Benin (2001) | Czech Republic (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 provinces; Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Oueme, Zou; note - six additional provinces have been reported but not confirmed; they are Alibori, Collines, Couffo, Donga, Littoral, and Plateau; moreover, the term "province" may have been changed to "department" | 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*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
47.32% (male 1,574,124; female 1,544,741) 15-64 years: 50.38% (male 1,607,900; female 1,712,360) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 64,756; female 86,901) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 809,697; female 768,747)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 3,617,214; female 3,614,060) 65 years and over: 14% (male 554,922; female 884,576) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, rice, cotton, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, livestock | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 144 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 44
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 19 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 100
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 62 (2002) |
Area | total:
112,620 sq km land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. | 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. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. In December 2002, the Czech Republic was invited to join the European Union (EU). It is expected that the Czech Republic will accede to the EU in 2004. |
Birth rate | 44.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.01 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$299 million expenditures: $445 million, including capital expenditures of $14 million (1995 est.) |
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Prague |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | December 1990 | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Benin conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 14.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.6 billion (1998 est.) | $23.8 billion (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Pamela E. BRIDGEWATER embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50, 30-05-13, 30-17-92 FAX: [229] 30-14-39, 30-19-74 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lucien Edgar TONOUKOUIN chancery: 2737 Cathedral Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | none | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over the Temelin nuclear power plant and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
Economic aid - recipient | $274.6 million (1997) | $108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output averaged a sound 5% in 1996-99, but a rapid population rise offset much of this growth. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. Commercial and transport activities, which make up a large part of GDP, are vulnerable to developments in Nigeria, particularly fuel shortages. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation in recent years. While high fuel prices constrained growth in 2000, increased cotton production - enabled by a major restructuring program - and an expansion of the Cotonou port, may lead to increased growth in 2001. | One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-03 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a near doubling of foreign direct 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. High current account deficits - averaging around 5% of GDP in the last several years - could be a persistent problem. Inflation is under control. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatization will encourage additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. But revival in the European economies remains essential to stepped-up growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 510.2 million kWh (1999) | 55.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 18.92 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (1999) | 9.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 226 million kWh (1999) | 70.04 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
24.78% hydro: 75.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9% nuclear: 20% other: 1% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XOF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XOF per euro | koruny per US dollar - 32.74 (2002), 38.04 (2001), 38.6 (2000), 34.57 (1999), 32.28 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held NA March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGOLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March, was postponed four days because both SOGOLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
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 Vladimir SPIDLA (since 12 July 2002), Deputy Prime Ministers Bohuslav SOBOTKA (since 20 August 2003), Cyril SVOBODA (since July 2002), Stanislav GROSS (since July 2002), Petr MARES (since July 2002) 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); 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 | $396 million (f.o.b., 1999) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) |
Exports - partners | Brazil 14%, Libya 5%, Indonesia 4%, Italy 4% (1999) | Germany 40.2%, Slovakia 7.1%, Austria 5.8%, UK 5.1%, Poland 5%, France 4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green band on the hoist side | 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 | purchasing power parity - $6.6 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $157.1 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37.9% industry: 13.5% services: 48.6% (1999) |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 41% services: 55.2% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,030 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | no natural harbors | 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 (2002) |
Highways | total:
6,787 km paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1997 est.) |
total: 55,408 km
paved: 55,408 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US | 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 | $566 million (c.i.f., 1999) | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, tobacco, petroleum products, capital goods | machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) |
Imports - partners | France 38%, China 16%, UK 9%, Cote d'Ivoire 5% (1999) | Germany 39.1%, Slovakia 6%, Austria 5.6%, Italy 5.4%, France 5.3%, Poland 4.1%, UK 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2000 est.) | 3.5% (2002) |
Industries | textiles, cigarettes; beverages, food; construction materials, petroleum | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | 89.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 0.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UPU, WADB, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | more than 300 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 100 sq km (1993 est.) | 240 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | NA | 5.203 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,989 km border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land:
13% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 4% forests and woodland: 31% other: 48% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 40%
permanent crops: 3.04% other: 56.96% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Czech |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RB 27, PRD 11, FARD-ALAFIA 10, PSD 9, MADEP 6, E'toile 4, Alliance IPD 4, Car-DUNYA 3, MERCI 2, 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 25-26 October and 1-2 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by NA June 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ODS 26, KDU-CSL 14, CSSD 11, US 9, KSCM 3, independents 18; 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 58, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
49.94 years male: 49.02 years female: 50.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.18 years
male: 71.69 years female: 78.87 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 37.5% male: 52.2% female: 23.6% (2000) |
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Nigeria and Togo | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military branches | Armed Forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force), National Gendarmerie | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $27 million (FY96) | $1,190.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY96) | 2.1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,455,433 females age 15-49: 1,489,947 note: both sexes are liable for military service (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,622,192 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
743,980 females age 15-49: 755,149 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,002,202 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
70,088 females: 73,618 (2001 est.) |
males: 67,777 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun:
Beninese (singular and plural) adjective: Beninese |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter | flooding |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Sylvain Adekpedjou AKINDES]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD and the National Union for Solidarity and Progress or UNSP [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Cameleon Alliance or AC [leader NA]; Car-DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; Communist Party of Benin or PCB [Pascal FANTONDJI, first secretary]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Liberal Democrats' Rally for National Reconstruction-Vivoten or RDL-Vivoten [Severin ADJOVI]; Movement for Citizens' Commitment and Awakening or MERCI [Severin ADJOVI]; New Generation for the Republic or NGR [Paul DOSSOU]; Our Common Cause or NCC [Francois Odjo TANKPINON]; Party Democratique du Benin or PDB [Col. Soule DANKORO]; Rally for Democracy and Pan-Africanism or RDP [Dominique HOYMINOU, Dr. Giles Auguste MINONTIN]; Renaissance Party du Benin or RB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union for National Democracy and Solidarity or UDS [Adamou N'Diaye MAMA]
note: the Coalition of Democratic Forces is an alliance of parties and organizations supporting President KEREKOU [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI] |
Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Michael ZANTOVSKY, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Vladimir SPIDLA, chairman]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Petr MARES, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Karel KUHNL, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
Population | 6,590,782
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
10,249,216 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.2% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.97% (2001 est.) | -0.08% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Cotonou, Porto-Novo | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Radios | 620,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
578 km (single track) narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2000) |
total: 9,462 km
standard gauge: 9,363 km 1.435-m gauge (1,745 km electrified) narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%, atheist 39.8% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); submarine cable |
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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
Telephones - main lines in use | 36,000 (1997) | 3.869 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4,295 (1997) | 4.346 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (one privately-owned) (1997) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | 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 | 6.23 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 9.8% (2002) |
Waterways | streams navigable along small sections, important only locally | 303 km
note: the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river (2000) |