Linguistic diversity
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In 10 years, linguistic diversity has exploded in Luxembourg, with a 55% increase in "new languages"...
55 %Since the 2011 census, the population has grown by 25.7%, from 512,353 to 643,941. Very few of the 131,588 newcomers know Luxembourgish and their linguistic profile is increasingly diverse, which is profoundly changing the linguistic situation: just like the population of the Grand Duchy, its linguistic landscape is becoming more diverse.
Which is the most widely spoken language?
With just under half the responses, Luxembourgish is the main language, with Portuguese in second place ahead of French, English, and Italian by a long way, followed by German. But while the number of people indicating Luxembourgish as their main language rose slightly from 265,731 to 275,361, its relative presence fell sharply, from 55.8% to 48.9%.
The percentages of Portuguese and Italian also fell slightly, while the presence of French and English as main languages increased. The number of indications of 'other languages' rose sharply from 40,042 to 60,582.
Figure 1: Population by main language in 2011 and 2021
Small languages
52 "small" language communities with more than 100 speakers have been identified. The changes since 2011 include the appearance of new languages, reflecting recent waves of migration: e.g. Arabic, Tigrigna brought by asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa, Pular, a variety of Fulani, spoken mainly in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Mali.
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages are a special case. On the one hand, they are linguistically very similar, but on the other, they are in the process of developing their own varieties to mark the political and identity differences between the new states created after the collapse of the Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. With a total of 11,682 speakers, they make up the seventh largest linguistic community in the Grand Duchy, ahead of the Spanish-speaking community.
Languages at home / Languages in the public space
Other questions provide an insight into the use of languages at home and in the public space (school or workplace).
292,025 people indicated that they spoke Luxembourgish, which corresponds to 61.2%. Luxembourgish is therefore the most widely spoken language, followed by French, used by more than half the population, and English, used by a quarter. German is used by 22.5% and Portuguese by a fifth of residents.
Compared with the 2011 census, the use of Luxembourgish has fallen in terms of the number of speakers, from 323,500 to 292,000, and in percentage terms from 71% to 61%. The decline in German in absolute terms (from 140,590 to 107,115) and in percentage terms (from 31% to 23%) is even more pronounced. On the other hand, there was a much greater relative increase in the number of 'other languages', with a 55% rise in the number of regular speakers, and a 27% rise in the number of English speakers.
Languages spoken differently in different contexts
Luxembourgish is spoken by almost half the people surveyed in both contexts, but almost 4 out of 10 do not speak Luxembourgish, either at home or at work.
French presents a different profile: a large third speak it only at school or at work, a small third uses it in both contexts, and another small third do not speak it in either context.
The situation is different for English: more than one in four people speak this language exclusively at work or school, 11% speak English at home and at work, and 2% exclusively at home.
Figure 2: Languages spoken by home/work context
Geographically diverse practices
Mapping the languages used based on the municipality gives a characteristic spatial image that reveals a certain territoriality of language use. The maps on the left show the spatial distribution of the main languages by municipality of residence, and those on the right show the languages usually used at work by municipality of work.
- French
- Luxembourgish
- Portuguese
- English
- German
French was cited as the main language by 14.9% of respondents, making it the third most frequently cited language. The spatial picture is relatively consistent, with French being concentrated in the municipalities around the capital and in the south and western periphery, with percentages ranging from 10% to 27%.
However, the spatial distribution of French at work is very different. The percentages per municipality are much higher, never falling below 43% and rising as high as 79%. This underlines the general observation that French is the most important language in the workplace. The highest values are found in Winseler (83%) and Leudelange (82%), but not, as might be expected, in the Capital, where the value of 67% indicates a greater mix with other languages in the workplace.
Luxembourgish is indicated as the main language by 49% of the total resident population, but there are major regional differences. The map of Luxembourgish as the main language shows a weak presence (25% to 45%) of Luxembourgish in a large area around the capital and in other major towns (Pétange, Differdange, Esch, Remich, Echternach, Diekirch, Vianden, Wiltz), i.e. in most of the most densely populated communes. Throughout the rest of the country, i.e. mainly in medium-sized and small municipalities, Luxembourgish is the most common main language, with percentages ranging from 56% to 85%.
On the other hand, Luxembourgish at the workplace has a slightly higher overall level of use, with the lowest level of use around the capital (30 to 52%) and a higher level in the other regions (62% to 95%). It cannot therefore be said that Luxembourgish plays little or no role in the workplace.
As a main language, Portuguese is over-represented in two regions, namely in North-West Gutland around Larochette (41%) and in the Minette region with Differdange (36%), Pétange (30%) and Esch-sur-Alzette (30%). As might be expected, Portuguese is used as a workplace language in a large part of the country, with a concentration in north-western Gutland and the Minette region in the south-west. The low presence in the capital is notable (8%).
With an overall rate of 3.6% for the main language, English is one of the secondary players in Luxembourgish multilingualism. As the map on the left shows, places of residence are concentrated in the capital region and its outlying municipalities. The growing importance of English in the world of work contrasts sharply with this situation.
The workplaces where English is most widely used (among other languages) are in and around the capital, with Niederanven (63%), Sandweiler (59%) and the capital (58%). This correlates with the presence of large international companies in this region. Although French remains the central language in the workplace throughout the region, English has nevertheless become the second most widely used language.
With a general frequency of 3% of the total resident population, German plays only a secondary role in Luxembourg as a main language. As might be expected, places of residence are concentrated on the outskirts and in the center of the capital. German is used slightly more often in the workplace, mainly in the east of the country, where communication with German cross-border commuters and a clientele from across the Moselle are the main reasons for its use.
Municipalities leading the way in linguistic diversity
Strassen and Bertrange stand out as the champions of linguistic diversity, with three to four 'main' languages present in high percentages, plus 'other languages' in equally high percentages! In fact, in these municipalities, the proportion of French and Luxembourgish has fallen significantly in relation to the 2011 census, to the benefit of "other languages".
Conversely, the small municipalities of Wahl, Nommern and Useldange have the lowest linguistic diversity. Luxembourgish dominates, and all the other languages appear only in very small percentages.
Linguistic integration
The use of the Luxembourgish language is a natural part of Luxembourg's demographic landscape. The use of Luxembourgish as a declared main language will fall from 55.8% in 2011 to 48.9% in 2021. While senior citizens are the main speakers of Luxembourgish (among the over-80s, 77.3% will be using the language as their main language in 2021), this is not the case among the working-age population, whose use of the language has fallen below the symbolic 50% mark for the 30 to 59 age groups. This decline can be explained by the strong growth in the foreign population over the last 10 years.
Figure 3: Percentage of foreign-born Luxembourg speakers by length of stay in Luxembourg
The graph above is based on immigrants who indicated their year of immigration (the height of the bars indicates the number of immigrants per year of arrival). On the other hand, it also shows that even after a long stay it is possible to live in Luxembourg without habitually using the Luxembourgish language... Since the question on the main language asked allows only one answer, ticking the box 'Luxembourgish language' constitutes for immigrants, irrespective of their actual linguistic skills and habits, an act of allegiance to 'the new country'. The red line shows that the claim to Luxembourgish as the main language increases with the length of stay. The blue line represents the habitual use of Luxembourgish, which is obviously increasing much more rapidly. But how does this decline vary according to the migratory background of the residents? For 'native' Luxembourgish (see graph 3), use of the language is the overwhelming majority and remains so.
But how does this decline vary according to the migratory background of residents?
For 'native' Luxembourgish (see chart 3), use of the language is overwhelmingly high and remains so, while for foreign residents it is in the minority (4.9%).
Finally, for the first-generation Luxembourgish population, those without parents born in the country, the rate of use of Luxembourgish as a main language will be only 45.5% in 2021, compared with 76.9% ten years earlier.
Figure 4: Use of Luxembourgish as main language by migratory background
Overall, the period 2011-2021 has seen the strengthening of a form of linguistic polarity in which the practice of the language as a mainstay is characteristic of most native speakers, while the non-practice of the language is characteristic of foreigners.
Overall, these results confirm that the erosion of the use of Luxembourgish as a main language is slow and uneven across the population. For the group of 'new Luxembourgish', non-natives, born outside the country but voting citizens of Luxembourg, the main language is not the language of the country, suggesting a more difficult integration and participation in democracy.
This confirms the importance of considering the intrinsically multilingual nature of Luxembourg, where no single language can assume a linguistic monopoly.
Find out more about the linguistic diversity in Luxembourg
More results
In the coming months, various publications will be produced for the public, but also for the public specialised in demographic issues. At the same time, statistical tables on the various census topics will be published on the Statistics Portal.
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