Introduction

Background: |  |

`
At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, 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). On the eve of World War II, the Czech part of the country was forcibly annexed to the Third Reich, and the Slovaks declared independence as a fascist ally of Nazi Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) 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 known as "normalization." With the collapse of Soviet-backed 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

Location: |  |
`Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria`
Geographic coordinates: |  |
`49 45 N, 15 30 E`
Map references: |  |
`Europe`
Area: |  |
`total: 78,867 sq km country comparison to the world: 115 land: 77,247 sq km water: 1,620 sq km`
Area - comparative: |  |
`slightly smaller than South Carolina`
Land boundaries: |  |
`total: 1,989 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km, Slovakia 197 km`
Coastline: |  |
`0 km (landlocked)`
Maritime claims: |  |
`none (landlocked)`
Climate: |  |
`temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters`
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`
Elevation extremes: |  |
`lowest point: Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m`
Natural resources: |  |
`hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber`
Land use: |  |
`arable land: 38.82% permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005)`
Irrigated land: |  |
`240 sq km (2003)`
Total renewable water resources: |  |
`16 cu km (2005)`
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic / industrial / agricultural): |  |
`total: 1.91 cu km/yr (41%/57%/2%) per capita: 187 cu m/yr (2002)`
Natural hazards: |  |
`flooding`
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`
Environment - international agreements: |  |

`
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: |  |
`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

Population: |  |
`10,190,213 (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 82`
Age structure: |  |
`0-14 years: 13.5% (male 704,495/female 666,191) 15-64 years: 70.2% (male 3,599,774/female 3,554,158) 65 years and over: 16.3% (male 663,982/female 1,001,613) (2011 est.)`
Median age: |  |
`total: 40.8 years male: 39.2 years female: 42.5 years (2011 est.)`
Population growth rate: |  |
`-0.12% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 207`
Birth rate: |  |
`8.7 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 214`
Death rate: |  |
`10.86 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 41`
Net migration rate: |  |
`0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 54`
Urbanization: |  |
`urban population: 74% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 0.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)`
Major cities - population: |  |
`PRAGUE (capital) 1.162 million (2009)`
Sex ratio: |  |
`at birth: 1.059 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2011 est.)`
Infant mortality rate: |  |
`total: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 205 male: 4.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.)`
Life expectancy at birth: |  |
`total population: 77.19 years country comparison to the world: 63 male: 73.93 years female: 80.66 years (2011 est.)`
Total fertility rate: |  |
`1.26 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 214`
HIV / AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |  |
`less than 0.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 127`
HIV / AIDS - people living with HIV / AIDS: |  |
`2,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 136`
HIV / AIDS - deaths: |  |
`fewer than 100 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 130`
Drinking water source: |  |
`improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 100% of population total: 100% of population (2008)`
Sanitation facility access: |  |
`improved: urban: 99% of population rural: 97% of population total: 98% of population unimproved: urban: 1% of population rural: 3% of population total: 2% of population (2008)`
Nationality: |  |
`noun: Czech(s) adjective: Czech`
Ethnic groups: |  |
`Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census)`
Religions: |  |
`Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)`
Languages: |  |
`Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)`
Literacy: |  |
`definition: NA total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)`
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): |  |
`total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 16 years (2008)`
Education expenditures: |  |
`4.2% of GDP (2007) country comparison to the world: 97`

Government

Country name: |  |
`conventional long form: Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko`
Government type: |  |
`parliamentary democracy`
Capital: |  |
`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: |  |
`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: |  |
`1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs generally consider 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day`
National holiday: |  |
`Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)`
Constitution: |  |
`ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993; amended several times`
Legal system: |  |
`civil law system based on former Austro-Hungarian civil codes and socialist theory; note - legislation is actively modernizing the legal system`
International law organization participation: |  |
`has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction`
Suffrage: |  |
`18 years of age; universal`
Executive branch: |  |

`
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Petr NECAS (since 28 June 2010); First Deputy Prime Minister Karel SCHWARZENBERG (since 13 July 2010), Deputy Prime Minister Radek JOHN (since 13 July 2010)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
(For more information visit theWorld Leaders website )
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held on 15 February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008 were inconclusive; next election to be held in 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: |  |

`
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members 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 on 15-16 and 22-23 October 2010 (next to be held by October 2012); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 28-29 May 2010 (next to be held by 2014)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CSSD 41, ODS 25, KDU-CSL 6, TOP 09 5, others 4; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 22.1%, ODS 20.2%, TOP 09 16.7%, KSCM 11.3%, VV 10.9%; seats by party - CSSD 56, ODS 53, TOP 09 41, KSCM 26, VV 24
`

Judicial branch: |  |
`Supreme Court; judges are appointed by the president for an unlimited term; Constitutional Court; 15 judges are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate for a ten-year term; Supreme Administrative Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term; judges are appointed by the president for an unlimited term`
Political parties and leaders: |  |

`
Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Zdenka MARKOVA]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Pavel BELOBRADEK]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Petr NECAS]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Bohuslav SOBOTKA (acting)]; Green Party [Ondrej LISKA]; Public Affairs or VV [Radek JOHN]; Tradice Odpovednost Prosperita 09 or TOP 09 [Karel SCHWARZENBERG]; Union of Freedom-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan CERNY]
`

Political pressure groups and leaders: |  |
`Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Jaroslav ZAVADIL]`
International organization participation: |  |

`
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
`

Diplomatic representation in the US: |  |
`chief of mission: Ambassador Norman EISEN 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: |  |
`chief of mission: Ambassador Norman EISEN 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: |  |
`two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side note: is identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia`
National anthem: |  |
`name: "Kde domov muj?" (Where is My Home?) lyrics/music: Josef Kajetan TYL/Frantisek Jan SKROUP note: adopted 1993; the anthem is a verse from the former Czechoslovak anthem originally written as part of the opera "Fidlovacka"`

Economy

Economy - overview: |  |

`
The Czech Republic is a stable and prosperous market economy, which harmonized its laws and regulations with those of the EU prior to its EU accession in 2004. While the conservative, inward looking Czech financial system has remained relative healthy, the small, open, export-driven Czech economy remains very sensitive to changes in the economic performance of its main export markets, especially Germany. When Western Europe and Germany fell into recession in late 2008, demand for Czech goods plunged, leading to double digit drops in industrial production and exports. As a result, real GDP fell 4.1% in 2009, with most of the decline occurring during the first quarter. Real GDP, however, has slowly recovered with positive quarter-on-quarter growth starting in the second half of 2009 and continuing throughout 2010. The auto industry remains the largest single industry and, together with its suppliers, accounts for as much as 20% of Czech manufacturing. The Czech Republic produced more than a million cars for the first time in 2010, over 80% of which were exported. Foreign and domestic businesses alike voice concerns about corruption, especially in public procurement. Other long term challenges include dealing with a rapidly aging population, funding an unsustainable pension and health care system, and diversifying away from manufacturing and toward a more high-tech, services-based, knowledge economy.
`

GDP (purchasing power parity): |  |
`$261.3 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 44 $255.4 billion (2009 est.) $266.4 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars`
GDP (official exchange rate): |  |
`$192.2 billion (2010 est.)`
GDP - real growth rate: |  |
`2.3% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 141 -4.1% (2009 est.) 2.5% (2008 est.)`
GDP - per capita (PPP): |  |
`$25,600 (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 54 $25,000 (2009 est.) $26,100 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars`
GDP - composition by sector: |  |
`agriculture: 2.2% industry: 38.3% services: 59.5% (2010 est.)`
Labor force: |  |
`5.37 million (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 71`
Labor force - by occupation: |  |
`agriculture: 3.1% industry: 38.6% services: 58.3% (2009)`
Unemployment rate: |  |
`7.1% (November 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 73 8% (2009 est.)`
Population below poverty line: |  |
`NA%`
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |  |
`lowest 10%: 1.5% highest 10%: NA (2009)`
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |  |
`26 (2005) country comparison to the world: 130 25.4 (1996)`
Investment (gross fixed): |  |
`22.5% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 64`
Budget: |  |
`revenues: $77.9 billion expenditures: $87.87 billion (2010 est.)`
Public debt: |  |
`40% of GDP (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 72 32.5% of GDP (2009)`
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |  |
`1.5% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 38 1% (2009 est.)`
Central bank discount rate: |  |
`0.25% (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 133 1% (31 December 2009) note: the two-week repo rate was 0.75% on 31 December 2010; this is the main rate CNB uses`
Commercial bank prime lending rate: |  |
`3.9% (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 149 4.5% (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of narrow money: |  |
`$96.82 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 33 $92.95 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of broad money: |  |
`$138.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 46 $139 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of domestic credit: |  |
`$119.5 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 46 $118.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Market value of publicly traded shares: |  |
`$73.1 billion (31 December 2010) country comparison to the world: 45 $70.26 billion (31 December 2009) $57.8 billion (31 December 2008)`
Agriculture - products: |  |
`wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry`
Industries: |  |
`motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments`
Industrial production growth rate: |  |
`15.9% (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 7`
Electricity - production: |  |
`82.25 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 35`
Electricity - consumption: |  |
`53.42 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 44`
Electricity - exports: |  |
`22.23 billion kWh (2009 est.)`
Electricity - imports: |  |
`8.58 billion kWh (2009 est.)`
Oil - production: |  |
`10,970 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 83`
Oil - consumption: |  |
`207,600 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 54`
Oil - exports: |  |
`29,670 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 85`
Oil - imports: |  |
`219,900 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 42`
Oil - proved reserves: |  |
`15 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 85`
Natural gas - production: |  |
`178 million cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 75`
Natural gas - consumption: |  |
`8.164 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 51`
Natural gas - exports: |  |
`1.111 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 35`
Natural gas - imports: |  |
`9.683 billion cu m (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 21`
Natural gas - proved reserves: |  |
`3.072 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 92`
Current account balance: |  |
`$-5.956 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 172 $-2.146 billion (2009 est.)`
Exports: |  |
`$116.5 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 33 $112.6 billion (2009 est.)`
Exports - commodities: |  |
`machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuel, chemicals`
Exports - partners: |  |
`Germany 31.7%, Slovakia 8.7%, Poland 6.2%, France 5.5%, UK 4.9%, Austria 4.7%, Italy 4.5% (2010 est.)`
Imports: |  |
`$109.2 billion (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 31 $103.1 billion (2009 est.)`
Imports - commodities: |  |
`machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuels, chemicals`
Imports - partners: |  |
`Germany 25.6%, China 11.9%, Poland 6.5%, Russia 5.4%, Slovakia 5.2% (2010 est.)`
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |  |
`$42.34 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 30 $41.61 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Debt - external: |  |
`$86.79 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 40 $86.55 billion (31 December 2009)`
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |  |
`$130.4 billion (30 September 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 28 $121.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |  |
`$14.67 billion (30 September 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 49 $14.35 billion (31 December 2009 est.)`
Exchange rates: |  |
`koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 19.111 (2010) 19.063 (2009) 17.064 (2008) 20.53 (2007) 22.596 (2006)`

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: |  |
`2.092 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 54`
Telephones - mobile cellular: |  |
`14.258 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 51`
Telephone system: |  |

`
general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; 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
domestic: 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
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 6 (2 Intersputnik - Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar) (2009)
`

Broadcast media: |  |

`
roughly 130 television broadcasters operating some 350 television channels with 4 publicly operated and the remainder in private hands; 13 television stations have national coverage with 4 being publicly operated; cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; about 70 radio broadcasters are registered operating roughly 85 radio stations with 15 stations publicly operated; 16 radio stations provide national coverage with the remainder local or regional (2008)
`

Internet country code: |  |
`.cz`
Internet hosts: |  |
`3.494 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 25`
Internet users: |  |
`6.681 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 40`

Transportation

Airports: |  |
`122 (2010) country comparison to the world: 50`
Airports - with paved runways: |  |
`total: 44 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 18 (2010)`
Airports - with unpaved runways: |  |
`total: 78 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 50 (2010)`
Heliports: |  |
`1 (2010)`
Pipelines: |  |
`gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2010)`
Railways: |  |
`total: 9,632 km country comparison to the world: 22 standard gauge: 9,530 km 1.435-m gauge (3,165 km electrified) narrow gauge: 102 km 0.750-m gauge (2010)`
Roadways: |  |
`total: 127,719 km country comparison to the world: 36 paved: 127,719 km (includes 729 km of expressways) (2009)`
Waterways: |  |
`664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2010) country comparison to the world: 77`
Merchant marine: |  |
`registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2010) country comparison to the world: 153`
Ports and terminals: |  |
`Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem`

Military

Military branches: |  |
`Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Land Forces and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2011)`
Military service age and obligation: |  |
`18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription (2010)`
Manpower available for military service: |  |
`males age 16-49: 2,506,826 females age 16-49: 2,407,634 (2010 est.)`
Manpower fit for military service: |  |
`males age 16-49: 2,072,267 females age 16-49: 1,988,839 (2010 est.)`
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: |  |
`male: 49,999 female: 47,501 (2010 est.)`
Military expenditures: |  |
`1.46% of GDP (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 103`

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: |  |
`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: |  |
`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 (2008)`

PAGE LAST UPDATED ON MAY 26, 2011