Czech Republic (2001) | Palau (2005) | |
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 | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol |
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: 26.4% (male 2,768/female 2,601)
15-64 years: 69% (male 7,565/female 6,436) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 443/female 490) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes |
Airports | 114 (2000 est.) | 3 (2004 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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.37 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $57.7 million
expenditures: $80.8 million, including capital expenditures of $17.1 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Prague | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,519 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 | 1 January 1981 |
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: Republic of Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Palau District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) | - |
Death rate | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.3 billion (2000) | $0 (FY99/00) |
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: US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1800 K Street NW, Suite 714, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam) |
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 | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $155.8 million ; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
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. | The economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture, and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 63,000 in 2003. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) | - |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 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 | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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) | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 69.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, other or unspecified 3.2% (2000 census) |
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) | the US dollar is used |
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
Exports | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $18 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) | US, Japan, Singapore (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 October - 30 September |
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) | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 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 | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 61 km
paved: 36 km unpaved: 25 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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) | $99 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) | US, Guam, Japan, Singapore, South Korea (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.6% (2000) | NA |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.84 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 3.4% (2000 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 | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | more than 300 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | 5.203 million (1999 est.) | 9,845 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) | agriculture 20%, industry NA, services NA (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2001) |
Languages | Czech | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census) |
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 Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.14 years
male: 66.98 years female: 73.48 years (2005 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: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units | no regular military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY01) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY01) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 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) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | flooding | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] | NA |
Population | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) | 20,303 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.07% (2001 est.) | 1.39% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | Koror |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 1, FM 4, 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% | Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other religion 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.18 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; growth in the use of mobile cellular telephones is particularly vigorous domestic: 86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.869 million (2000) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.346 million (2000) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 1 (cable) (2005) |
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 | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.7% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |
- |