Luxembourg youngsters later to leave home than their foreign peers

(MSS) Only half of young people living in the Grand Duchy are actually Luxembourg nationals, the 2011 census has found, with big differences between locals and foreigners in regards to living arrangements and relationship status.

Although more than 80 percent of children and youngsters under 20 living in Luxembourg were born here, just over half have Luxembourgish nationality, shows a late study released by Statec.

Almost every fifth person under the age of 20 holds a Portuguese passport, and more than every twentieth is French (5.7 percent).

However, comparing with 2001, the numbers of Luxembourgish nationals under 20 had gone up by 3.6 percent, possibly due to more teens taking Luxembourg citizenship when they turn 18, or gaining citizenship through their parents becoming Luxembourg citizens.

Young Luxembourgers leave the nest late

Regardless of their nationality, almost all youngsters under 16 live at home with their parents and as they grow older, more and more move out to live on their own.

However, there's a remarkable difference in how many foreigners and Luxembourgish nationals still live at home at 21, as numbers show that almost one third (31.4 percent) of foreigners live by themselves at that age.

For 21-year old Luxembourgers, this only goes for 12.3 percent.

Also at 25 more foreigners have left the nest than their Luxembourgish peers – three out of four (74.8 percent) foreigners live on their own compared to just 39.6 percent of Luxembourg nationals who have moved out of their parents' house.

At 29, close to all foreigners and 80 percent of Luxembourgers lived on their own.

Differences in relationship status

The study also found that 75 percent of Luxembourgers aged 25 to 29 were single, which also went for French, Belgian, German, Italian, British, Spanish and Dutch nationals.

In comparison, 53.1 percent of Portuguese and only 17.1 percent of Montenegrins in the same age span were single.

The findings were collected from 2011 census data.