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This page was last updated on 18 December 2008


Map of Czech Republic



Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Czech Republic Top of Page
Background:
Definition Field Listing
Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.
   Geography    Czech Republic Top of Page
Location:
Definition Field Listing
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates:
Definition Field Listing
49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Europe
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km, Slovakia 197 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Terrain:
Definition Field Listing
Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
Land use:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 58.18% (2005)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
240 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
Definition Field Listing
16 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Definition Field Listing
total: 1.91 cu km/yr (41%/57%/2%)
per capita: 187 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
flooding
Environment - current issues:
Definition Field Listing
air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution
Environment - international agreements:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe
   People    Czech Republic Top of Page
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10,220,911 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 723,521/female 684,786)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,653,679/female 3,619,872)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 604,419/female 934,634) (2008 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 39.8 years
male: 38.2 years
female: 41.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
-0.082% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.89 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 3.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.17 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.34 years
female: 80.08 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.23 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
fewer than 10 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census)
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: NA
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
Definition Field Listing
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.4% of GDP (2004)
   Government    Czech Republic Top of Page
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic
local long form: Ceska Republika
local short form: Cesko
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia), Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Moravskoslezsky (Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky, Pardubicky, Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky, Vysocina, Zlinsky
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 9 January 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Petr NECAS (since 9 January 2007), Martin BURSIK (since 9 January 2007), and Alexandr VONDRA (since 9 January 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held 15 February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008 were inconclusive; next election to be held in February 2013); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vaclav KLAUS reelected president on 15 February 2008; Vaclav KLAUS 141 votes, Jan SVEJNAR 111 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament)
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 17-18 and 24-25 October 2008 (next to be held in October 2010); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 35, CSSD 29, KDU-CSL 7, others 8, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6; note - seats by party as of December 2007 - ODS 81, CSSD 72, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6, unaffiliated 2 (former CSSD members)
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term
Political parties and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Helmut DOHNALEK]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Union of Freedom-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan CERNY]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH]
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. GRABER
embassy: Trziste 15, 118 01 Prague 1
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [420] 257 022 000
FAX: [420] 257 022 809
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
note: identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia
   Economy    Czech Republic Top of Page
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-07 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The current account deficit has declined to around 3.3% of GDP as demand for automotive and other products from the Czech Republic remains strong in the European Union. Rising inflation from higher food and energy prices are a risk to balanced economic growth. Significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections prevented, the government from meeting its goal of reducing its budget deficit to 3% of GDP in 2007. Negotiations on pension and additional healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. The pro-business Civic Democratic Party-led government approved reforms in 2007 designed to cut spending on some social welfare benefits and reform the tax system with the aim of eventually reducing the budget deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2010. Parliamentary approval for any additional reforms could prove difficult, however, because of the parliament's even split. The government withdrew a 2010 target date for euro adoption and instead aims to meet the eurozone criteria around 2012.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$251 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
Definition Field Listing
$175.3 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$24,500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 38.7%
services: 58.6% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.36 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6%
services: 58.3% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6.6% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
26 (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
24.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $72.1 billion
expenditures: $74.98 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
26% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.9% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.5% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
5.79% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$84.43 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$58.77 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$103.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Industrial production growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9.8% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
82.88 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
61.52 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
26.36 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
10.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
13,530 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
207,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
27,360 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
224,600 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
172 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.622 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
402 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
8.628 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.964 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
-$4.534 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$122.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and transport equipment 52%, raw materials and fuel 9%, chemicals 5% (2003)
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 30.7%, Slovakia 8.7%, Poland 5.9%, France 5.4%, UK 5.1%, Italy 4.9%, Austria 4.6% (2007)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$116.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003)
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 31.8%, Netherlands 6.7%, Slovakia 6.4%, Poland 6.3%, Austria 5.1%, China 5.1%, Russia 4.5%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.1% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$34.59 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$74.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$86.75 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$6.058 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$48.6 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Definition Field Listing
Czech koruna (CZK)
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003)
   Communications    Czech Republic Top of Page
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.888 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
13.075 million (2007)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; access to the fixed-line telephone network expanded throughout the 1990s but the number of fixed line connections has been dropping since then; mobile telephone usage increased sharply beginning in the mid-1990s and the number of cellular telephone subscriptions now greatly exceeds the population
domestic: virtually all exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 6 (2 Intersputnik - Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.cz
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.434 million (2008)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.4 million (2007)
   Transportation    Czech Republic Top of Page
Airports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
122 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 45
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 18 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 50 (2007)
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2007)
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 9,597 km
standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 128,512 km
paved: 128,512 km (includes 657 km of expressways) (2007)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006)
Merchant marine:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Definition Field Listing
Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem
   Military    Czech Republic Top of Page
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
Definition Field Listing
18-28 years of age for voluntary and 19-28 for compulsory military service (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 16-49: 2,522,383
females age 16-49: 2,425,095 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 16-49: 2,100,789
females age 16-49: 2,018,101 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
Definition Field Listing
male: 63,124
female: 59,786 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.46% of GDP (2007 est.)
   Transnational Issues    Czech Republic Top of Page
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
while threats of international legal action never materialized in 2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of the popular Freedom Party, signed a petition in January 2008, demanding that Austria block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Prague closes its controversial Soviet-style nuclear plant in Temelin, bordering Austria
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime; significant consumer of ecstasy

This page was last updated on 18 December 2008


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