Kuwait (2006) | Czech Republic (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Ahmadi, Al 'Asimah, Al Farwaniyah, Al Jahra', Hawalli, Mubarak Al Kabir | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 331,768/female 319,895)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 1,085,721/female 613,746) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 42,460/female 24,803) (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | practically no crops; fish | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 7 (2006) | 121 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 75
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 25 under 914 m: 49 (2006) |
Area | total: 17,820 sq km
land: 17,820 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Britain oversaw foreign relations and defense for the ruling Kuwaiti AL-SABAH dynasty from 1899 until independence in 1961. Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a US-led, UN coalition began a ground assault on 23 February 1991 that liberated Kuwait in four days. Kuwait spent more than $5 billion to repair oil infrastructure damaged during 1990-91. | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.94 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47.21 billion
expenditures: $20.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $48.16 billion
expenditures: $53.04 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | name: Kuwait
geographic coordinates: 29 20 N, 47 59 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 |
Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 499 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | approved and promulgated 11 November 1962 | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt local short form: Al Kuwayt |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
Death rate | 2.41 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.12 billion (2005 est.) | $49.14 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard LEBARON
embassy: Bayan 36302, Area 14, Al-Masjed Al-Aqsa Street (near the Bayan palace), Kuwait City mailing address: P. O. Box 77 Safat 13001 Kuwait; or PSC 1280 APO AE 09880-9000 telephone: [965] 259-1001 FAX: [965] 538-0282 |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador SALIM Abdallah al-Jabir al-Sabah
chancery: 2940 Tilden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 966-0702 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0517 |
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 |
Disputes - international | Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2001) | $2.8 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
Economy - overview | Kuwait is a small, rich, relatively open economy with self-reported crude oil reserves of about 96 billion barrels - 10% of world reserves. Petroleum accounts for nearly half of GDP, 95% of export revenues, and 80% of government income. Kuwait's climate limits agricultural development. Consequently, with the exception of fish, it depends almost wholly on food imports. About 75% of potable water must be distilled or imported. Kuwait continues its discussions with foreign oil companies to develop fields in the northern part of the country. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 35.52 billion kWh (2003) | 57.12 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 25.49 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 9.776 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 38.19 billion kWh (2003) | 84.33 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 306 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Kuwaiti 45%, other Arab 35%, South Asian 9%, Iranian 4%, other 7% | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Kuwaiti dinars per US dollar - 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (2004), 0.298 (2003), 0.3039 (2002), 0.3067 (2001) | koruny per US dollar - 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002), 38.035 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Amir SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (since 29 January 2006); Crown Prince NAWAF al-Ahmad al-Sabah
head of government: Prime Minister NASIR al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah (since 7 February 2006) First Deputy Prime Minister JABIR Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers MUHAMMAD al-Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah (since 9 February 2006) and Ismail al-SHATTI (since 10 July 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister and approved by the amir elections: none; the amir is hereditary; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the amir |
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) |
Exports | 1.97 million bbl/day (2003) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | oil and refined products, fertilizers | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
Exports - partners | Japan 19.6%, South Korea 15.3%, US 11.8%, Taiwan 11%, Singapore 9.5%, Netherlands 4.7% (2005) | Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side; design, which dates to 1961, based on the Arab revolt flag of World War I | 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) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.4%
industry: 47.9% services: 51.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 3.4%
industry: 39.3% services: 57.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2005 est.) | 6.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | 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 |
Heliports | 5 (2006) | 2 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
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 | NA bbl/day | 182,000 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction materials, vehicles and parts, clothing | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
Imports - partners | US 14%, Germany 10.7%, Japan 8.4%, Saudi Arabia 6.2%, UK 5.6%, France 4.8%, China 4.5% (2005) | Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) |
Independence | 19 June 1961 (from UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 13.1% (2005 est.) | 5.7% (2005) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, cement, shipbuilding and repair, desalination, food processing, construction materials | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.1% (2005 est.) | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | 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 |
Irrigated land | 130 sq km (2003) | 240 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 1.67 million
note: non-Kuwaitis represent about 80% of the labor force (2005 est.) |
5.27 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
Land boundaries | total: 462 km
border countries: Iraq 240 km, Saudi Arabia 222 km |
total: 2,290.2 km
border countries: Austria 466.3 km, Germany 810.3 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.84%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.99% (2005) |
arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic (official), English widely spoken | Czech |
Legal system | civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29 June 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA; note - all cabinet ministers are also ex officio members of the National Assembly |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.2 years
male: 76.13 years female: 78.31 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 76.22 years
male: 72.94 years female: 79.69 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.5% male: 85.1% female: 81.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 38 ships (1000 GRT or over) 2,424,983 GRT/3,996,755 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 1, container 6, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, petroleum tanker 21 registered in other countries: 28 (Bahrain 3, Comoros 1, Liberia 1, Libya 1, Panama 2, Qatar 7, Saudi Arabia 5, UAE 8) (2006) |
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2006) |
Military branches | Land Forces, Kuwaiti Navy, Kuwaiti Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Kuwaitiya), National Guard (2006) | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes air forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.01 billion (2005 est.) | $2.17 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.2% (2005 est.) | 1.81% FY05 |
National holiday | National Day, 25 February (1950) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Kuwaiti(s)
adjective: Kuwaiti |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August | flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 15.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 269 km; oil 540 km; refined products 57 km (2006) | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | none; formation of political parties is illegal | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | a number of political groups act as de facto parties; several legislative blocs operate in the National Assembly: tribal groups, merchants, Shi'a activists, Islamists, and secular liberals | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] |
Population | 2,418,393
note: includes 1,291,354 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8% |
Population growth rate | 3.52%
note: this rate reflects a return to pre-Gulf crisis immigration of expatriates (2006 est.) |
-0.06% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 11, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
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 | Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shi'a 30%), Christian, Hindu, Parsi, and other 15% | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.77 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.52 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | adult males who are not in the military forces, and adult females (as of 16 May 2005); all voters must have been citizens for 20 years | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well supplied with pay telephones international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and 2 Arabsat |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 510,300 (2005) | 3,217,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.38 million (2005) | 11.776 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 13 (plus several satellite channels) (1997) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country |
Total fertility rate | 2.91 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.21 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.2% (2004 est.) | 7.9% (2005) |
Waterways | - | 664 km (principally on Elbe as well as Vltava and Oder rivers) (2005) |