Costa Rica (2003) | Czech Republic (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731) 15-64 years: 69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802) 65 years and over: 13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 151 (2002) | 114 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total:
43 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 93 (2002) |
total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | After World War II, 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 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. |
Birth rate | 19.4 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.91 billion
expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | San Jose | Prague |
Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 1,290 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 7 November 1949 | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
conventional long form:
Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.8 billion (2002 est.) | $21.3 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY 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 Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Durham (North Carolina), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexsandr VONDRA 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 | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | 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 nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $NA |
Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. At the same time, distribution of income remains severely unequal. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt, with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector, and with the problem of bringing down inflation. | Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. 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 add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1.5%
hydro: 81.9% nuclear: 0% other: 16.6% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | 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 | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.69 (1999), 257.23 (1998) | koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42% |
chief of state:
President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting) |
Exports | NA (2001) | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 31.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, UK 4.5% (2002) | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | 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 - $32 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 30% services: 61% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | 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 | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.6% (2001) |
lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise |
Imports | NA (2001) | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 36.7%, Japan 4.4%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (2002 est.) | 7.6% (2000) |
Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 10.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | more than 300 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | 240 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 5.203 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), English | Czech |
Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has 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 Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1 |
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 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.43 years
male: 73.87 years female: 79.11 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | $1.2 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | 2.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,080,254 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 722,043 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 41,453 (2003 est.) | males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | flooding |
Natural resources | hydropower | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 421 km (2003) | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) |
Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 |
Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, 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 [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown] | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
Population | 3,896,092 (July 2003 est.) | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.56% (2003 est.) | -0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Radios | - | 3,159,134 (December 2000) |
Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2002) |
total:
9,444 km standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track) narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: very good domestic telephone service
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
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 | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 |
3.869 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 4.346 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | 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 | 2.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | 8.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |