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 predominantly Czech leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the increasingly strident demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Slovaks, the Sudeten Germans, and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the territory that today comprises Czechia, and Slovakia became an independent state allied with 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 rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "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. The country changed its short-form name to Czechia in 2016.
Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria
49 45 N, 15 30 E
Europe
total: 78,867 sq km
land: 77,247 sq km
water: 1,620 sq km
slightly smaller than South Carolina
total: 2,143 km
border countries (4): Austria 402 km, Germany 704 km, Poland 796 km, Slovakia 241 km
0 km (landlocked)
none (landlocked)
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
mean elevation: 433 m
elevation extremes: lowest point: Labe (Elbe) River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, arable land
agricultural land: 54.8%
arable land 41%; permanent crops 1%; permanent pasture 12.8%
forest: 34.4%
other: 10.8% (2011 est.)
320 sq km (2012)
flooding
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
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
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
10,644,842 (July 2016 est.)
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
Czech 64.3%, Moravian 5%, Slovak 1.4%, other 1.8%, unspecified 27.5% (2011 est.)
Czech (official) 95.4%, Slovak 1.6%, other 3% (2011 census)
Roman Catholic 10.4%, Protestant (includes Czech Brethren and Hussite) 1.1%, other and unspecified 54%, none 34.5% (2011 est.)
0-14 years: 15.09% (male 826,005/female 782,470)
15-24 years: 9.89% (male 542,433/female 511,941)
25-54 years: 43.79% (male 2,396,550/female 2,271,974)
55-64 years: 12.73% (male 658,784/female 698,782)
65 years and over: 18.5% (male 817,550/female 1,154,443) (2016 est.)
total dependency ratio: 49.5%
youth dependency ratio: 22.5%
elderly dependency ratio: 27%
potential support ratio: 3.7% (2015 est.)
total: 41.7 years
male: 40.4 years
female: 43 years (2016 est.)
0.14% (2016 est.)
9.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, but the northern and eastern regions tend to have larger urban concentrations
urban population: 73% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 0.35% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
PRAGUE (capital) 1.314 million (2015)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
4 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
total: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
total population: 78.6 years
male: 75.7 years
female: 81.8 years (2016 est.)
1.45 children born/woman (2016 est.)
86.3%
note: percent of women aged 18-49 (2008)
7.4% of GDP (2014)
3.71 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
6.8 beds/1,000 population (2011)
improved:
urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2015 est.)
improved:
urban: 99.1% of population
rural: 99.2% of population
total: 99.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 0.9% of population
rural: 0.8% of population
total: 0.9% of population (2015 est.)
0.05% (2013 est.)
3,400 (2013 est.)
fewer than 100 (2013 est.)
29.1% (2014)
4.1% of GDP (2013)
definition: NA
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2011 est.)
total: 17 years
male: 16 years
female: 18 years (2014)
28.1 (2013 est.)
total: 15.9%
male: 15%
female: 17.1% (2014 est.)
Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czechia
local long form: Ceska republika
local short form: Cesko
etymology: name derives from the Czechs, a West Slavic tribe who rose to prominence in the late 9th century A.D.
parliamentary republic
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
13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia), Karlovarsky (Karlovy Vary), Kralovehradecky (Hradec Kralove), Liberecky (Liberec), Moravskoslezsky (Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky (Olomouc), Pardubicky (Pardubice), Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky (Usti), Vysocina (Highlands), Zlinsky (Zlin)
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 commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day
history: previous 1960; latest ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993
amendments: passage requires three-fifths concurrence by members present in both houses of Parliament; amended several times, last in 2013 (2016)
new civil code enacted in 2014, replacing civil code of 1964 - based on former Austro-Hungarian civil codes and socialist theory - and reintroducing former Czech legal terminology
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Czech Republic
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Milos ZEMAN (since 8 March 2013)
head of government: Prime Minister Bohuslav SOBOTKA (since 17 January 2014); First Deputy Prime Minister Andrej BABIS and Deputy Prime Minister Pavel BELOBRADEK (both since 29 January 2014)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); elections last held on 11-12 January 2013 with a runoff on 25-26 January 2013 (next to be held in January 2018); prime minister appointed by the president for a 4-year term
election results: Milos ZEMAN elected president; percent of popular vote - Milos ZEMAN (SPO) 54.8%, Karel SCHWARZENBERG (TOP 09) 45.2%
description: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds on 7-8 and 14-15 October 2016 (next to be held in October 2018); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 25-26 October 2013 (next to be held in 2017)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party as of 15 October 2016 - CSSD 25, KDU-CSL 14, ODS 9, ANO 2011 7, STAN 5, SZ 4, TOP 09 2, SLK 2, S.cz. 2, KSCM 1, Nestranici 1, Citizens Together 1, SsCR 1, Pirate 1, Patriotic Citizens 1, Movement for Prague 1, SPO 1, Ostravak 1, independent 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 20.5%, ANO 2011 18.7%, KSCM 14.9%, TOP 09 12%, ODS 7.7%, Usvit 6.9%, KDU-CSL 6.8% other 12.5%; seats by party - CSSD 50, ANO 2011 47, KSCM 33, TOP 09 + STAN 26, ODS 16, KDU-CSL 14, Usvit 8, independent 6
highest court(s): Supreme Court (organized into Civil Law and Commercial Division, and Criminal Division each with a court chief justice, vice justice, and several judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 justices); Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 28 judges)
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges proposed by the Chamber of Deputies and appointed by the president; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; judges appointed for 10-year, renewable terms; Supreme Administrative Court judges selected by the president of the Court; judge term unlimited
subordinate courts: High Court; superior, regional, and district courts
parties in parliament: ANO 2011 or ANO [Andrej BABIS]
Citizens Together
Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Pavel BELOBRADEK]
Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Petr FIALA]
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]
Czech Pirate Party [Ivan BARTOS]
Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Bohuslav SOBOTKA]
Freeholder or SsCR [Petr BAJER]
Green Party or SZ [Matej STROPNICKY]
Liberal Reform Party or Ostravak [Eva SCHWARZOVA]
Mayors and Independents or STAN [Petr GAZDIK]
Mayors for Liberec Region or SLK [Marek PIETER]
Movement for Prague
Nestranici (Independents) or NK [Vera RYBOVA]
North Bohemians or S.cz [Bronislav SCHWARZ]
Ostravak [Magdalena KOZUBOVA, sec.]
Party of Civic Rights or SPO [Jan VELEBA]
Patriotic Citizens
Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 or TOP 09 [Miroslav KALOUSEK]
parties outside parliament: Dawn - National Coalition or Usvit [Miroslav LIDINSKY]
Free Citizens Party or Svobodni [Petr MACH]
Freedom and Direct Democracy or SPD [Tomio OKAMURA]
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Josef STREDULA]
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
chief of mission: Ambassador Petr GANDALOVIC (since 23 May 2011)
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Andrew H. SCHAPIRO (since 30 September 2014)
embassy: Trziste 15, 118 01 Prague 1 - Mala Strana
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [420] 257 022 000
FAX: [420] 257 022 809
double-tailed lion; national colors: white, red, blue
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
name: "Kde domov muj?" (Where is My Home?)
lyrics/music: Josef Kajetan TYL/Frantisek Jan SKROUP
note: adopted 1993; the anthem was originally written as incidental music to the play "Fidlovacka" (1834), it soon became very popular as an unofficial anthem of the Czech nation; its first verse served as the official Czechoslovak anthem beginning in 1918, while the second verse (Slovak) was dropped after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993
Czechia is a stable and prosperous market economy that is closely integrated with the EU, especially since the country's EU accession in 2004. The auto industry is the largest single industry, and, together with its upstream suppliers, accounts for nearly
While the conservative, inward-looking Czech financial system has remained relatively healthy, the small, open, export-driven Czech economy remains sensitive to changes in the economic performance of its main export markets, especially Germany. When Weste
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
$350.9 billion (2016 est.)
$342.5 billion (2015 est.)
$327.6 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
$193.5 billion (2015 est.)
2.5% (2016 est.)
4.5% (2015 est.)
2.7% (2014 est.)
$33,200 (2016 est.)
$32,500 (2015 est.)
$31,200 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
27.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
28.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
26.1% of GDP (2014 est.)
household consumption: 47.9%
government consumption: 19.7%
investment in fixed capital: 25.7%
investment in inventories: 0%
exports of goods and services: 81.5%
imports of goods and services: -74.8% (2016 est.)
agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 37.5%
services: 60% (2016 est.)
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments
2.8% (2016 est.)
5.494 million (2016 est.)
agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 37.4%
services: 60% (2012)
5.6% (2016 est.)
6.5% (2015 est.)
8.6% (2012 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.5%
highest 10%: 29.1% (2012 est.)
24.9 (2012)
25.4 (1996)
revenues: $73.74 billion
expenditures: $74.75 billion (2016 est.)
38.1% of GDP (2016 est.)
-0.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
40.8% of GDP (2016 est.)
41.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
calendar year
0.5% (2016 est.)
0.3% (2015 est.)
0.05% (31 December 2013)
0.05% (31 December 2012)
note: this is the two-week repo, the main rate CNB uses
4.2% (31 December 2016 est.)
4.28% (31 December 2015 est.)
$137.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$124.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$155.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$144.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$129.2 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$127.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$54.92 billion (30 December 3013 est.)
$59.88 billion (28 December 2012 est.)
$53.2 billion (30 December 2011 est.)
$2.976 billion (2016 est.)
$1.682 billion (2015 est.)
$141.7 billion (2016 est.)
$131 billion (2015 est.)
machinery and transport equipment, raw materials, fuel, chemicals
Germany 32.4%, Slovakia 9%, Poland 5.8%, UK 5.3%, France 5.1%, Austria 4.1% (2015)
$132.4 billion (2016 est.)
$122.5 billion (2015 est.)
machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuels, chemicals
Germany 30%, Poland 9%, China 8.3%, Slovakia 6.6%, Netherlands 5%, Austria 4.1% (2015)
$78.62 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$64.49 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$128.9 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$126.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$139.1 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$136.1 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
$45.28 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
$41.48 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
koruny (CZK) per US dollar -
25.02 (2016 est.)
24.599 (2015 est.)
24.599 (2014 est.)
20.758 (2013 est.)
19.59 (2012 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2016)
80 billion kWh (2014 est.)
60 billion kWh (2014 est.)
28 billion kWh (2014 est.)
12 billion kWh (2014 est.)
22 million kW (2014 est.)
55.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
18.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
5.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
14.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
2,836 bbl/day (2015 est.)
520.1 bbl/day (2015 est.)
142,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
15 million bbl (1 January 2016 es)
164,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
193,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
53,720 bbl/day (2015 est.)
82,060 bbl/day (2015 est.)
259 million cu m (2014 est.)
7.522 billion cu m (2014 est.)
1 million cu m (2014 est.)
7.249 billion cu m (2014 est.)
3.964 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)
103 million Mt (2013 est.)
total subscriptions: 1,949,800
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 18 (July 2015 est.)
total: 13.925 million
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 131 (July 2015 est.)
general assessment: good telephone and Internet service; competition among the three major mobile phone services has driven down prices
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 subs
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 6 (2 Intersputnik - Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar) (2015)
roughly 130 TV broadcasters operating some 350 channels with 4 publicly operated and the remainder in private hands; 16 TV stations have national coverage with 4 being publicly operated; cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; 63 radio (2008)
.cz
total: 8.654 million
percent of population: 81.3% (July 2015 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 4
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 48
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 4,971,616
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 26,619,650 mt-km (2015)
OK (2016)
128 (2013)
total: 41
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 16 (2013)
total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 25
under 914 m: 61 (2013)
1 (2013)
gas 7,160 km; oil 536 km; refined products 94 km (2013)
total: 9,621.5 km
standard gauge: 9,519.5 km 1.435-m gauge (3,240.5 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 102 km 0.760-m gauge (2014)
total: 130,661 km (includes urban roads)
paved: 130,661 km (includes 730 km of expressways) (2011)
664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2010)
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2010)
river port(s): Prague (Vltava); Decin, Usti nad Labem (Elbe)
Army of the Czech Republic (Armada Ceske Republiky): General Staff (Generalni Stab; includes Land Forces (Pozemni Sily) and Air Forces (Vzdusne Sily)) (2015)
18-28 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)
1.04% of GDP (2015)
1.08% of GDP (2014)
1.06% of GDP (2013)
1.13% of GDP (2012)
1.15% of GDP (2011)
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
stateless persons: 1,502 (2015)
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)
