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Who speaks what, and where: communities commune by commune
A southern commune that is 30% Portuguese and a northern village that is 80% Luxembourgish are not lived in the same way. What the register says, and what it does not.
3 min readChecked on 19 August 2026
In brief
- Luxembourgish nationality
- Slightly more than half of residents nationally
- The gap between communes
- From under a third in the capital to over 80% in some northern villages
- Largest community
- Portuguese across much of the south, French in the capital
- Official languages
- Luxembourgish, French, German — with English a de facto working language
A country where the majority nationality is a local minority
Slightly more than half of the Grand Duchy's residents hold Luxembourgish nationality, but the average hides everything: the share drops below a third in the capital and passes 80% in some northern communes. Each "who lives here" page on this site gives the commune's figure, its rank among the hundred, and the six largest communities. It is the most predictive indicator of the language you will hear in the bakery.
Three official languages, one geography
Luxembourgish is the language of daily and political life, German that of school literacy and part of the press, French that of the law, written administration and commerce. In practice French dominates in the south and in services, Luxembourgish and German hold the north and east, and English has taken over the capital's business districts. None of these rules holds absolutely at street level.
Presence is not an organised community
The register counts passports, not associations. A commune can show a strong Portuguese presence with no club or grocery, and another a small but highly structured British community around a school or a sports club. For a newcomer the useful question is therefore not only "how many" but "since when": communities settled for two generations have parishes, clubs and shops; recent arrivals show up first in the statistics.
Reading the figures without overreading them
The national register counts every nationality held, and Luxembourg naturalises without requiring the first passport to be surrendered: a sizeable share of residents appears twice, and country totals exceed the population. The shares published here are therefore taken against the population, which makes the Luxembourgish share exact and lets communities add to more than a hundred per hundred residents. A high figure signals a real presence, not a proportion of inhabitants.
What to do
- Look at the target commune's Luxembourgish share before choosing a school.
- Check which communities are present there if the language of daily life matters to you.
- Ask about the commune's Luxembourgish classes: the municipal offer is often the cheapest.
- Do not confuse statistical presence with an organised community — look for the clubs and the shops.
Common questions
Can you live in Luxembourg speaking only English?
In the capital and around it, yes for daily life, with friction as soon as communal administration, tradespeople or club life come in. Elsewhere, French goes much further than English, and Luxembourgish or German open the north and east.
Why do the nationality shares add up to more than 100%?
Because the register counts every nationality held, and Luxembourg naturalises without requiring the first passport to be given up. We therefore express each community against the commune's population: it is a rate per 100 residents, not a share of inhabitants.
Is the most international commune the easiest for a newcomer?
Often at first, because everything there already works in several languages. Over time it can be the reverse: a commune where you mostly hear Luxembourgish pushes you to learn it, which opens up public and para-municipal employment.
Worth a look on this site
Official sources
- National register — citizens by nationality and commune
- STATEC — population and structure
- Guichet.lu — learning the country's languages
The amounts, thresholds and rates quoted change regularly, sometimes mid-year. Check them against these official pages before deciding anything. Checked on: 19 August 2026.
