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Compare Czech Republic (2002) - European Union (2007)

Compare Czech Republic (2002) z European Union (2007)

 Czech Republic (2002)European Union (2007)
 Czech RepublicEuropean Union
Administrative divisions 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj -
Age structure 0-14 years: 15.7% (male 828,273; female 786,617)


15-64 years: 70.3% (male 3,605,766; female 3,603,058)


65 years and over: 14% (male 551,852; female 881,194) (2002 est.)
0-14 years: 15.72% (male 37,208,905/female 35,254,445)


15-64 years: 67.16% (male 155,807,769/female 153,690,235)


65 years and over: 17.11% (male 32,592,595/female 46,273,197) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish
Airports 121 (2001) 3,393 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways total: 44


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 14


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 17 (2002)
2,020 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 76


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 27


under 914 m: 48 (2002)
1,373 (2006)
Area total: 78,866 sq km


land: 77,276 sq km


water: 1,590 sq km
total: 4,324,782 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina less than one-half the size of the US
Background Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. In December 2002, the Czech Republic was invited to join the European Union (EU). It is expected that the Czech Republic will accede to the EU in 2004. Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.

The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.

In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - and in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania joined, bringing the current membership to 27. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the Treaty of Nice (in force as of 1 February 2003) set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An effort to establish an EU constitution, begun in October 2004, failed to attain unanimous ratification. A new effort, undertaken in June 2007, calls for the creation of an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, which is to serve as a constitution. Unlike the constitution, however, the Reform Treaty would amend existing treaties rather than replace them.
Birth rate 9.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 10 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $16.7 billion


expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
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Capital Prague name: Brussels (Belgium), Strasbourg (France), Luxembourg


geographic coordinates: 50 50 N, 4 20 E


time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October


note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, Belgium, the European Parliament meets in Brussels and Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg
Climate temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 65,992.9 km
Constitution ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2003; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 dealt a severe setback to the ratification process; in June 2007, the European Council agreed on a clear and concise mandate for an Intergovernmental Conference to form a political agreement and put it into legal form; this agreement, known as the Reform Treaty, is to serve as a constitution and will be presented to the European Council in October 2007, in order to begin the ratification process
Country name conventional long form: Czech Republic


conventional short form: Czech Republic


local long form: Ceska Republika


local short form: Ceska Republika
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Currency Czech koruna (CZK) -
Death rate 10.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 10 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $24.6 billion (2001) -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON


embassy: Trziste 15, 118 #01 Prague 1


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663


FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583
chief of mission: Ambassador C. Boyden GRAY


embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat/Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels


mailing address: same as above


telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222


FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS


chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 363-6315


FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540


consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
chief of mission: Ambassador John BRUTON


chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500


FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766
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 the Temelin nuclear power plant and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities as a political union, the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries, but Estonia and Latvia have no land boundary agreements with Russia, Slovenia disputes its land and maritime boundaries with Croatia, and Spain has territorial and maritime disputes with Morocco and with the UK over Gibraltar; the EU has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 13 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements or "acquis" (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; these agreements became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in only some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 eventually are expected to participate fully in Schengen, following a transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures
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. Growth in 2000-02 was 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 gradually declining as job creation continues in the rebounding economy. Inflation is 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 encourage additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. Internally, the EU is attempting to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income among member states (from $7,000 to $69,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 10 and two countries, respectively, that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Twelve established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999, but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia has adopted the euro (1 January 2007); the remaining 11 are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria.
Electricity - consumption 54.701 billion kWh (2000) 2.81 trillion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - exports 18.74 billion kWh (2000) NA
Electricity - imports 8.725 billion kWh (2000) NA
Electricity - production 69.589 billion kWh (2000) 3.007 trillion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 78%


hydro: 3%


nuclear: 19%


other: 1% (2000)
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Elevation extremes lowest point: Elbe River 115 m


highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m


highest point: Mont Blanc 4,807 m; note - situated on the border between France and Italy
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 NA
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94


signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds
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) -
Exchange rates koruny per US dollar - 36.325 (January 2002), 38.035 (2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997) euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)
Executive branch chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)


note: the Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years; parliament finally elected a successor after two inconclusive elections in January 2003 and three rounds of balloting on 28 February 2003


head of government: Prime Minister Vladimir SPIDLA (since 12 July 2002), Deputy Prime Ministers Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Cyril SVOBODA (since July 2002), Stanislav GROSS (since July 2002), Petr MARES (since July 2002)


cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister


elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive); prime minister appointed by the president


election results: Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February 2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142 votes, Jan SOKOL 124 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament)
chief of union: President of the European Commission Jose Manuel DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)


cabinet: European Commission (composed of 27 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas)


elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments and is confirmed by the European Parliament; working from member state recommendations, the Commission president then assembles a "college" of Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; the last confirmation process was held 18 November 2004 (next to be held in 2009)


election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions


note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least four times a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines
Exports $38 billion f.o.b. (2002) NA
Exports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.
Exports - partners Germany 35.4%, Slovakia 7.3%, UK 5.5%, Austria 5.3%, Poland 5.2%, (2001) US 23.3%, Switzerland 7.6%, Russia 5.2%, China 4.8% (2006)
Fiscal year calendar year NA
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) on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed
GDP purchasing power parity - $155.9 billion (2002 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 41%


services: 56% (2001)
agriculture: 2.1%


industry: 27.3%


services: 70.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 2.6% (2002 est.) 3.2% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 49 45 N, 15 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 -
Heliports 2 (2002) 100 (2007)
Highways total: 55,432 km


paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways)


unpaved: 0 km (2000)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 4%


highest 10%: 22% (1996)
lowest 10%: 2.8%


highest 10%: 25.1% (2001 est.)
Illicit drugs transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime -
Imports $41.7 billion f.o.b. (2002) NA
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing
Imports - partners Germany 32.9%, Slovakia 6.4%, Russia 6.0%, Italy 5.8%, Austria 4.6% (2001) US 13.8%, China 13.4%, Russia 8.2%, Japan 6.2% (2006)
Independence 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force)
Industrial production growth rate 3.5% (2002) 2.6% (2006 est.)
Industries metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism
Infant mortality rate 5.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) total: 4.8 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 5.3 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2.2% (2002 est.) 1.8% (2006 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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC European Union: ARF (dialogue member), ASEAN (dialogue member), IDA, OAS (observer), UN (observer)


European Community: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, EBRD, G-10, NAM (observer), NSG (observer), OECD, UNRWA, WTO, ZC (observer)


European Central Bank: BIS


European Investment Bank: EBRD, WADB (nonregional member)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) more than 300 (2000) -
Irrigated land 240 sq km (1998 est.) 168,050 sq km (2003 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied uniformly throughout the EU; resolve constitutional issues among the EU institutions) - 27 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 13 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 27 justices appointed for a six-year term
Labor force 5.203 million (1999 est.) 220.9 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) agriculture: 4.4%


industry: 27.2%


services: 67.1%


note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2002 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,881 km


border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km
total: 12,440.8 km


border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 394 km, Moldova 450 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia 945 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 446 km, Ukraine 1,257 km


note: data for European Continent only
Land use arable land: 40%


permanent crops: 3.04%


other: 56.96% (1998 est.)
arable land: NA%


permanent crops: NA%


other: NA%
Languages Czech Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed
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 comparable to the legal systems of member states; first supranational law system
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 in two rounds 25-26 October and 1-2 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by NA June 2006)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ODS 26, KDU-CSL 14, CSSD 11, US 9, KSCM 3, independents 18; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 30.2%, ODS 24.5%, KSCM 18.5%, KDU-CSL & US-DEU coalition 14.3%, other minor 12.5%; seats by party - CSSD 70, ODS 58, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10
two legislative bodies consists of the Council of the European Union (27 member-state ministers having 345 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population; note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU) and the European Parliament (785 seats, as of 1 January 2007; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population; members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term)


elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009)


election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28; note - seats by party as of 1 December 2007 - EPP-ED 275, PES 217, ALDE 104, UEN 44, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 24, independents 34, 4 unaccounted for
Life expectancy at birth total population: 74.95 years


male: 71.46 years


female: 78.65 years (2002 est.)
total population: 78.7 years


male: 75.6 years


female: 82 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: 99.9% (1999 est.)


male: NA%


female: NA%
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Location Central Europe, southeast of Germany Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine to the east
Map references Europe Europe
Maritime claims none (landlocked) NA
Military - note - In November 2004, the EU heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, this treaty will give operational effect to the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a EU military planning unit is likely to continue. The planning unit will support the EU Rapid Reaction Force, which EU ministers have said will deploy 2 "battle groups" in January 2007. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The 5-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and assumed command of the ISAF in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Individual EU nations made commitments to provide 67,100 troops following the December 1999 EU summit in Helsinki. Some 56,000 troops from EU member states were actually deployed on various international operations in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating 13 1,500-man battle groups by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK formed the first of 3 battle groups in 2005. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonia forces. The remaining 9 groups are to be formed in 2007. A rapid-reaction naval EU Maritime Task Group was stood up in March 2007. (2005)
Military branches Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Force -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $1,190.2 million (FY01) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 2.1% (FY01) -
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 2,637,128 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,012,779 (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - military age 18 years of age (2002 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 69,393 (2002 est.) -
National holiday Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert SCHUMAN proposed the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to achieve an organized Europe
Nationality noun: Czech(s)


adjective: Czech
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Natural hazards flooding flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic
Natural resources hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber iron ore, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, bauxite, uranium, potash, salt, hydropower, arable land, timber, fish
Net migration rate 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) 1.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines natural gas 3,550 km (2000) -
Political parties and leaders Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Michael ZANTOVSKY, 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 [Petr MARES, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Karel KUHNL, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU) Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Joseph DAUL]; Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty Group or ITS [Bruno GOLLNISCH]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI]
Political pressure groups and leaders Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] -
Population 10,256,760 (July 2002 est.) 490,426,060 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line NA% see individual country listings
Population growth rate -0.07% (2002 est.) 0.16% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem -
Radio broadcast stations AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) AM 930, FM 13,655, shortwave 71 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio)
Radios 3,159,134 (December 2000) -
Railways total: 9,444 km


standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double-track)


narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m gauge (2000 est.)
total: 236,656 km


broad gauge: 28,240 km


standard gauge: 200,532 km


narrow gauge: 7,861 km


other: 23 km (2006)
Religions atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish
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 (2002 est.)
at birth: NA


under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female


total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 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
note - see individual country entries of member states
Telephones - main lines in use 3.869 million (2000) 238 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular 4.346 million (2000) 466 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) 2,700 (1995); note - sum of individual country television broadcast stations excluding repeaters; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision)
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 fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas
Total fertility rate 1.18 children born/woman (2002 est.) 1.5 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 8.5% (2002 est.) 8.5% (2006 est.)
Waterways 303 km


note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000)
52,332 km (2006)
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