. Luxembourg

This country was found in the year 963 and is popularly known as the the only Grand Duchy in the world. Previously it used to be an independent state under Netherlands and later lost much of its area to Belgium. At present it is less than 1000 miles in area which is said to be precisely smaller than Oxfordshire. Interestingly the nation has a standing army of 450 soldiers and 2 tanks. Luxembourg received independence in 1948 and in the same year it entered the Benelux Customs Union. In 1949, the country joined North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the founding countries of European Economic Community (later known as European Union). In 1999, it joined the Euro currency area. Luxembourg is a nation with high income, stable economy, low unemployment, less inflation, and robust growth, It is dominated with a strong industrial structure consisting of steel, chemicals, machinery and equipment, rubber, automotive components, and other products. The cross-border and foreign workers account for nearly 36% of the labour force and the financial sector holds 36% of the GDP. With an extremely high per capita income, it also has the highest current account surplus in the entire Euro zone. Not just rich and debt ridden, the country is devoid of any international disputes and is said to be a land of castles, twilight forests and the ghosts of hard-fought battles. For people who have a soft corner with Romanticism or literature, Victor Hugo had lived in the town of Vladen when he was exiled from France. With picturesque landscape, hilltops and citadels, Luxembourg is an enthralling beauty.