, the country is not immune to the challenge of an ageing population. The ageing index (ratio of older people to young people) rose from 14 in 1910 to 70 in 2021. Whilst there are still many families with children in the suburbs, urban centres such as Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette are characterised by a high proportion of single-person households (over 33%).

Growth is also transforming the way we live

Demographic changes are also having a direct impact on housing types. For the first time, flats have become the most common type of housing, accounting for 52.3% of occupied dwellings, compared with 45.9% for houses. This marks a historic shift. This trend goes hand in hand with the increasing density of the main urban areas, where blocks of flats now largely dominate. In Luxembourg City, the proportion of households living in flats stands at 81.9%. At the same time, rural municipalities continue to favour detached houses, with over 80% of occupied dwellings being detached houses in some cases.

The atlas also shows that the areas which have experienced the strongest growth over the past 20 years naturally have a much newer housing stock, whilst older towns in the mining region or the capital have a higher concentration of homes in need of renovation.

A sustainable change in the regional model

Beyond the maps, the atlas highlights a fundamental shift: Luxembourg is no longer simply a country that is growing, but one whose structure is changing. Population growth continues to drive the capital’s expansion, but is now spreading to several secondary centres.

This more polycentric structure could gradually reduce dependence on Luxembourg City, whilst highlighting the challenges of transport, housing and spatial planning. In other words, demographic trends are no longer merely increasing the population: they are reshaping the geography of Luxembourg.