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Compare Czech Republic (2006) - Syria (2007)

Compare Czech Republic (2006) z Syria (2007)

 Czech Republic (2006)Syria (2007)
 Czech RepublicSyria
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 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus
Age structure 0-14 years: 14.4% (male 755,098/female 714,703)


15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,656,021/female 3,629,036)


65 years and over: 14.5% (male 576,264/female 904,333) (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 36.5% (male 3,633,562/female 3,423,435)


15-64 years: 60.1% (male 5,952,275/female 5,664,236)


65 years and over: 3.3% (male 303,346/female 337,893) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk
Airports 121 (2006) 90 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 46


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 10


1,524 to 2,437 m: 13


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 19 (2006)
total: 26


over 3,047 m: 6


2,438 to 3,047 m: 15


914 to 1,523 m: 3


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 75


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 25


under 914 m: 49 (2006)
total: 64


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 52 (2007)
Area total: 78,866 sq km


land: 77,276 sq km


water: 1,590 sq km
total: 185,180 sq km


land: 184,050 sq km


water: 1,130 sq km


note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Area - comparative slightly smaller than South Carolina slightly larger than North Dakota
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. Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, France administered Syria until its independence in 1946. The country lacked political stability, however, and experienced a series of military coups during its first decades. Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In September 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, a member of the Socialist Ba'th Party and the minority Alawite sect, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990s, Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-ASAD, his son, Bashar al-ASAD, was approved as president by popular referendum in July 2000. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April 2005. During the July-August 2006 conflict between Israel and Hizballah, Syria placed its military forces on alert but did not intervene directly on behalf of its ally Hizballah.
Birth rate 9.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) 27.19 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $48.16 billion


expenditures: $53.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
revenues: $7.635 billion


expenditures: $9.38 billion (2006 est.)
Capital name: Prague


geographic coordinates: 40 55 N, 21 00 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
name: Damascus


geographic coordinates: 33 30 N, 36 18 E


time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)


daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 30 September
Climate temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 193 km
Constitution ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 13 March 1973
Country name conventional long form: Czech Republic


conventional short form: Czech Republic


local long form: Ceska Republika


local short form: Cesko
conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic


conventional short form: Syria


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah


local short form: Suriyah


former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt)
Death rate 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) 4.74 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $49.14 billion (2005 est.) $6.601 billion; note - excludes military debt and debt to Russia (2006 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. GRABER


embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [420] 257 022 000


FAX: [420] 257 022 809
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Michael CORBIN


embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansour Street, No. 2, Damascus


mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus


telephone: [963] (11) 3391-4444


FAX: [963] (11) 3391-3999
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR


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


telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100


FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540


consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
chief of mission: Ambassador Imad MUSTAFA


chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313


FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548
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 from Czechoslovakia after World War II; Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied with the almost 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) patrolling a buffer zone since 1964; lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shaba'a farms in the Golan Heights; 2004 Agreement and pending demarcation settles border dispute with Jordan; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan
Economic aid - recipient $2.8 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) $77.85 million (2005 est.)
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 2000-05 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. The current account deficit has declined to around 3% of GDP as demand for Czech products in the European Union has increased. 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 took 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 Syrian economy grew by an estimated 2.9% in real terms in 2006 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and exports and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Total foreign assets of the Central Bank and domestic banking system rose to about $20 billion in 2006, and the government strengthened the private sector foreign exchange rate by about 7% from the start of the year. The Government of Syria has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating some of the multiple exchange rates, and raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably, gasoline and cement. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production and exports, weak investment, high unemployment, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.
Electricity - consumption 57.12 billion kWh (2004) 24.74 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Electricity - exports 25.49 billion kWh (2004) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 9.776 billion kWh (2004) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 84.33 billion kWh (2004) 33.01 billion kWh (2005 est.)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Elbe River 115 m


highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m


highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 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 deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water
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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7%
Exchange rates koruny per US dollar - 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001) Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51.689 (2006), 50 (2005), 48.5 (2004), 52.8 (2003), 52.4 (2002)


note: data for 2004-06 are the public sector rate; data for 2002-03 are the parallel market rate in 'Amman and Beirut; the official rate for repaying loans was 11.25 Syrian pounds per US dollars during 2004-06,
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 Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 4 September 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Petr NECAS (since 4 September 2006)


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


elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second 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: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice President Farouk al-SHARA (since 11 February 2006) oversees foreign policy; Vice President Najah al-ATTAR (since 23 March 2006) oversees cultural policy


head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-UTRI (since 10 September 2003); Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Abdallah al-DARDARI (since 14 June 2005)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president


elections: president approved by popular referendum for a second seven-year term (no term limits); referendum last held on 27 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2014); the president appoints the vice presidents, prime minister, and deputy prime ministers


election results: Bashar al-ASAD approved as president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.6%
Exports 26,670 bbl/day (2001) 175,000 bbl/day (2006)
Exports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) crude oil, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fiber, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat
Exports - partners Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) Iraq 27.3%, Germany 12.2%, Lebanon 9.5%, Italy 6.6%, Egypt 5.3%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (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) three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; the current design dates to 1980
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 3.4%


industry: 39.3%


services: 57.3% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 24.8%


industry: 25.1%


services: 50.1% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 6.1% (2005 est.) 4% (2006 est.)
Geographic coordinates 49 45 N, 15 30 E 35 00 N, 38 00 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 there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 2005 est.)
Heliports 2 (2006) 7 (2007)
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 a transit point for opiates, hashish, and cocaine bound for regional and Western markets; weak anti-money-laundering controls and bank privatization may leave it vulnerable to money laundering
Imports 182,000 bbl/day (2004) NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, paper
Imports - partners Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) Saudi Arabia 12.3%, China 7.9%, Egypt 6.2%, UAE 6%, Italy 4.9%, Ukraine 4.8%, Germany 4.7%, Iran 4.5% (2006)
Independence 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration)
Industrial production growth rate 5.7% (2005) 1.5% (2005)
Industries metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seeds crushing
Infant mortality rate total: 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
total: 27.7 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 27.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.9% (2005 est.) 10% (2006 est.)
International organization participation ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Irrigated land 240 sq km (2003) 13,330 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term Supreme Judicial Council (appoints and dismisses judges; headed by the President); national level - Supreme Constitutional Court (adjudicates electoral disputes and rules on constitutionality of laws and decrees; justices appointed for four-year terms by the President); Court of Cassation; Appeals Courts (Appeals Courts represent an intermediate level between the Court of Cassation and local level courts); local level - Magistrate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Juvenile Courts; Customs Courts; specialized courts - Economic Security Courts (hear cases related to economic crimes); Supreme State Security Court (hear cases related to national security); Personal Status Courts (religious; hear cases related to marriage and divorce)
Labor force 5.27 million (2005 est.) 5.276 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 4.1%


industry: 37.6%


services: 58.3% (2003)
agriculture: 26%


industry: 14%


services: 60% (2003 est.)
Land boundaries total: 2,290.2 km


border countries: Austria 466.3 km, Germany 810.3 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km
total: 2,253 km


border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
Land use arable land: 38.82%


permanent crops: 3%


other: 58.18% (2005)
arable land: 24.8%


permanent crops: 4.47%


other: 70.73% (2005)
Languages Czech Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
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 a combination of French and Ottoman civil law; Islamic law is used in the family court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 20-21 and 27-28 October 2006 (next to be held October 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 41, CSSD 12, KDU-CSL 10, others 15, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6
unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-Shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)


elections: last held on 22-23 April 2007 (next to be held in 2011)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPF 172, independents 78
Life expectancy at birth total population: 76.22 years


male: 72.94 years


female: 79.69 years (2006 est.)
total population: 70.61 years


male: 69.27 years


female: 72.02 years (2007 est.)
Literacy definition: NA


total population: 99%


male: 99%


female: 99% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 79.6%


male: 86%


female: 73.6% (2004 census)
Location Central Europe, southeast of Germany Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey
Map references Europe Middle East
Maritime claims none (landlocked) territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm
Merchant marine registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) total: 96 ships (1000 GRT or over) 353,351 GRT/512,597 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 82, container 1, livestock carrier 4, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1


foreign-owned: 10 (Jordan 2, Lebanon 4, Romania 4)


registered in other countries: 164 (Bolivia 1, Cambodia 32, Comoros 8, Cyprus 2, Dominica 2, Georgia 54, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 7, Lebanon 1, Libya 1, Malta 4, Mongolia 1, Panama 24, Sierra Leone 8, Slovakia 2, St Kitts and Nevis 5, St Vincent and The Grenadines 11, unknown 2) (2007)
Military branches Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes air forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2006) Syrian Armed Forces: Syrian Arab Army (includes Syrian Arab Navy), Syrian Arab Air and Air Defense Force (includes Air Defense Command) (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $2.17 billion (2004) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 1.81% FY05 5.9% (2005 est.)
National holiday Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) Independence Day, 17 April (1946)
Nationality noun: Czech(s)


adjective: Czech
noun: Syrian(s)


adjective: Syrian
Natural hazards flooding dust storms, sandstorms
Natural resources hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower
Net migration rate 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Pipelines gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) gas 2,764 km; oil 2,000 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairwoman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK, chairman]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan HADRAVA, chairman]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK, chairman]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY, chairman]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK, chairman]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ, chairman]; SNK-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Jana HYBASKOVA, chairman] legal parties: National Progressive Front or NPF [President Bashar al-ASAD, Dr. Suleiman QADDAH] (includes Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Fadlallah Nasr Al-DIN]; Syrian Arab Socialist Union or ASU [Safwan QUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party (two branches) [Wissal Farha BAKDASH, Yusuf Rashid FAYSAL]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Ali QANSU]; Unionist Socialist Party [Fayez ISMAIL]); illegal parties: Kurdish Azadi Party [Khayr al-Din MURAD]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance [Abd al-Hamid DARWISH] (includes four parties); Kurdish Democratic Front (includes three parties but no designated leader); Kurdish Democratic Union Party or PYD [Ali MUHAMMAD]; Kurdish Future Movement; Kurdish Yekiti Party [Hasan SALEH]; National Democratic Front [Hassan Abd al-AZEM]
Political pressure groups and leaders Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] Damascus Declaration [Riyad SEIF, secretary general] (a broad alliance of opposition groups including: Committee for Revival of Civil Society [Michel KILO, Riyad SEIF]; Kurdish Democratic Alliance; Kurdish Democratic Front; National Democratic Front; Syrian Human Rights Society or HRAS [Fawed FAWUZ]); National Salvation Front (alliance between former Vice President Abd al-Halim KHADDAM, the SMB, and other small opposition groups); Syrian Muslim Brotherhood or SMB [Sadr al-Din al-BAYANUNI]; (operates in exile in London; endorsed the Damascus Declaration but is not an official member)
Population 10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) 19,314,747


note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8% 11.9% (2006 est.)
Population growth rate -0.06% (2006 est.) 2.244% (2007 est.)
Radio broadcast stations AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 9,572 km


standard gauge: 9,473 km 1.435-m gauge (2,951 km electrified)


narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2005)
total: 2,711 km


standard gauge: 2,460 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 251 km 1.050-m gauge (2006)
Religions Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) Sunni Muslim 74%, other Muslim (includes Alawite, Druze) 16%, Christian (various denominations) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo)
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: 0.64 male(s)/female


total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.051 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.898 male(s)/female


total population: 1.049 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: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar
general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology


domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 963; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel
Telephones - main lines in use 3,217,300 (2005) 3.243 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular 11.776 million (2005) 4.675 million (2006)
Television broadcast stations 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (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 primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west
Total fertility rate 1.21 children born/woman (2006 est.) 3.31 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 7.9% (2005) 12.5% (2005 est.)
Waterways 664 km (principally on Elbe as well as Vltava and Oder rivers) (2005) 900 km (not economically significant) (2005)
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