Demographics - Czech Republic
| GENERAL: | |||
| 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: | |||
| Location: | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | ||
| Geographic coordinates: | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | ||
| Map references: | Europe | ||
| Area: | total: | 78,866 sq km | |
| land: | 77,276 sq km | ||
| water: | 1,590 sq km | ||
| Land boundaries: | total: | 1,881 km | |
| border countries: | Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 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% | ||
| Irrigated land: | 240 sq km (1998 est.) | ||
| 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 | ||
| 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: | 10,235,455 | ||
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: | 14.4% (male 755,098/female 714,703) | |
| 15-64 years: | 71.2% (male 3,656,021/female 3,629,036) | ||
| 65 years and over: | 14.5% (male 576,264/female 904,333) | ||
| Median age: | total: | 39.3 years | |
| male: | 37.5 years | ||
| female: | 41.1 years | ||
| Population growth rate: | -0.06% | ||
| Birth rate: | 9.02 births/1,000 population | ||
| Death rate: | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population | ||
| Net migration rate: | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population | ||
| 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: | 0.64 male(s)/female | ||
| total population: | 0.95 male(s)/female | ||
| Infant mortality rate: | total: | 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births | |
| male: | 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births | ||
| female: | 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births | ||
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: | 76.22 years | |
| male: | 72.94 years | ||
| female: | 79.69 years (2006 est.) | ||
| Total fertility rate: | 1.21 children born/woman | ||
| Nationality: | noun: | Czech(s) | |
| adjective: | Czech | ||
| Ethnic groups: | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% | ||
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% |
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| Languages: | Czech | ||
| Literacy: | definition: | age 15 and over can read and write | |
| total population: | 99% | ||
| male: | 99% | ||
| female: | 99% | ||
| GOVERNMENT: | |||
| Country name: | conventional long form: | Czech Republic | |
| conventional short form: | Czech Republic | ||
| local long form: | Ceska Republika | ||
| local short form: | Ceska Republika | ||
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy | ||
| Capital: | Prague | ||
| 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 (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj | ||
| Independence: | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | ||
| National holiday: | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | ||
| Constitution: | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 | ||
| 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 | ||
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal | ||
| 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 Jiri PAROUBEK (since 25 April 2005), Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004), Jiri HAVEL (since 2 January 2006), 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 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) | ||
| 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 5-6 November and 12-13 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2006) | ||
| election results: | Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 37, KDU-CSL 14, Open Democracy 13, CSSD 7, Caucus Open Democracy 7, independents 3; 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 57, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10, independent 1 | ||
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | ||
| Political parties and leaders: | Association of Independent Candidates or SNK [Josef ZIELENIEC, chairman]; Caucus Open Democracy [leader NA]; Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairwoman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Bohuslav SOBOTKA, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Pavel NEMEC, chairman]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK, chairman]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY, chairman]; Open Democracy [leader NA]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK, chairman]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ, chairman] | ||
| 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) | ||
| ECONOMY: | |||
| Economy - overview: | The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-05 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 interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004 the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006, but more difficult pension and healthcare reforms will have to wait until after the next elections. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom took place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. | ||
| GDP - real growth rate: | 4.80% | ||
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | $18,100 | ||
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: | 3.40% | |
| industry: | 39.30% | ||
| services: | 57.30% | ||
| Labor force: | 5.27 million | ||
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 4%, industry 38%, services 58% | ||
| Unemployment rate: | 9.10% | ||
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2% | ||
| Industries: | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | ||
| Industrial production growth rate: | 6% | ||
| Exports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% | ||
| Exports - partners: | Germany 36.2%, Slovakia 8.5%, Austria 6%, Poland 5.3%, UK 4.7%, France 4.6%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% | ||
| Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% |
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| Imports - partners: | Germany 31.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Poland 4.8%, France 4.7%, Russia 4.1%, Austria 4% | ||
| Currency (code): | Czech koruna (CZK) | ||
| Fiscal year: | calendar year | ||
| TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES: | |||
| Disputes - international: | in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual Sudeten Germans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with their expulsion from Czechoslovakia after World War II; Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic | ||
| 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 | ||
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