Akrotiri (2006) | Czech Republic (2006) | |
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 |
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) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | - | 121 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 19 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 75
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 49 (2006) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | 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. |
Birth rate | - | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $48.16 billion
expenditures: $53.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 40 55 N, 21 00 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 |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
Death rate | - | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $49.14 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. GRABER
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] 257 022 000 FAX: [420] 257 022 809 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR
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 |
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 |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $2.8 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | 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. The current account deficit has declined to around 3% of GDP as demand for Czech products in the European Union has increased. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 57.12 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | - | 25.49 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | - | 9.776 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | - | 84.33 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | 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 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: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | - | koruny per US dollar - 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
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 Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 4 September 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Petr NECAS (since 4 September 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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) |
Exports | - | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
Exports - partners | - | Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | 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) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | 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 |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
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 |
Imports | - | 182,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
Imports - partners | - | Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) |
Independence | - | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 5.7% (2005) |
Industries | - | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
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 (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | - | 240 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | - | 5.27 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 2,290.2 km
border countries: Austria 466.3 km, Germany 810.3 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
Languages | English, Greek | Czech |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | 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 |
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 20-21 and 27-28 October 2006 (next to be held October 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 41, CSSD 12, KDU-CSL 10, others 15, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 76.22 years
male: 72.94 years female: 79.69 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military branches | - | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes air forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2.17 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.81% FY05 |
National holiday | - | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | - | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | - | flooding |
Natural resources | - | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | - | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, 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 [Jiri PAROUBEK, chairman]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan HADRAVA, chairman]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK, chairman]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY, chairman]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK, chairman]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ, chairman]; SNK-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Jana HYBASKOVA, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8% |
Population growth rate | - | -0.06% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Railways | - | total: 9,572 km
standard gauge: 9,473 km 1.435-m gauge (2,951 km electrified) narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
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 (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 3,217,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 11.776 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
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 |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.21 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 7.9% (2005) |
Waterways | - | 664 km (principally on Elbe as well as Vltava and Oder rivers) (2005) |