Czech Republic (2001) | Central African Republic (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 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 | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture), 2 economic prefectures* (prefectures economiques, singular - prefecture economique), and 1 commune**; Bamingui-Bangoran, Bangui**, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Haut-Mbomou, Kemo, Lobaye, Mambere-Kadei, Mbomou, Nana-Grebizi*, Nana-Mambere, Ombella-Mpoko, Ouaka, Ouham, Ouham-Pende, Sangha-Mbaere*, Vakaga |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 42.8% (male 806,506; female 795,639)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 990,522; female 1,021,491) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 53,860; female 74,464) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | cotton, coffee, tobacco, manioc (tapioca), yams, millet, corn, bananas; timber |
Airports | 114 (2000 est.) | 50 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
total: 47
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 622,984 sq km
land: 622,984 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Texas |
Background | 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. | The former French colony of Ubangi-Shari became the Central African Republic upon independence in 1960. After three tumultuous decades of misrule - mostly by military governments - civilian rule was established in 1993 and lasted for one decade. President Ange-Felix PATASSE's civilian government was plagued by unrest, and in March 2003 he was deposed in a military coup led by General Francois BOZIZE, who has since established a transitional government. Though the government has the tacit support of civil society groups and the main parties, a wide field of affiliated and independent candidates will contest the municipal, legislative, and presidential elections scheduled for February 2005. The government still does not fully control the countryside, where pockets of lawlessness persist. |
Birth rate | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 35.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
Capital | Prague | Bangui |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 | passed by referendum 5 December 2004 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
conventional long form: Central African Republic
conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Centrafricaine local short form: none former: Ubangi-Shari, Central African Empire abbreviation: CAR |
Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.99 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.3 billion (2000) | $881.4 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: Avenue David Dacko, Bangui mailing address: B. P. 924, Bangui telephone: [236] 61 02 00 FAX: [236] 61 44 94 note: The embassy is currently operating with a minimal staff |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Emmanuel TOUABOY
chancery: 1618 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7800 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9893 |
Disputes - international | 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 | internal political instabilities with fighting and violence overlap into Chad and CAR, leaving refugees and rebel groups in both countries; Sudan has pledged to work with CAR to stem violent skirmishes over water and grazing rights among related pastoral populations along the border |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | ODA $73 million; note - traditional budget subsidies from France (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Subsistence agriculture, together with forestry, remains the backbone of the economy of the Central African Republic (CAR), with more than 70% of the population living in outlying areas. The agricultural sector generates half of GDP. Timber has accounted for about 16% of export earnings and the diamond industry for 54%. Important constraints to economic development include the CAR's landlocked position, a poor transportation system, a largely unskilled work force, and a legacy of misdirected macroeconomic policies. Factional fighting between the government and its opponents remains a drag on economic revitalization, with GDP likely to contract in 2004. Distribution of income is extraordinarily unequal. Grants from France and the international community can only partially meet humanitarian needs. |
Electricity - consumption | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) | 98.63 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) | 106 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Oubangui River 335 m
highest point: Mont Ngaoui 1,420 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests | tap water is not potable; poaching has diminished the country's reputation as one of the last great wildlife refuges; desertification; deforestation |
Environment - international 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, 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | 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) | Baya 33%, Banda 27%, Mandjia 13%, Sara 10%, Mboum 7%, M'Baka 4%, Yakoma 4%, other 2% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
Executive branch | 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) |
chief of state: President Francois BOZIZE (since 15 March 2003 coup) and Vice President Abel GOUMA (since 12 December 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Celestin GAOMBALET (since 12 December 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: NA; municipal, legislative and presidential elections scheduled for December 2004 or January 2005; prime minister appointed by the president |
Exports | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) | diamonds, timber, cotton, coffee, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) | Belgium 41.8%, Italy 10.7%, Spain 9.8%, France 7.4%, Indonesia 6.6% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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) | four equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, green, and yellow with a vertical red band in center; there is a yellow five-pointed star on the hoist side of the blue band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.183 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
agriculture: 55%
industry: 20% services: 25% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | -7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 7 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | 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 | landlocked; almost the precise center of Africa |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 23,810 km
paved: 643 km unpaved: 23,167 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 47.7% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) | food, textiles, petroleum products, machinery, electrical equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) | France 27%, Cameroon 9.2%, US 5.3% (2003) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 13 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.6% (2000) | 3% (2002) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | diamond mining, logging, brewing, textiles, footwear, assembly of bicycles and motorcycles |
Infant mortality rate | 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 92.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 99.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 84.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 3.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC (observer), OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | more than 300 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court (3 judges appointed by the president, 3 by the president of the National Assembly, and 3 by fellow judges); Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Inferior Courts |
Labor force | 5.203 million (1999 est.) | NA (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
total: 5,203 km
border countries: Cameroon 797 km, Chad 1,197 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 467 km, Sudan 1,165 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.1%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.76% (2001) |
Languages | Czech | French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages |
Legal system | 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 | based on French law |
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 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (109 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - there were 85 seats in the National Assembly before the 1998 election)
elections: last held 22-23 November and 13 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - MLPC 43%, RDC 18%, MDD 9%, FPP 6%, PSD 5%, ADP 4%, PUN 3%, FODEM 2%, PLD 2%, UPR 1%, FC 1%, independents 6%; seats by party - MLPC 47, RDC 20, MDD 8, FPP 7, PSD 6, ADP 5, PUN 3, FODEM 2, PLD 2, UPR 1, FC 1, independents 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 41.36 years
male: 39.7 years female: 43.08 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51% male: 63.3% female: 39.9% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units | Central African Armed Forces (FACA): Republican Guard, Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY01) | $14.5 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY01) | 1.1% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 878,980 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 460,469 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Republic Day, 1 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
noun: Central African(s)
adjective: Central African |
Natural hazards | flooding | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) | - |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Alliance for Democracy and Progress or ADP [Jacques MBOLIEDAS]; Central African Democratic Assembly or RDC [Andre KOLINGBA]; Civic Forum or FC [Gen. Timothee MALENDOMA]; Democratic Forum for Modernity or FODEM [Charles MASSI]; Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Nestor KOMBO-NAGUEMON]; Movement for Democracy and Development or MDD [David DACKO]; Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People or MLPC [the party of deposed president, Ange-Felix PATASSE]; Patriotic Front for Progress or FPP [Abel GOUMBA]; People's Union for the Republic or UPR [Pierre Sammy MAKFOY]; National Unity Party or PUN [Jean-Paul NGOUPANDE]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Enoch LAKOUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] | NA |
Population | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) | 3,742,482
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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA (1993) |
Population growth rate | -0.07% (2001 est.) | 1.56% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | Bangui, Nola, Salo, Nzinga |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2002) |
Radios | 3,159,134 (December 2000) | - |
Railways | 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 | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% | indigenous beliefs 35%, Protestant 25%, Roman Catholic 25%, Muslim 15%
note: animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
general assessment: fair system
domestic: network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication international: country code - 236; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.869 million (2000) | 9,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.346 million (2000) | 13,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 1 (2001) |
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 | vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in northeast and southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.59 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.7% (2000 est.) | 8% (23% for Bangui) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |
2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004) |