RP2021 N°8 - Linguistic diversity on the rise

The Luxembourgish language is the main language of the inhabitants of Luxembourg who have lived there for a long time (and who, as a general rule, also have Luxembourg nationality). Only a tiny proportion of immigrants know this language when they arrive. Some of them, and especially their children, will learn it. Another part will integrate through French, which for many years was presented as the language of integration by government policy and which to this day remains the most widely spoken language on the labour market. This integration model, which has been well established since the Thirty Glorious Years, is now facing two new challenges. 1) Luxembourg’s economic growth has taken off. This is leading to a demographic growth that no other EU country is experiencing, and an even stronger growth in its working population. Since the 2011 census, the population has increased by 25.7%, from 512,353 to 643,941. 2) The linguistic profile of new immigrants is increasingly diverse. The importance of English and other languages is increasing, both as the language usually used and as the main language.