Luxembourg

With 2 586 km², Luxembourg is the second-smallest Member State of  EU, after Malta. The country is located at the heart of the main western European transit routes for both goods and passengers and has direct borders with Belgium, Germany and France. The maximum distance from the northern to the southern borders is some 82 km and from west to east  about 57 km.

Luxembourg is mainly covered by agricultural and forest land. In 2009, 86 % of the territory fell in these two categories. The built-up areas occupied about 9 % of the country, whereas water and transport infrastructure represented about 5 % of the total surface.

The north of Luxembourg is part of the Ardennes and is called ‘Ösling’. Its altitude is on average 400 to 500 metres above sea level. The ‘Ösling’ landscape is characterised by hills and deep river valleys. In the South of Luxembourg lies the region ‘Gutland’. This area has higher population and industrial densities than ‘Ösling’. The lowest point in the country (129 m above sea level) is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Sûre rivers.