Czech Republic (2008) | Jamaica (2003) | |
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 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland |
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: 28.6% (male 395,074; female 376,870)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 870,486; female 869,431) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 82,022; female 101,984) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 122 (2007) | 35 (2002) |
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: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 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. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 8.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 17.35 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $69.49 billion
expenditures: $75.8 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
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 |
Kingston |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 1,022 km |
Constitution | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | - | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 10.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $61.74 billion (30 June 2007) | $5.3 billion (2002 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 Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
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 Seymour MULLINGS
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 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) | NA |
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 2000-07 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 the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The current account deficit has declined to around 3.3% of GDP as demand for automotive and other products from the Czech Republic remains strong in the European Union. Rising inflation from higher food and energy prices are a risk to balanced economic growth. Significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections prevented, the government from meeting its goal of reducing its budget deficit to 3% of GDP in 2007. Negotiations on pension and additional healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. The pro-business Civic Democratic Party-led government approved reforms in 2007 designed to cut spending on some social welfare benefits and reform the tax system with the aim of eventually reducing the budget deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2010. Parliamentary approval for any additional reforms could prove difficult, however, because of the parliament's even split. The government withdrew a 2010 target date for euro adoption and instead aims to meet the eurozone criteria around 2012. | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy inched ahead, by 0.8% in 2000, 1.7% in 2001, and 0.8% in 2002; the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including serious violent crime. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment and tourism, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 59.72 billion kWh (2005) | 5.833 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 24.99 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 12.35 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 77.38 billion kWh (2005) | 6.272 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 96.8%
hydro: 1.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 48.42 (2002), 46 (2001), 42.7 (2000), 39.04 (1999), 36.55 (1998) |
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), 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 15 February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008 were inconclusive; next election to be held in February 2013); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav KLAUS reelected president on 15 February 2008; Vaclav KLAUS 141 votes, Jan SVEJNAR 111 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 Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
Exports | 20,930 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | Germany 32%, Slovakia 8.5%, Poland 5.7%, France 5.5%, Austria 5.1%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2006) | US 28.1%, Canada 12.2%, Norway 10.7%, UK 10.5%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002) |
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
note: identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia |
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.08 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 39.7% services: 57.9% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 31% services: 63% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (2007 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 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 between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
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 | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | 203,700 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | Germany 32.5%, Netherlands 6.8%, Slovakia 6.2%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.7%, Austria 5%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.3% (2006) | US 45%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 4.7% (2002) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2007 est.) | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
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.) |
total: 13.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2007 est.) | 7% (2002 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, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 240 sq km (2003) | 250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 5.35 million (2007 est.) | 1.13 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
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: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census) | English, patois 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 common law; 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 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; note - seats by party as of December 2007 - ODS 81, CSSD 72, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6, unaffiliated 2 (former CSSD members) |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.42 years
male: 73.14 years female: 79.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 75.85 years
male: 73.84 years female: 77.97 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, southeast of Germany | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,536 GRT/62,868 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, US 2 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2007) | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.46% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 755,698 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 528,689 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 27,398 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | flooding | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -5.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2007) | petroleum products 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Helmut DOHNALEK]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; 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]; Union of Freedom-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan CERNY]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 10,228,744 (July 2007 est.) | 2,695,867 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 34.2% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.071% (2007 est.) | 0.61% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 9,597 km
standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3,217,300 (2005) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12.15 million (2006) | 54,640 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) | 7 (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 | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.6% (2007 est.) | 15.4% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006) | none |