 Definition  Field Listing  Rank
Order
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Background: |
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.
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Location: |
Central
Europe, southeast of Germany |
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Geographic coordinates: |
49 45 N, 15
30 E |
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Map references: |
Europe
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Area: |
total:
78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590
sq km |
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Area - comparative: |
slightly
smaller than South Carolina |
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Land boundaries: |
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362
km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
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Coastline: |
0 km
(landlocked) |
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Maritime claims: |
none
(landlocked) |
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Climate: |
temperate;
cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
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Terrain: |
Bohemia in
the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded
by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest
point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
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Natural resources: |
hard coal,
soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
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Land use: |
arable
land: 39.8%
permanent crops: 3.05%
other:
57.15% (2001) |
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Irrigated land: |
240 sq km
(1998 est.) |
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Natural hazards: |
flooding
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Environment - current issues: |
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 |
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Environment - international agreements: |
party
to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, 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
signed, but not
ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
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Geography - note: |
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 Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Population: |
10,246,178
(July 2004 est.) |
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Age structure: |
0-14
years: 15% (male 789,987; female 748,476)
15-64
years: 70.9% (male 3,643,574; female 3,622,276)
65 years
and over: 14.1% (male 557,496; female 884,369) (2004 est.)
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Median age: |
total: 38.6 years
male: 36.9 years
female: 40.5 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate: |
-0.05% (2004
est.) |
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Birth rate: |
9.1
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate: |
10.54
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
0.97
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio: |
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: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate: |
total:
3.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.32 deaths/1,000
live births
female: 3.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004
est.) |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 75.78 years
male: 72.52 years
female: 79.24 years (2004 est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
1.18 children
born/woman (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
less than
0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
500 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 10
(2001 est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun:
Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
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Ethnic groups: |
Czech 81.2%,
Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian
0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) |
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Religions: |
Roman
Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%, atheist
39.8% |
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Languages: |
Czech |
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Literacy: |
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999
est.)
male: NA
female: NA Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Country name: |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic
local long
form: Ceska Republika
local short form: Ceska
Republika |
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Government type: |
parliamentary democracy |
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Capital: |
Prague
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Administrative divisions: |
13 regions
(kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto);
Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky
Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj,
Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky
Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
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Independence: |
1 January
1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
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National holiday: |
Czech
Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
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Constitution: |
ratified 16
December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
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Legal system: |
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 |
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Suffrage: |
18 years of
age; universal |
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Executive branch: |
chief of
state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
note: the Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL
stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10
years; parliament finally elected a successor on 28 February 2003
after two inconclusive elections in January 2003
head of
government: Prime Minister Stanislav GROSS (since 26 July 2004),
Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004), Martin
JAHN (since 4 August 2004), Pavel NEMEC (since 4 August 2004); Milan
SIMONOVSKY (since 4 August 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet
appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime
minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a
five-year term; last successful election held 28 February 2003
(after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were
inconclusive; next election to be held NA January 2008); prime
minister appointed by the president
election results:
Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February 2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142
votes, Jan SOKOL 124 votes (third round; combined votes of both
chambers of parliament) |
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Legislative branch: |
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 25-26 October and 1-2 November 2002 (next to be held
NA November 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002
(next to be held by NA June 2006)
election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 26,
KDU-CSL 14, CSSD 11, US 9, KSCM 3, independents 18; Chamber of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 30.2%, ODS 24.5%, KSCM
18.5%, KDU-CSL & US-DEU coalition 14.3%, other minor 12.5%;
seats by party - CSSD 70, ODS 58, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme
Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are
appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
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Political parties and leaders: |
Christian
and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL
[Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA
[Michael ZANTOVSKY, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek
TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM
[Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of
CSNS [Jaroslav ROVNY, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or
CSSD [Vladimir SPIDLA, chairman]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or
US-DEU [Petr MARES, chairman] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders: |
Bohemian and
Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH] |
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International organization participation: |
ACCT
(observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EU (new
member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP,
UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS
chancery: 3900
Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202)
966-8540
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
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Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador William J. CABANISS
embassy:
Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1
mailing address: use embassy
street address
telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663
FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
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Flag description: |
two equal
horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles
triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the
former Czechoslovakia) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Economy - overview: |
One of the
most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech
Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth
in 2000-03 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany,
and a near doubling of foreign direct investment. Domestic demand is
playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as
interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and
mortgages increases. High current account deficits - averaging
around 5% of GDP in the last several years - could be a persistent
problem. Inflation is under control. The EU put the Czech Republic
just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which
will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves
to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatization
will encourage additional foreign investment, while intensified
restructuring among large enterprises and banks, and improvements in
the financial sector, should strengthen output growth. Nonetheless,
revival in the European economies remains essential to stepped-up
growth. |
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GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $161.1 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
2.9% (2003
est.) |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 35.5%
services: 61.4% (2003) |
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Investment (gross fixed): |
26% of GDP
(2003) |
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Population below poverty line: |
NA |
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Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest
10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini
index: |
25.4 (1996)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
0.1% (2003
est.) |
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Labor force: |
5.25 million
(2003 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture
5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) |
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Unemployment rate: |
9.9% (2003)
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Budget: |
revenues: $33.25 billion
expenditures: $38.88
billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
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Public debt: |
29.7% of GDP
(2003) |
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Agriculture - products: |
wheat,
potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
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Industries: |
metallurgy,
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
3.3% (2003)
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Electricity - production: |
70.04 billion
kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - consumption: |
55.6 billion
kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports: |
18.92
billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports: |
9.38 billion
kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production: |
7,419 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption: |
175,700
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports: |
26,670
bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - imports: |
192,300
bbl/day (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves: |
17.25 million
bbl (1 January 2002) |
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Natural gas - production: |
160 million
cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption: |
9.892 billion
cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - exports: |
1 million cu
m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - imports: |
9.521 billion
cu m (2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves: |
3.057 billion
cu m (1 January 2002) |
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Current account balance: |
$-5.57
billion (2003) |
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Exports: |
$46.77
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities: |
machinery
and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%,
chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) |
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Exports - partners: |
Germany
37.1%, Slovakia 8%, Austria 6.3%, UK 5.4%, Poland 4.8%, France 4.7%,
Italy 4.5%, Netherlands 4.1% (2003 est.) |
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Imports: |
$50.4 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities: |
machinery
and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw
materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) |
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Imports - partners: |
Germany
32.6%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Slovakia 5.2%, France 4.9%, Russia
4.6%, Austria 4.3%, Poland 4.2% (2003 est.) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: |
$26.8 billion
(2003) |
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Debt - external: |
$28 billion
(2003) |
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$108
million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002) |
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Currency: |
Czech koruna
(CZK) |
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Currency code: |
CZK |
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Exchange rates: |
koruny per
US dollar - 28.209 (2003), 32.7385 (2002), 38.0353 (2001), 38.5984
(2000), 34.5692 (1999) |
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Fiscal year: |
calendar
year Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
3.626 million
(2003) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
9,708,700
(2003) |
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Telephone system: |
general
assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech
telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily;
growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly
vigorous
domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing
copper subscriber systems now being 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 - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 31, FM
304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
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Television broadcast stations: |
150 (plus
1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
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Internet country code: |
.cz |
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Internet hosts: |
295,677
(2004) |
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Internet users: |
2.7 million
(2003) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Railways: |
total:
9,520 km
standard gauge: 9,421 km 1.435-m gauge (2,893 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2003)
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Highways: |
total:
55,408 km
paved: 55,408 km (including 499 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
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Waterways: |
664 km (on
Elbe, Vlatava, and Oder rivers) (2004) |
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Pipelines: |
gas 7,020
km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors: |
Decin,
Prague, Usti nad Labem |
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Airports: |
120 (2003
est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to
3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523
m: 2
under 914 m: 17 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to
1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 48 (2003 est.) |
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Heliports: |
2 (2003
est.) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
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Large portions of this information is from the US government open source publication "The World Factbook", other content copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. You may use this information without permission for educational or other non-profit purposes if you refer to us as the source, contact us if you want to use this commercially.
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