Czech Republic (2005) | Saint Helena (2004) | |
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 (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.7% (male 773,028/female 731,833)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 3,651,018/female 3,627,006) 65 years and over: 14.2% (male 565,374/female 892,879) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.9% (male 710; female 689)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 2,739; female 2,559) 65 years and over: 9.7% (male 319; female 399) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 120 (2004 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 48 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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, a truncated 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. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
Birth rate | 9.07 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.68 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $39.31 billion
expenditures: $45.8 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | Prague | Jamestown |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 60 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 | 1 January 1989 |
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: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Currency | - | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
Death rate | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.47 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $36.28 billion (2004 est.) | NA (1996) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William J. CABANISS
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS
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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | in February 2005, the ICJ refused to rule on the restitution of Liechtenstein's land and property assets in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1945 as German property; individual Sudeten Germans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.4 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
Economy - overview | The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-04 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004 the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006, but more difficult pension and healthcare reforms will have to wait until after the next elections. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom is scheduled to take place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 55.33 billion kWh (2002) | 4.65 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 20.9 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 9.5 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 71.75 billion kWh (2002) | 5 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 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; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
- |
Ethnic groups | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001), 38.598 (2000) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), |
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 on 28 February 2003 after two inconclusive elections in January 2003 head of government: Prime Minister Jiri PAROUBEK (since 25 April 2005), Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004), Martin JAHN (since 4 August 2004), Pavel NEMEC (since 4 August 2004), Milan SIMONOVSKY (since 4 August 2004) 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; next election to be held January 2008); 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since 1999); Michael CLANCY (taking office in October 2004) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Germany 36.1%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6%, Poland 5.3%, UK 4.7%, France 4.7%, Italy 4.3%, Netherlands 4.3% (2004) | US 26.7%, Tanzania 21.9%, Indonesia 9.4%, UK 8.7%, Japan 7.4%, Netherlands 7.2%, Nigeria 6.8%, Poland 5%, Spain 4.9% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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) | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2004 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 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 | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 127,204 km
paved: 127,204 km (including 518 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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 | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | Germany 31.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Poland 4.8%, France 4.8%, Russia 4.1% (2004) | UK 29.1%, South Africa 24.7%, Spain 16.4%, Italy 8.8%, Tanzania 8.2%, US 5.8% (2003) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2004 est.) | NA |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 3.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.28 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 19.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.81 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2004 est.) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC | ICFTU, UPU |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | 5.25 million (2004 est.) | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 4%, industry 38%, services 58% (2002 est.) | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) |
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: 39.8%
permanent crops: 3.05% other: 57.15% (2001) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (2001) |
Languages | Czech | English |
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 | NA |
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 5-6 November and 12-13 November 2004 (next to be held November 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by June 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ODS 37, KDU-CSL 14, Open Democracy 13, CSSD 7, Caucus Open Democracy 7, independents 3; 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 57, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10, independent 1 |
unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.02 years
male: 72.74 years female: 79.49 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 77.57 years
male: 74.67 years female: 80.61 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 3 | none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command, Support and Training Forces Command (2005) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.17 billion (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.02% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
Natural hazards | flooding | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | fish |
Net migration rate | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Caucus SNK [Josef ZOSER]; Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, 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 [Jaroslav ROVNY, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Stanislav GROSS, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Hana Marvanova, chairwoman]; Open Democracy [Sona PAUKRTOVA, chairwoman] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH] | none |
Population | 10,241,138 (July 2005 est.) | 7,415 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.05% (2005 est.) | 0.62% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 9,543 km
standard gauge: 9,421 km 1.435-m gauge (2,893 km electrified) narrow gauge: 122 km 0.760-m gauge (23 km electrified) (2004) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age |
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: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: country code - 290; HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension Island, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.626 million (2003) | 2,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,708,700 (2003) | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
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 | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 1.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.54 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.6% (2004 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 664 km (on Elbe, Vltava, and Oder rivers) (2004) | - |