Czech Republic travel guide

Czech Republic - Map

Czech Republic - TOP cities

Czech Republic - Maps and guides

Czech Republic - Keywords

Czech Republic - facts

Czech Republic 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.

Czech Republic Location : Central Europe, southeast of Germany

Czech Republic Geographic coordinates : 49 45 N, 15 30 E

Czech Republic Map references : Europe

Czech Republic Area : slightly smaller than South Carolina

Czech Republic Land boundaries : 240

Czech Republic Climate : temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Czech Republic 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

Czech Republic Elevation extremes : lowest point: Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m

Czech Republic Natural resources : flooding

Czech Republic Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) : 103.900000

Czech Republic Environment - current issues : -6.460000

Czech Republic 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

Czech Republic Population : -0.082000

Czech Republic Age structure : 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.)

Czech Republic Median age : total: 39.8 years male: 38.2 years female: 41.6 years (2008 est.)

Czech Republic Birth rate : 5.790000

Czech Republic 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: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Czech Republic Ethnic groups : Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census)

Czech Republic Religions : Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)

Czech Republic Languages : Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)

Czech Republic Literacy : definition: NA total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)

Czech Republic School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) : 4.400000

Czech Republic Country name : .cz

Czech Republic Government type : parliamentary democracy

Czech Republic 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

Czech Republic 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

Czech Republic Independence : 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

Czech Republic Constitution : ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993; amended 1997, 2000, 2001 (twice), 2002

Czech Republic Legal system : 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)

Czech Republic Suffrage : 18 years of age; universal

Czech Republic Executive branch : Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term

Czech Republic Political parties and leaders : Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH]

Czech Republic International organization participation : 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

Czech Republic Diplomatic representation in the US : 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

Czech Republic Flag description : 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

Czech Republic 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 2000-08 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% 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 and 2008. 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.

Czech Republic GDP (purchasing power parity) : 273.700000

Czech Republic GDP - per capita (PPP) : 26800

Czech Republic GDP - composition by sector : agriculture: 2.6% industry: 38.7% services: 58.7% (2008 est.)

Czech Republic Household income or consumption by percentage share : 8.622000

Czech Republic Investment (gross fixed) : 7.721000

Czech Republic Budget : revenues: $94.96 billion expenditures: $99.46 billion (2008 est.)

Czech Republic Debt - external : 88.740000

Czech Republic Stock of money : 58.770000

Czech Republic Market value of publicly traded shares : 73.420000

Czech Republic Agriculture - products : wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry

Czech Republic Industries : metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments

Czech Republic Electricity - production : 172

Czech Republic Exports : Germany 30.7%, Slovakia 8.7%, Poland 5.9%, France 5.4%, UK 5.1%, Italy 4.9%, Austria 4.6% (2007)

Czech Republic Imports : 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)

Czech Republic Oil - proved reserves : 36.720000

Czech Republic Exchange rates : koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 17.037 (2008 est.), 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004)

Czech Republic Telephones - main lines in use : 13.075000

Czech Republic Radio broadcast stations : 71

Czech Republic Internet hosts : 4.400000

Czech Republic Airports : total: 77 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 50 (2007)

Czech Republic Heliports : 1

Czech Republic Railways : total: 9,597 km standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006)

Czech Republic Roadways : total: 128,512 km paved: 128,512 km (includes 657 km of expressways) (2007)

Czech Republic Waterways : 664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2008)

Czech Republic Merchant marine : registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2008)

Czech Republic Ports and terminals : Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem

Czech Republic Military branches : 1.460000

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; significant consumer of ecstasy (2008)