Czech Republic (2001) | Portugal (2002) | |
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 | 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu |
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: 16.9% (male 875,485; female 827,670)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 3,324,215; female 3,463,301) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 644,761; female 948,813) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | grain, potatoes, olives, grapes; sheep, cattle, goats, poultry, beef, dairy products |
Airports | 114 (2000 est.) | 67 (2001) |
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: 40
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
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: 26
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
Area | total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 92,391 sq km
land: 91,951 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Indiana |
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. | Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal entered the EC (now the EU) in 1985. |
Birth rate | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.5 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $45 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Prague | Lisbon |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,793 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 | 25 April 1976, revised 30 October 1982, 1 June 1989, 5 November 1992, and 3 September 1997 |
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: Portuguese Republic
conventional short form: Portugal local long form: Republica Portuguesa local short form: Portugal |
Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) | euro (EUR); Portuguese escudo (PTE)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.21 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $21.3 billion (2000) | $13.1 billion (1997 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 John N. PALMER
embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisbon, Apartado 4258, 1507 Lisboa CODEX mailing address: PSC 83, APO AE 09726 telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300 FAX: [351] (21) 727-9109 consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores) |
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 Pedro Manuel Dos Reis Alves CATARINO
chancery: 2125 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-8610 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726 consulate(s) general: Boston, New York, Newark (New Jersey), and San Francisco consulate(s): Los Angeles, New Bedford (Massachusetts), Providence (Rhode Island) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $271 million (1995) (1995) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
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. | Portugal has become a diversified and increasingly service-based economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past decade, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating its new currency, the euro, on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth has been above the EU average for much of the past decade, but fell back in 2001-02. GDP per capita stands at 75% of that of the leading EU economies. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle to greater productivity and growth. Portugal has been increasingly overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a target for foreign direct investment. The new coalition government faces tough choices in its attempts to boost Portugal's economic competitiveness and to keep the budget deficit within the 3% EU ceiling. |
Electricity - consumption | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) | 41.146 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) | 3.767 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) | 4.698 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) | 43.242 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 70%
hydro: 26% nuclear: 0% other: 4% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Ponta do Pico (Pico or Pico Alto) on Ilha do Pico in the Azores 2,351 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 | soil erosion; air pollution caused by industrial and vehicle emissions; water pollution, especially in coastal areas |
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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Environmental Modification, Nuclear Test Ban |
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) | homogeneous Mediterranean stock; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000; since 1990 East Europeans have entered Portugal |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Portuguese escudos per US dollar - 180.10 (1998), 175.31 (1997) |
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 Jorge SAMPAIO (since 9 March 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso (since 6 April 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister note: there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 January 2001 (next to be held NA January 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Jorge SAMPAIO reelected president; percent of vote - Jorge SAMPAIO (Socialist) 55.8%, Joaquim FERREIRA Do Amaral (Social Democrat) 34.5%, Antonio ABREU (Communist) 5.1% |
Exports | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $25.9 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) | clothing and footwear, machinery, chemicals, cork and paper products, hides |
Exports - partners | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) | EU 79.7% (Germany 19.2%, Spain 18.6%, France 12.6%, UK 10.3%, Benelux 5.4%), US 5.8% (2001) |
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) | two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $182 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 29% services: 68% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 0.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 39 30 N, 8 00 W |
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 | Azores and Madeira Islands occupy strategic locations along western sea approaches to Strait of Gibraltar |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 68,732 km
paved: 59,110 km (including 797 km of expressways) unpaved: 9,622 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 28% (1995 est.) |
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 | gateway country for Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Europe; consumer of Southwest Asian heroin |
Imports | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $39 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) | machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, petroleum, textiles, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) | EU 74.2% (Spain 26.5%, Germany 13.9%, France 10.3%, Italy 6.7%, UK 5.0%), US 3.8%, Japan 1.9% (2001) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 1143 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.6% (2000) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | textiles and footwear; wood pulp, paper, and cork; metalworking; oil refining; chemicals; fish canning; wine; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.8% (2000 est.) | 3.7% (2002 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 | AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | more than 300 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1993 est.) | 6,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura) |
Labor force | 5.203 million (1999 est.) | 5.1 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) | services 60%, industry 30%, agriculture 10% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
total: 1,214 km
border countries: Spain 1,214 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 20.57%
permanent crops: 7.74% other: 71.69% (1999 est.) |
Languages | Czech | Portuguese |
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 | civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PSD 40.1%, PS 37.8%, PP 8.7%, PCP/PEV 6.9%, The Left Bloc 2.7%; seats by party - PSD 105, PS 96, PP 14, PCP/PEV 12, The Left Bloc 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.14 years
male: 72.65 years female: 79.87 years (2002 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: 87.4% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Southwestern Europe, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Spain |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,001,440 GRT/1,519,701 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, chemical tanker 17, container 10, liquefied gas 8, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 4, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 6, Germany 20, Greece 1, Iceland 1, Italy 16, Lebanon 1, Liberia 1, Monaco 2, Norway 5, Panama 5, Spain 22, Switzerland 8, United Kingdom 1, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units | Army, Navy (PON) (includes Marines), Air Force, Republican Guard (includes Fiscal Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.2 billion (FY01) | $1.286 billion (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY01) | 2.2% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,525,848 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,024,526 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
males: 71,404 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Portugal Day, 10 June (1580) |
Nationality | noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
noun: Portuguese (singular and plural)
adjective: Portuguese |
Natural hazards | flooding | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | fish, forests (cork), tungsten, iron ore, uranium ore, marble, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) | crude oil 22 km; petroleum products 58 km; natural gas 700 km
note: the secondary lines for the natural gas pipeline that will be 300 km long have not yet been built |
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] | The Greens or PEV [no leader]; Popular Party or PP [Paulo PORTAS]; Portuguese Communist Party/The Greens or PCP/PEV [Carlos CARVALHAS]; Portuguese Socialist Party or PS [Eduardo Ferro RODRIGUES]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Jose Manuel DURAO Barroso]; United Democratic Coalition or CDU [leader NA]; The Left Bloc [no leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] | NA |
Population | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) | 10,084,245 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.07% (2001 est.) | 0.18% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | Aveiro, Funchal (Madeira Islands), Horta (Azores), Leixoes, Lisbon, Porto, Ponta Delgada (Azores), Praia da Vitoria (Azores), Setubal, Viana do Castelo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 47, FM 172 (many are repeaters), shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 3,159,134 (December 2000) | 3.02 million (1997) |
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) |
total: 2,850 km
broad gauge: 2,576 km 1.668-m gauge (623 km electrified; 426 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 274 km 1.000-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% | Roman Catholic 94%, Protestant (1995) |
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: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2002 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: undergoing rapid development in recent years, Portugal's telephone system, by the end of 1998, achieved a state-of-the-art network with broadband, high-speed capabilities and a main line telephone density of 53%
domestic: integrated network of coaxial cables, open wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations international: 6 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to Azores; note - an earth station for Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region) is planned |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.869 million (2000) | 5.3 million (yearend 1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.346 million (2000) | 3,074,194 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 62 (plus 166 repeaters)
note: includes Azores and Madeira Islands (1995) |
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 | mountainous north of the Tagus River, rolling plains in south |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.48 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.7% (2000 est.) | 4.7% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |
820 km
note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity |