New Zealand (2002) | Czech Republic (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 16 regions; Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wellington, West Coast | 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: 22.2% (male 443,921; female 422,804)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,299,973; female 1,290,097) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 196,640; female 254,602) (2002 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 | wheat, barley, potatoes, pulses, fruits, vegetables; wool, beef, dairy products; fish | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 106 (2001) | 120 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 46
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 5 (2002) |
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: 67
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
total: 76
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 48 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 268,680 sq km
land: NA sq km water: NA sq km note: includes Antipodes Islands, Auckland Islands, Bounty Islands, Campbell Island, Chatham Islands, and Kermadec Islands |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The Polynesian Maoris reached New Zealand in about the 800 AD. The British proclaimed their sovereignty over the islands in 1840 and began settlement that same year. A series of land wars between 1843 and 1872 ended with the defeat of the native peoples. The British colony of New Zealand became an independent dominion in 1907 and supported the UK militarily in both World Wars. New Zealand's full participation in number of defense alliances lapsed by the 1980s. In recent years the government has sought to address longstanding Maori grievances. | 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 | 14.23 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.1 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $16.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01) |
revenues: $33.25 billion
expenditures: $38.88 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Wellington | Prague |
Climate | temperate with sharp regional contrasts | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 15,134 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | consists of a series of legal documents, including certain acts of the UK and New Zealand Parliaments and The Constitution Act 1986 which is the principal formal charter | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: New Zealand abbreviation: NZ |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | New Zealand dollar (NZD) | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 7.55 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $31.1 billion (2001 est.) | $28 billion (2003) |
Dependent areas | Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles J. SWINDELLS
embassy: 29 Fitzherbert Terrace, Thorndon, Wellington mailing address: P. O. Box 1190, Wellington; PSC 467, Box 1, FPO AP 96531-1001 telephone: [64] (4) 462-6000 FAX: [64] (4) 478-1701 consulate(s) general: Auckland |
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 L. John WOOD
chancery: 37 Observatory Circle NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 328-4800 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5227 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
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 | territorial claim in Antarctica (Ross Dependency) | 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 - donor | ODA, $99.7 million (FY00/01) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002) |
Economy - overview | Since 1984 the government has accomplished major economic restructuring, transforming New Zealand from an agrarian economy dependent on concessionary British market access to a more industrialized, free market economy that can compete globally. This dynamic growth has boosted real incomes (but left behind many at the bottom of the ladder), broadened and deepened the technological capabilities of the industrial sector, and contained inflationary pressures. While per capita incomes have been rising, however, they remain below the level of the four largest EU economies, and there is some government concern that New Zealand is not closing the gap. New Zealand is heavily dependent on trade - particularly in agricultural products - to drive growth, and it has been affected by the global economic slowdown and the slump in commodity prices. Thus far the New Zealand economy has been relatively resilient, achieving about 3% growth in 2001, but the New Zealand business cycle tends to lag the US cycle by about six months, so the worst of the downturn may not hit until mid-2002. | 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 | 33.315 billion kWh (2000) | 55.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 18.92 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 9.38 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 35.823 billion kWh (2000) | 70.04 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 27%
hydro: 66% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Cook 3,764 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; native flora and fauna hard-hit by species introduced from outside | 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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic Seals, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | New Zealand European 74.5%, Maori 9.7%, other European 4.6%, Pacific Islander 3.8%, Asian and others 7.4% | 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 | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.3535 (January 2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8632 (1998), 1.5083 (1997) | koruny per US dollar - 28.209 (2003), 32.7385 (2002), 38.0353 (2001), 38.5984 (2000), 34.5692 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Silvia CARTWRIGHT (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Helen CLARK (since 10 December 1999) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael CULLEN (since NA September 2002) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
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 | $14.2 billion (2001 est.) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | dairy products, meat, wood and wood products, fish, machinery | machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) |
Exports - partners | Australia 20.4%, US 14.5%, Japan 13.5%, UK 5.4%, South Korea, China (2000) | 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 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant with four red five-pointed stars edged in white centered in the outer half of the flag; the stars represent the Southern Cross constellation | 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 - $75.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $161.1 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 23% services: 69% (1999) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 35.5% services: 61.4% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $19,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2001 est.) | 2.9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 00 S, 174 00 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | about 80% of the population lives in cities; Wellington is the southernmost national capital in the world | 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 | 1 (2002) | 2 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 92,200 km
paved: 53,568 km (including at least 144 km of expressways) unpaved: 38,632 km (1996) |
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%: 0%
highest 10%: 30% (1991 est.) |
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 | $12.5 billion (2001 est.) | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles and aircraft, petroleum, electronics, textiles, plastics | machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) |
Imports - partners | Australia 22.5%, US 17.5%, Japan 11%, UK 4%, China, Germany (2000) | 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 | 26 September 1907 (from UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3% (2001 est.) | 3.3% (2003) |
Industries | food processing, wood and paper products, textiles, machinery, transportation equipment, banking and insurance, tourism, mining | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | 6.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 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) | 2.6% (2001 est.) | 0.1% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ANZUS (US suspended security obligations to NZ on 11 August 1986), APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 36 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 2,850 sq km (1998 est.) | 240 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 1.92 million (2001 est.) | 5.25 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 65%, industry 25%, agriculture 10% (1995) (1995) | agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.8%
permanent crops: 6.44% other: 87.76% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 39.8%
permanent crops: 3.05% other: 57.15% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Maori (official) | Czech |
Legal system | based on English law, with special land legislation and land courts for Maoris; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | 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 House of Representatives - commonly called Parliament (120 seats; members elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 27 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NZLP 52, NP 27, NZFP 13, ACT New Zealand 9, Green Party 9, UF 8, other 2 |
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: 78.15 years
male: 75.17 years female: 81.27 years (2002 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: 99% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, islands in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of Australia | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 68,427 GRT/106,627 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal New Zealand Air Force | Czech Army: Ground Forces, Air Forces, Special Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $515.6 million (2002 est.) | $1,190.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY2001/02) | 2.1% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,010,316 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,623,386 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 850,185 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,003,748 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 26,480 (2002 est.) | males: 67,195 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: New Zealander(s)
adjective: New Zealand |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity | flooding |
Natural resources | natural gas, iron ore, sand, coal, timber, hydropower, gold, limestone | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 4.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 160 km; natural gas 1,000 km; liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 150 km | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | ACT New Zealand [Richard PREBBLE]; Alliance (a coalition of the New Labor Party, Democratic Party, New Zealand Liberal Party, and Mana Motuhake) [James (Jim) ANDERTON]; Green Party [Jeanette FITZSIMONS and Rod DONALD]; National Party or NP [William (Bill) English]; New Zealand First Party or NZFP [Winston PETERS]; New Zealand Labor Party or NZLP [Helen CLARK]; United Future or UF [leader NA]; United New Zealand or UNZ [Peter DUNNE] | 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 | NA | Bohemian and Moravian Trade Union Confederation [Milan STECH] |
Population | 3,908,037 (July 2002 est.) | 10,246,178 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.12% (2002 est.) | -0.05% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Tauranga, Wellington | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 124, FM 290, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Radios | 3.75 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,908 km
narrow gauge: 3,908 km 1.067-m gauge (506 km electrified) (2001) |
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 | Anglican 24%, Presbyterian 18%, Roman Catholic 15%, Methodist 5%, Baptist 2%, other Protestant 3%, unspecified or none 33% (1986) | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 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: excellent domestic and international systems
domestic: NA international: submarine cables to Australia and Fiji; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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 | 1.92 million (2000) | 3.626 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.2 million (2000) | 9,708,700 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 41 (plus 52 medium-power repeaters and over 650 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | predominately mountainous with some large coastal plains | 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 | 1.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2001 est.) | 9.9% (2003) |
Waterways | 1,609 km
note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements |
664 km (on Elbe, Vlatava, and Oder rivers) (2004) |