Laos (2004) | Czech Republic (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 provinces (khoueng, singular and plural), 1 municipality* (kampheng nakhon, singular and plural), and 1 special zone** (khetphiset, singular and plural); Attapu, Bokeo, Bolikhamxai, Champasak, Houaphan, Khammouan, Louangnamtha, Louangphrabang, Oudomxai, Phongsali, Salavan, Savannakhet, Viangchan*, Viangchan, Xaignabouli, Xaisomboun**, Xekong, Xiangkhoang | 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*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 41.9% (male 1,277,152; female 1,265,761)
15-64 years: 54.9% (male 1,642,895; female 1,688,175) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 87,995; female 106,139) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 15% (male 789,987; female 748,476)
15-64 years: 70.9% (male 3,643,574; female 3,622,276) 65 years and over: 14.1% (male 557,496; female 884,369) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sweet potatoes, vegetables, corn, coffee, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, tea, peanuts, rice, water buffalo, pigs, cattle, poultry | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 46 (2003 est.) | 120 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 44
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 48 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 236,800 sq km
land: 230,800 sq km water: 6,000 sq km |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Utah | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government, ending a six-century-old monarchy. Initial closer ties to Vietnam and socialization were replaced with a gradual return to private enterprise, a liberalization of foreign investment laws, and the admission into ASEAN in 1997. | 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 | 36.47 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 9.1 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $298.5 million
expenditures: $429.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
revenues: $33.25 billion
expenditures: $38.88 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Vientiane | Prague |
Climate | tropical monsoon; rainy season (May to November); dry season (December to April) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | promulgated 14 August 1991 | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Lao People's Democratic Republic
conventional short form: Laos local long form: Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao local short form: none |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | kip (LAK) | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 12.1 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.49 billion (2001) | $28 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia M. HASLACH
embassy: 19 Rue Bartholonie, B. P. 114, Vientiane mailing address: American Embassy, Box V, APO AP 96546 telephone: [856] (21) 212581, 212582, 212585 FAX: [856] (21) 212584 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William J. CABANISS
embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] (2) 5753-0663 FAX: [420] (2) 5753-0583 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador PHANTHONG Phommahaxay
chancery: 2222 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6416 FAX: [1] (202) 332-4923 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Martin PALOUS
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
Disputes - international | demarcation of boundaries with Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam is largely complete, but with Thailand several areas including Mekong River islets remain in dispute; ongoing disputes with Thailand and Vietnam over squatters; concern among Mekong Commission members that China's construction of dams on the Mekong River will affect water levels | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten Germans seek restitution for property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant |
Economic aid - recipient | $243 million (2001 est.) | $108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002) |
Economy - overview | The government of Laos - one of the few remaining official Communist states - began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986. The results, starting from an extremely low base, were striking - growth averaged 7% in 1988-2001 except during the short-lived drop caused by the Asian financial crisis beginning in 1997. Despite this high growth rate, Laos remains a country with a primitive infrastructure; it has no railroads, a rudimentary road system, and limited external and internal telecommunications. Electricity is available in only a few urban areas. Subsistence agriculture accounts for half of GDP and provides 80% of total employment. The economy will continue to benefit from aid from the IMF and other international sources and from new foreign investment in food processing and mining. | One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-03 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a near doubling of foreign direct 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. High current account deficits - averaging around 5% of GDP in the last several years - could be a persistent problem. Inflation is under control. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatization will encourage additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks, and improvements in the financial sector, should strengthen output growth. Nonetheless, revival in the European economies remains essential to stepped-up growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 824.7 million kWh (2001) | 55.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (2001) | 18.92 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 9.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.317 billion kWh (2001) | 70.04 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mekong River 70 m
highest point: Phou Bia 2,817 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | unexploded ordnance; deforestation; soil erosion; most of the population does not have access to potable water | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, 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: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Lao Loum (lowland) 68%, Lao Theung (upland) 22%, Lao Soung (highland) including the Hmong and the Yao 9%, ethnic Vietnamese/Chinese 1% | Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991) |
Exchange rates | kips per US dollar - 10,443 (2003), 10,056.3 (2002), 8,954.58 (2001), 7,887.64 (2000), 7,102.02 (1999) | koruny per US dollar - 28.209 (2003), 32.7385 (2002), 38.0353 (2001), 38.5984 (2000), 34.5692 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gen. KHAMTAI Siphadon (since 26 February 1998) and Vice President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 27 March 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUNGNANG Volachit (since 27 March 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Bouasone BOUPHAVANH (since 3 October 2003) Deputy Prime Minister Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Deputy Prime Minister THONGLOUN Sisolit (since 27 March 2001), and Deputy Prime Minister SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly for a five-year term election results: KHAMTAI Siphandon elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA% |
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 Stanislav GROSS (since 26 July 2004), Deputy Prime Ministers Zdenek SKROMACH (since 4 August 2004), Martin JAHN (since 4 August 2004), Pavel NEMEC (since 4 August 2004); Milan SIMONOVSKY (since 4 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next election to be held NA 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 | NA (2001) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments, wood products, coffee, electricity, tin | machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) |
Exports - partners | Thailand 20.7%, Vietnam 15.9%, France 7.3%, Germany 5.3%, Belgium 4% (2003) | Germany 37.1%, Slovakia 8%, Austria 6.3%, UK 5.4%, Poland 4.8%, France 4.7%, Italy 4.5%, Netherlands 4.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), blue (double width), and red with a large white disk centered in the blue band | 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 | purchasing power parity - $10.32 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $161.1 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 49.4%
industry: 24.5% services: 26.1% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 35.5% services: 61.4% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2003 est.) | 2.9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 00 N, 105 00 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is mountainous and thickly forested; the Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand | 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 | - | 2 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 21,716 km
paved: 9,664 km unpaved: 12,052 km (1999 est.) |
total: 55,408 km
paved: 55,408 km (including 499 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 30.6% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest illicit opium producer (estimated cultivation in 2003 - 18,900 hectares, a 19% decrease over 2002; estimated potential production in 2003 - 200 metric tons, a 11% increase from 2002); potential heroin producer; transshipment point for heroin and methamphetamine produced in Burma; illicit producer of cannabis; growing methamphetamine abuse problem | 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 (2001) | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) |
Imports - partners | Thailand 59.4%, China 12.8%, Vietnam 10.2% (2003) | Germany 32.6%, Italy 5.3%, China 5.2%, Slovakia 5.2%, France 4.9%, Russia 4.6%, Austria 4.3%, Poland 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 19 July 1949 (from France) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9.7% (2001 est.) | 3.3% (2003) |
Industries | tin and gypsum mining, timber, electric power, agricultural processing, construction, garments, tourism | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 87.06 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 76.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 3.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15.3% (2003 est.) | 0.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (member affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 1,640 sq km
note: rainy season irrigation - 2,169 sq km; dry season irrigation - 750 sq km (1998 est.) |
240 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | People's Supreme Court (the president of the People's Supreme Court is elected by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the National Assembly Standing Committee; the vice president of the People's Supreme Court and the judges are appointed by the National Assembly Standing Committee) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 2.6 million (2001 est.) | 5.25 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80% (1997 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 5,083 km
border countries: Burma 235 km, Cambodia 541 km, China 423 km, Thailand 1,754 km, Vietnam 2,130 km |
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.8%
permanent crops: 0.35% other: 95.85% (2001) |
arable land: 39.8%
permanent crops: 3.05% other: 57.15% (2001) |
Languages | Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages | Czech |
Legal system | based on traditional customs, French legal norms and procedures, and socialist practice | 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 (109 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - total number of seats increased from 99 to 109 for the 2002 election)
elections: last held 24 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LPRP or LPRP-approved (independent, non-party members) 109 |
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 5-6 November and 12-13 November 2004 (next to be held NA November 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 14-15 June 2002 (next to be held by NA June 2006) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ODS 26, KDU-CSL 15, Open Democracy 15, CSSD 9, Caucus "Independent" 5, US-DEU 1, European Democrats 1, Greens 1, KSCM 1, independents 7; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 30.2%, ODS 24.5%, KSCM 18.5%, KDU-CSL & US-DEU coalition 14.3%, other minor 12.5%; seats by party - CSSD 70, ODS 58, KSCM 41, KDU-CSL 21, US-DEU 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 54.69 years
male: 52.71 years female: 56.75 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 75.78 years
male: 72.52 years female: 79.24 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.4% male: 77.4% female: 55.5% (2002) |
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Southeastern Asia, northeast of Thailand, west of Vietnam | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,370 GRT/3,110 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Lao People's Army (LPA; including Riverine Force), Air Force | Czech Army: Ground Forces, Air Forces, Special Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $10.9 million (2003) | $1,190.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.5% (2003) | 2.1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,456,500 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,623,386 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 783,800 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,003,748 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 68,563 (2004 est.) | males: 67,195 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Republic Day, 2 December (1975) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Lao(s) or Laotian(s)
adjective: Lao or Laotian |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | floods, droughts | flooding |
Natural resources | timber, hydropower, gypsum, tin, gold, gemstones | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 540 km (2004) | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Lao People's Revolutionary Party or LPRP [KHAMTAI Siphandon, party president]; other parties proscribed | Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman]; Communist Party of Czechoslovakia or KSC [Miroslav STEPAN, chairman]; Czech National Social Party of CSNS [Jaroslav ROVNY, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Stanislav GROSS, acting chairman]; European Democrats [Jan KASL]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Pavel NEMEC, chairman]; Green Party; Open Democracy |
Political pressure groups and leaders | noncommunist political groups proscribed; most opposition leaders fled the country in 1975 | Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH] |
Population | 6,068,117 (July 2004 est.) | 10,246,178 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2002 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.44% (2004 est.) | -0.05% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 12, FM 1, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Railways | - | total: 9,520 km
standard gauge: 9,421 km 1.435-m gauge (2,893 km electrified) narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Buddhist 60%, animist and other 40% (including various Christian denominations 1.5%) | Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%, atheist 39.8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: service to general public is poor but improving with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic: radiotelephone communications international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
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 | 61,900 (2002) | 3.626 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 55,200 (2002) | 9,708,700 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (1999) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly rugged mountains; some plains and plateaus | 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 | 4.86 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.7% (1997 est.) | 9.9% (2003) |
Waterways | 4,600 km
note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m (2003) |
664 km (on Elbe, Vlatava, and Oder rivers) (2004) |