Angola (2008) | Czech Republic (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire | 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: 43.7% (male 2,706,276/female 2,654,338)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,339,114/female 3,225,121) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 149,414/female 189,333) (2007 est.) |
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 | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 232 (2007) | 121 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
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: 201
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 69 (2007) |
total: 75
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 49 (2006) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS has announced legislative elections will be held on September 5 and 6, 2008, with Presidential elections planned for sometime in 2009. | 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 | 44.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $18.58 billion
expenditures: $15.7 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $48.16 billion
expenditures: $53.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992 | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
Death rate | 24.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.835 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $49.14 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dan MOZENA
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000 FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITE
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York |
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 | many Cabindan separatists have returned to the province from exile since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement; concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls) along the Angola-Namibia border | 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 | $441.8 million (2005) | $2.8 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 85% of GDP. Increased oil production supported growth averaging more than 15% per year from 2004 to 2007. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit, since increased to $7 billion, from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects were completed in 2006. Angola also has large credit lines from Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and the EU. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to under 13% in 2007, the stabilization policy has put pressure on international net liquidity. Angola became a member of OPEC in late 2006 and in late 2007 was assigned a production quota of 1.9 million barrels a day, somewhat less than the 2-2.5 million bbl Angola's government had wanted. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to implement government reforms, increase transparency, and reduce corruption. The government has rejected a formal IMF monitored program, although it continues Article IV consultations and ad hoc cooperation. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, and the negative effects of "Dutch disease" produced by large inflows of foreign exchange, are major challenges facing Angola. | 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 | 2.201 billion kWh (2005) | 57.12 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 25.49 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 9.776 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 2.585 billion kWh (2005) | 84.33 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 76.6 (2007), 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003) | koruny per US dollar - 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed prime minister on 6 December 2002 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held because SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president |
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 | 1.021 million bbl/day (2004) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
Exports - partners | US 38%, China 34.2%, Taiwan 5.8%, France 4.9%, Chile 4.1% (2006) | 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 | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) | 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: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16.3% (2007 est.) | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | 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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa | 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 | 18,290 bbl/day (2004) | 182,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
Imports - partners | US 15.3%, Portugal 15%, South Korea 10.1%, China 8.8%, Brazil 8.2%, South Africa 6.7%, France 6.2% (2006) | Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 24.4% (2007 est.) | 5.7% (2005) |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 184.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 196.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 171.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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) | 12.5% (2007 est.) | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | 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 | 800 sq km (2003) | 240 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 6.573 million (2007 est.) | 5.27 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 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: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Czech |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | 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 | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
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: 37.63 years
male: 36.73 years female: 38.57 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 76.22 years
male: 72.94 years female: 79.69 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,865 GRT/8,825 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2007) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Angolan National Air Force (FANA) (2007) | 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 | 5.7% (2006) | 1.81% FY05 |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 234 km; liquid petroleum gas 85 km; oil 896 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2007) | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed between Ngola KABANGU and Lucas NGONDA]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Eduardo KUANGANA]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats; they and over 100 other smaller parties have little influence in the National Assembly |
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 | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province ended after BEMBE's faction signed a peace accord in August 2006; other factions have since demobilized under provisions of the accord, although the two main faction leaders have not acceded to the accord |
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] |
Population | 12,263,596 (July 2007 est.) | 10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2003 est.) | At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8% |
Population growth rate | 2.184% (2007 est.) | -0.06% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006) |
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 | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.789 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density approached 20 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity and prices were high and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001 international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007) |
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 | 98,200 (2006) | 3,217,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.264 million (2006) | 11.776 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | 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 | 6.27 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.21 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | 7.9% (2005) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (2007) | 664 km (principally on Elbe as well as Vltava and Oder rivers) (2005) |