Czech Republic (2006) | Tonga (2005) | |
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 | 3 island groups; Ha'apai, Tongatapu, Vava'u |
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: 36.2% (male 20,738/female 19,907)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 33,226/female 33,853) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 2,031/female 2,667) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | squash, coconuts, copra, bananas, vanilla beans, cocoa, coffee, ginger, black pepper; fish |
Airports | 121 (2006) | 6 (2004 est.) |
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: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 748 sq km
land: 718 sq km water: 30 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | four times 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. | The archipelago of "The Friendly Islands" was united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845. It became a constitutional monarchy in 1875 and a British protectorate in 1900. Tonga acquired its independence in 1970 and became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It remains the only monarchy in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 25.18 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $48.16 billion
expenditures: $53.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $39.9 million
expenditures: $52.4 million, including capital expenditures of $1.9 million (FY99/00 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 |
Nuku'alofa |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical; modified by trade winds; warm season (December to May), cool season (May to December) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 419 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 | 4 November 1875; revised 1 January 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Tonga
conventional short form: Tonga former: Friendly Islands |
Death rate | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 5.35 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $49.14 billion (2005 est.) | $63.4 million (2001) |
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 |
the US does not have an embassy in Tonga; the ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tonga |
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 Fekitamoeloa 'UTOIKAMANU
chancery: 250 East 51st Street, New York, NY 10022 telephone: [1] (917) 369-1025 FAX: [1] (917) 369-1024 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.8 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) | Australia $5.5 million, New Zealand $2.3 million (FY01/02) |
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. | Tonga, a small, open, South Pacific island economy, has a narrow export base in agricultural goods. Squash, coconuts, bananas, and vanilla beans are the main crops, and agricultural exports make up two-thirds of total exports. The country must import a high proportion of its food, mainly from New Zealand. Tourism is the second largest source of hard currency earnings following remittances. The country remains dependent on external aid and remittances from Tongan communities overseas to offset its trade deficit. The government is emphasizing the development of the private sector, especially the encouragement of investment, and is committing increased funds for health and education. Tonga has a reasonably sound basic infrastructure and well-developed social services. High unemployment among the young, a continuing upturn in inflation, and rising civil service expenditures are major issues facing the government. |
Electricity - consumption | 57.12 billion kWh (2004) | 23.06 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 25.49 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 9.776 billion kWh (2004) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 84.33 billion kWh (2004) | 24.79 million kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Kao Island 1,033 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 results as more and more land is being cleared for agriculture and settlement; some damage to coral reefs from starfish and indiscriminate coral and shell collectors; overhunting threatens native sea turtle populations |
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, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) | Polynesian, Europeans about 300 |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001) | pa'anga per US dollar - 1.9716 (2004), 2.142 (2003), 2.1952 (2002), 2.1236 (2001), 1.7585 (2000) |
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: King Taufa'ahau TUPOU IV (since 16 December 1965)
head of government: Prime Minister Prince Lavaka ata ULUKALALA (since 3 January 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister James C. COCKER (since NA January 2001) cabinet: cabinet consists of 16 members, 12 appointed by the monarch for life; 4 appointed from among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly including 2 each from the Nobles and Peoples representatives serving three year terms note: there is also a Privy Council that consists of the monarch, the Cabinet, and two governors elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed for life by the monarch |
Exports | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) | squash, fish, vanilla beans, root crops |
Exports - partners | Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) | Japan 37.1%, China 18.7%, US 17.7%, Taiwan 8.7%, New Zealand 7.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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) | red with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 23%
industry: 13% services: 64% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 20 00 S, 175 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 | archipelago of 169 islands (36 inhabited) |
Heliports | 2 (2006) | - |
Highways | - | total: 680 km
paved: 184 km unpaved: 496 km (1999 est.) |
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 | 182,000 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, fuels, chemicals |
Imports - partners | Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) | New Zealand 37.1%, Fiji 24.3%, Australia 9.1%, China 8.9%, US 6.3% (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 4 June 1970 (from UK protectorate) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2005) | 8.6% (FY98/99) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | tourism, fishing |
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: 12.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.9% (2005 est.) | 10.3% (2002 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 | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal (consists of the Privy Council with the addition of the chief justice of the Supreme Court) |
Labor force | 5.27 million (2005 est.) | 33,910 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
agriculture 65% (1997 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
arable land: 23.61%
permanent crops: 43.06% other: 33.33% (2001) |
Languages | Czech | Tongan, 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 | based on English law |
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 Legislative Assembly or Fale Alea (30 seats - 12 reserved for cabinet ministers sitting ex officio, nine for nobles selected by the country's 33 nobles, and nine elected by popular vote; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 21 March 2005 (next to be held in 2008) election results: Peoples Representatives: percent of vote - HRDMT 70%; seats - HRDMT 7, independents 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.22 years
male: 72.94 years female: 79.69 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 69.53 years
male: 67.05 years female: 72.14 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: can read and write Tongan and/or English
total population: 98.9% male: 98.8% female: 99% (1996 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Oceania, archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) | total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 136,977 GRT/200,751 DWT
by type: cargo 21, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 7 (Cyprus 1, France 1, Greece 1, Norway 1, Romania 2, United Kingdom 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes air forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2006) | Tonga Defense Services: Ground Forces (Royal Marines, Royal Guard), Maritime Force (includes Air Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $2.17 billion (2004) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.81% FY05 | NA |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Emancipation Day, 4 June (1970) |
Nationality | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
noun: Tongan(s)
adjective: Tongan |
Natural hazards | flooding | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | fish, fertile soil |
Net migration rate | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 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] | there are no political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] | Human Rights and Democracy Movement Tonga or HRDMT [Rev. Simote VEA, chairman] |
Population | 10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) | 112,422 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8% | NA |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2006 est.) | 1.98% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Nuku'alofa |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2004) |
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) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) | Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 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: competition between Tonga Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Shoreline Communications Tonga (SCT) is accelerating expansion of telecommunications; SCT recently granted authority to develop high-speed digital service for telephone, Internet, and television
domestic: fully automatic switched network international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,217,300 (2005) | 11,200 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 11.776 million (2005) | 9,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 3 (2004) |
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 | most islands have limestone base formed from uplifted coral formation; others have limestone overlying volcanic base |
Total fertility rate | 1.21 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.9% (2005) | 13.3% (1996 est.) |
Waterways | 664 km (principally on Elbe as well as Vltava and Oder rivers) (2005) | - |