Czech Republic (2007) | Bahamas, The (2001) | |
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 | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nicholls Town and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 738,391/female 698,999)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,657,877/female 3,627,493) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 588,531/female 917,453) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.43% (male 44,179; female 43,486) 15-64 years: 64.46% (male 94,329; female 97,674) 65 years and over: 6.11% (male 7,618; female 10,566) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 122 (2007) | 65 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 45
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: 18 (2007) |
total:
36 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 50 (2007) |
total:
29 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total:
13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
Birth rate | 8.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 19.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $56.31 billion
expenditures: $62.57 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues:
$766 million expenditures: $845 million, including capital expenditures of $97 million (FY97/98) |
Capital | name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 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 |
Nassau |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,542 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 | 10 July 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:
Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | - | Bahamian dollar (BSD) |
Death rate | 10.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.14 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $55.47 billion (2006 est.) | $385.8 million (2000 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-designate J. Richard BLANKENSHIP embassy: Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; stateside address: American Embassy Nassau, P. O. Box 599009, Miami, FL 33159-9009; pouch address: Nassau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
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 Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | in 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in an Austrian parliamentary motion threatening international legal action | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $278.7 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) | $9.8 million (1995) |
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. However, due to significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections, the government is not likely to meet this goal. Negotiations on pension and healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. 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 Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the archipelago's labor force. Moderate growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences led to an increase of the country's GDP by an estimated 3% in 1998, 6% in 1999, and 4.5% in 2000. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute only 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run will depend heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector and continued sturdy growth in the US, which accounts for the majority of tourist visitors. |
Electricity - consumption | 59.72 billion kWh (2005) | 1.362 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 24.99 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 12.35 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 77.38 billion kWh (2005) | 1.465 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 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 | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
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-Environmental Protocol, 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, 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) | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1.000 (fixed rate pegged to the dollar) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 9 January 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Petr NECAS (since 9 January 2007), Jiri CUNEK (since 9 January 2007), Martin BURSIK (since 9 January 2007), and Alexandr VONDRA (since 9 January 2007) 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 in 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), represented by Governor General Sir Orville TURNQUEST (since 2 January 1995) head of government: Prime Minister Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM (since 19 August 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Frank WATSON (since December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | 20,930 bbl/day (2004) | $376.8 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) | pharmaceuticals, cement, rum, crawfish, refined petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Germany 31.9%, Slovakia 8.5%, Poland 5.7%, France 5.6%, Austria 5.1%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2006) | US 22.3%, Switzerland 15.6%, UK 15%, Denmark 7.4% (1998) |
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) | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $4.5 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 39.1% services: 58.2% (2006 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.4% (2006 est.) | 4.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 24 15 N, 76 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 adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1997) |
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; significant consumer of ecstasy | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; banking industry vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | 203,700 bbl/day (2004) | $1.73 billion (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) | foodstuffs, manufactured goods, crude oil, vehicles, electronics |
Imports - partners | Germany 32%, Netherlands 6.5%, Slovakia 6.1%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.7%, Austria 4.9%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.4% (2006) | US 27.3%, Italy 26.5%, Japan 10%, Denmark 4.2% (1998) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9.5% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | tourism, banking, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | total: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
17.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2006 est.) | 1.9% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (2003) | 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; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 5.334 million (2006 est.) | 156,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
tourism 40%, other services 50%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1995 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:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 32% other: 67% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census) | English, Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
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 common 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 in 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 11, 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 March 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - FNM 35, PLP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.42 years
male: 73.14 years female: 79.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
70.46 years male: 67.27 years female: 73.71 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.2% male: 98.5% female: 98% (1995 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) | total:
1,049 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 30,000,221 GRT/44,601,471 DWT ships by type: bulk 185, cargo 214, chemical tanker 36, combination bulk 15, combination ore/oil 22, container 66, liquefied gas 33, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 79, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 182, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 118, roll on/roll off 50, short-sea passenger 15, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 24 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 2, Australia 1, Austria 1, Bermuda 6, Belgium 14, Canada 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 17, Finland 7, France 9, Germany 9, Greece 89, Hong Kong 7, Indonesia 2, India 1, Israel 4, Italy 8, Japan 23, Jamaica 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 2, Luxembourg 2, Monaco 15, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 16, Norway 139, Poland 3, Portugal 2, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 5, Singapore 12, Spain 7, Sweden 14, Syria 1, Switzerland 7, UAE 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, UK 67, Ukraine 3, US 50, British Virgin Islands 1, British Virgin Islands 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2007) | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $20 million (FY95/96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.81% (2005 est.) | NA% |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
noun:
Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | flooding | hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -2.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Jana HYBASKOVA]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan HADRAVA]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ] | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert Alexander INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] | NA |
Population | 10,228,744 (July 2007 est.) | 297,852
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.071% (2007 est.) | 0.93% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 215,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 9,597 km
standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.641 male(s)/female total population: 0.951 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 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; access to the fixed-line telephone network expanded throughout the 1990s; mobile telephone usage increased sharply beginning in the mid-1990s and there are now about 120 mobile telephones per 100 persons
domestic: 93% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems 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 (2007) |
general assessment:
modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,217,300 (2005) | 96,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.15 million (2006) | 6,152 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 1 (1997) |
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 | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.3 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8.4% (2006 est.) | 9% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006) | none |