Czech Republic (2002) | Panama (2008) | |
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 | 9 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 territory* (comarca); Bocas del Toro, Chiriqui, Cocle, Colon, Darien, Herrera, Los Santos, Panama, San Blas*(Kuna Yala), and Veraguas |
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: 30% (male 496,195/female 476,508)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 1,044,139/female 1,016,805) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 97,365/female 111,161) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | bananas, rice, corn, coffee, sugarcane, vegetables; livestock; shrimp |
Airports | 121 (2001) | 116 (2007) |
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) |
total: 54
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 29 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 48 (2002) |
total: 62
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 50 (2007) |
Area | total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 78,200 sq km
land: 75,990 sq km water: 2,210 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. When the latter dissolved in 1830, Panama remained part of Colombia. With US backing, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty with the US allowing for the construction of a canal and US sovereignty over a strip of land on either side of the structure (the Panama Canal Zone). The Panama Canal was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. In 1977, an agreement was signed for the complete transfer of the Canal from the US to Panama by the end of the century. Certain portions of the Zone and increasing responsibility over the Canal were turned over in the subsequent decades. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. The entire Panama Canal, the area supporting the Canal, and remaining US military bases were transferred to Panama by the end of 1999. In October 2006, Panamanians approved an ambitious plan to expand the Canal. The project, which is to begin in 2007 and could double the Canal's capacity, is expected to be completed in 2014-15. |
Birth rate | 9.08 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 21.45 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $5.206 billion
expenditures: $5.089 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Prague | name: Panama
geographic coordinates: 8 58 N, 79 32 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical maritime; hot, humid, cloudy; prolonged rainy season (May to January), short dry season (January to May) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,490 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 | 11 October 1972; major reforms adopted 1978, 1983, 1994, and 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: Republic of Panama
conventional short form: Panama local long form: Republica de Panama local short form: Panama |
Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) | - |
Death rate | 10.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $24.6 billion (2001) | $10.56 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
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 William A. EATON
embassy: Edificio 783, Avenida Demetrio Basilio Lakas Panama, Apartado Postal 0816-02561, Zona 5, Panama City 5 mailing address: American Embassy Panama, Unit 0945, APO AA 34002 telephone: [507] 207-7000 FAX: [507] 227-1964 |
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 Federico HUMBERT Arias
chancery: 2862 McGill Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-1407 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8416 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tampa |
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 | organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia operate within the remote border region with Panama |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $19.54 million (2005) |
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. | Panama's dollarized economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector that accounts for three-fourths of GDP. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism. Economic growth will be bolstered by the Panama Canal expansion project that began in 2007 and should be completed by 2014 at a cost of $5.3 billion (about 30% of current GDP). The expansion project will more than double the Canal's capacity, enabling it to accommodate ships that are now too large to transverse the transoceanic crossway and should help to reduce the high unemployment rate. The government has implemented tax reforms, as well as social security reforms, and backs regional trade agreements and development of tourism. Not a CAFTA signatory, Panama in December 2006 independently negotiated a free trade agreement with the US, which, when implemented, will help promote the country's economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 54.701 billion kWh (2000) | 4.735 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 18.74 billion kWh (2000) | 51 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 8.725 billion kWh (2000) | 55 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 69.589 billion kWh (2000) | 5.661 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 78%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 19% other: 1% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Volcan Baru 3,475 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 | water pollution from agricultural runoff threatens fishery resources; deforestation of tropical rain forest; land degradation and soil erosion threatens siltation of Panama Canal; air pollution in urban areas; mining threatens natural resources |
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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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) | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, white 10%, Amerindian 6% |
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) | balboas per US dollar - 1 (2007), 1 (2006), 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003) |
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 state: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino (since 1 September 2004); First Vice President Samuel LEWIS Navarro (since 1 September 2004); Second Vice President Ruben AROSEMENA Valdes (since 1 September 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms (eligible for two more terms); election last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held on 3 May 2009); note - beginning in 2009, Panama will have only one vice president. election results: Martin TORRIJOS Espino elected president; percent of vote - Martin TORRIJOS Espino 47.5%, Guillermo ENDARA Galimany 30.6%, Jose Miguel ALEMAN 17%, Ricardo MARTINELLI 4.9% note: government coalition - PRD (Democratic Revolutionary Party), PP (Popular Party) |
Exports | $38 billion f.o.b. (2002) | 4,140 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) | bananas, shrimp, sugar, coffee, clothing |
Exports - partners | Germany 35.4%, Slovakia 7.3%, UK 5.5%, Austria 5.3%, Poland 5.2%, (2001) | US 39.8%, Spain 8.1%, Netherlands 6.7%, Sweden 5.6%, Costa Rica 4.5% (2006) |
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) | divided into four, equal rectangles; the top quadrants are white (hoist side) with a blue five-pointed star in the center and plain red; the bottom quadrants are plain blue (hoist side) and white with a red five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $155.9 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 41% services: 56% (2001) |
agriculture: 6.8%
industry: 16.2% services: 77% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 7.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 9 00 N, 80 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 | strategic location on eastern end of isthmus forming land bridge connecting North and South America; controls Panama Canal that links North Atlantic Ocean via Caribbean Sea with North Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 55,432 km
paved: 55,432 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 43% (2003) |
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 | major cocaine transshipment point and primary money-laundering center for narcotics revenue; money-laundering activity is especially heavy in the Colon Free Zone; offshore financial center; negligible signs of coca cultivation; monitoring of financial transactions is improving; official corruption remains a major problem |
Imports | $41.7 billion f.o.b. (2002) | 92,170 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) | capital goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Germany 32.9%, Slovakia 6.4%, Russia 6.0%, Italy 5.8%, Austria 4.6% (2001) | US 27%, Netherlands Antilles 10.1%, Costa Rica 5.1%, Japan 4.7% (2006) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 3 November 1903 (from Colombia; became independent from Spain 28 November 1821) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.5% (2002) | 7.8% (2007 est.) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | construction, brewing, cement and other construction materials, sugar milling |
Infant mortality rate | 5.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 15.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2002 est.) | 5.1% (2007 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 | BCIE, CAN (observer), CSN (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | more than 300 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1998 est.) | 430 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (nine judges appointed for 10-year terms); five superior courts; three courts of appeal |
Labor force | 5.203 million (1999 est.) | 1.471 million
note: shortage of skilled labor, but an oversupply of unskilled labor (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) | agriculture: 15%
industry: 18% services: 67% (2006 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
total: 555 km
border countries: Colombia 225 km, Costa Rica 330 km |
Land use | arable land: 40%
permanent crops: 3.04% other: 56.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.26%
permanent crops: 1.95% other: 90.79% (2005) |
Languages | Czech | Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual |
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 civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Justice; 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 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (78 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); note - in 2009, the number of seats will change to 71
elections: last held 2 May 2004 (next to be held 3 May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRD 41, PA 17, PS 9, MOLIRENA 4, CD 3, PLN 3, PP 1 note: legislators from outlying rural districts are chosen on a plurality basis while districts located in more populous towns and cities elect multiple legislators by means of a proportion-based formula |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.95 years
male: 71.46 years female: 78.65 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 75.19 years
male: 72.69 years female: 77.8 years (2007 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: 91.9% male: 92.5% female: 91.2% (2000 census) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm or edge of continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 5,764 ships (1000 GRT or over) 159,649,801 GRT/240,190,316 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 1,940, cargo 1,034, carrier 3, chemical tanker 507, combination ore/oil 6, container 710, liquefied gas 191, livestock carrier 7, passenger 46, passenger/cargo 72, petroleum tanker 522, refrigerated cargo 288, roll on/roll off 129, specialized tanker 22, vehicle carrier 285 foreign-owned: 4,949 (Albania 1, Argentina 8, Australia 4, Bahamas 2, Bangladesh 1, Belgium 11, Bulgaria 1, Canada 17, Chile 8, China 473, Colombia 4, Croatia 6, Cuba 11, Cyprus 15, Denmark 32, Dominican Republic 1, Ecuador 2, Egypt 13, Estonia 3, France 15, Gabon 1, Germany 38, Greece 505, Hong Kong 137, India 25, Indonesia 37, Iran 4, Ireland 1, Israel 2, Italy 10, Jamaica 1, Japan 2,151, Jordan 11, South Korea 316, Kuwait 1, Latvia 5, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 5, Malaysia 14, Maldives 1, Malta 2, Mexico 4, Monaco 11, Netherlands 14, Nigeria 6, Norway 60, Oman 1, Pakistan 5, Peru 15, Philippines 12, Poland 15, Portugal 9, Qatar 1, Romania 8, Russia 9, Saudi Arabia 14, Singapore 83, Spain 61, Sri Lanka 3, Sweden 9, Switzerland 26, Syria 24, Taiwan 306, Thailand 10, Turkey 53, Turks and Caicos Islands 1, Ukraine 8, UAE 108, UK 35, US 115, Venezuela 10, Vietnam 10, Yemen 5) registered in other countries: 1 (Venezuela 1) (2007) |
Military - note | - | on 10 February 1990, the government of then President ENDARA abolished Panama's military and reformed the security apparatus by creating the Panamanian Public Forces; in October 1994, Panama's Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting the creation of a standing military force, but allowing the temporary establishment of special police units to counter acts of "external aggression" |
Military branches | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Force | an amendment to the Constitution abolished the armed forces, but there are security forces (Panamanian Public Forces or PPF includes the Panamanian National Police, National Maritime Service, and National Air Service) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1,190.2 million (FY01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY01) | 1% (2006) |
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) | Independence Day, 3 November (1903) |
Nationality | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
noun: Panamanian(s)
adjective: Panamanian |
Natural hazards | flooding | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | copper, mahogany forests, shrimp, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.37 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) | Democratic Change or CD [Ricardo MARTINELLI]; Democratic Revolutionary Party or PRD [Hugo GUIRAUD]; Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement or MOLIRENA [Gisela CHUNG]; Panamenista Party or PA [Juan Carlos VARELA] (formerly the Arnulfista Party); Patriotic Union Party or PU (combination of the Liberal National Party or PLN and the Solidarity Party or PS)[Jose Raul MULINO and Anibal GALINDO]; Popular Party or PP [Rene ORILLAC] (formerly Christian Democratic Party or PDC) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] | Chamber of Commerce; National Civic Crusade; National Council of Organized Workers or CONATO; National Council of Private Enterprise or CONEP; National Union of Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS); Panamanian Association of Business Executives or APEDE; Panamanian Industrialists Society or SIP; Workers Confederation of the Republic of Panama or CTRP |
Population | 10,256,760 (July 2002 est.) | 3,242,173 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 37% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.07% (2002 est.) | 1.564% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 101, FM 134, shortwave 0 (1998) |
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: 355 km
standard gauge: 77 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 278 km 0.914-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 15% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.041 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.027 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.876 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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: domestic and international facilities well developed
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone density is approaching 70 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 507; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), the MAYA-1, and PAN-AM submarine cable systems that together provide links to the US, and parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to the Central American Microwave System |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.869 million (2000) | 432,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.346 million (2000) | 1.694 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 38 (including repeaters) (1998) |
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 | interior mostly steep, rugged mountains and dissected, upland plains; coastal areas largely plains and rolling hills |
Total fertility rate | 1.18 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.66 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.5% (2002 est.) | 7.2% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |
800 km (includes 82 km Panama Canal) (2007) |