##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Syria (2001) - Czech Republic (2003)
Compare Syria (2001) z Czech Republic (2003)
| Syria (2001) | Czech Republic (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus | 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:
39.92% (male 3,440,060; female 3,238,576) 15-64 years: 56.87% (male 4,868,816; female 4,644,870) 65 years and over: 3.21% (male 261,036; female 275,450) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 809,697; female 768,747)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 3,617,214; female 3,614,060) 65 years and over: 14% (male 554,922; female 884,576) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
| Airports | 100 (2000 est.) | 144 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
24 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 44
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 19 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
76 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 63 (2000 est.) |
total: 100
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 62 (2002) |
| Area | total:
185,180 sq km land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Background | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | 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. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved toward integration in world markets, a development that poses both opportunities and risks. In December 2002, the Czech Republic was invited to join the European Union (EU). It is expected that the Czech Republic will accede to the EU in 2004. |
| Birth rate | 30.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.01 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$2.25 billion expenditures: $5.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Damascus | Prague |
| Climate | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically hitting Damascus | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Coastline | 193 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Syrian Arab Republic conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | Czech koruna (CZK) |
| Death rate | 5.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.74 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2000 est.) | $23.8 billion (2002) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-2814 FAX: [963] (11) 224-7938 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Craig R. STAPLETON
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 Rustum al-ZU'BI chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
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 | Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976 | Liechtenstein's royal family claims restitution for 1,600 sq km of land in the Czech Republic confiscated in 1918; individual Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II; Austria has minor dispute with Czech Republic over the Temelin nuclear power plant and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | $108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002) |
| Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy is on a shaky footing because of Damascus's failure to implement extensive economic reform. The dominant agricultural sector remains underdeveloped, with roughly 80% of agricultural land still dependent on rain-fed sources. Although Syria has sufficient water supplies in the aggregate at normal levels of precipitation, the great distance between major water supplies and population centers poses serious distribution problems. The water problem is exacerbated by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. Private investment is critical to the modernization of the agricultural, energy, and export sectors. Oil production is leveling off, and the efforts of the nonoil sector to penetrate international markets have fallen short. Syria's inadequate infrastructure, outmoded technological base, and weak educational system make it vulnerable to future shocks and hamper competition with neighbors such as Jordan and Israel. The government recognizes the need to open the economy to additional domestic and foreign investment. | 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. But revival in the European economies remains essential to stepped-up growth. |
| Electricity - consumption | 16.684 billion kWh (1999) | 55.6 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 18.92 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 9.38 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 17.94 billion kWh (1999) | 70.04 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
57.64% hydro: 42.36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9% nuclear: 20% other: 1% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum refining; inadequate supplies of 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | 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 | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) | koruny per US dollar - 32.74 (2002), 38.04 (2001), 38.6 (2000), 34.57 (1999), 32.28 (1998) |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984) head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Khalid RA'D (since 13 March 2000), Muhammad NAJI 'UTRI (since 13 March 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died 10 June 2000; 20 June 2000 the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council 25 June 2000 |
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 Vladimir SPIDLA (since 12 July 2002), Deputy Prime Ministers Bohuslav SOBOTKA (since 20 August 2003), Cyril SVOBODA (since July 2002), Stanislav GROSS (since July 2002), Petr MARES (since July 2002) 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); 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 | $4.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum 65%, textiles 10%, manufactured goods 10%, fruits and vegetables 7%, raw cotton 5%, live sheep 2%, phosphates 1% (1998 est.) | machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000) |
| Exports - partners | Germany 21%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Saudi Arabia 9%, Turkey 8% (1999 est.) | Germany 40.2%, Slovakia 7.1%, Austria 5.8%, UK 5.1%, Poland 5%, France 4% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white 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 - $50.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $157.1 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
29% industry: 22% services: 49% (1997) |
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 41% services: 55.2% (2001) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,100 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 2% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1999 est.) | 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 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
| Highways | total:
41,451 km paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
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%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | 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 | $3.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 192,300 bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, foodstuffs/animals 20%, metal and metal products 15%, textiles 10%, chemicals 10% (1998 est.) | machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000) |
| Imports - partners | France 11%, Italy 8%, Germany 7%, Turkey 5%, China 4% (1999 est.) | Germany 39.1%, Slovakia 6%, Austria 5.6%, Italy 5.4%, France 5.3%, Poland 4.1%, UK 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.5% (2002) |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
| Infant mortality rate | 33.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 5.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 0.6% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | more than 300 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 9,060 sq km (1993 est.) | 240 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
| Labor force | 4.7 million (1998 est.) | 5.203 million (1999 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
2,253 km border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
| Land use | arable land:
28% permanent crops: 4% permanent pastures: 43% forests and woodland: 3% other: 22% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 40%
permanent crops: 3.04% other: 56.96% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Czech |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; 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 People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, non-NPF 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receive one-half of the seats |
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 25-26 October and 1-2 November 2002 (next to be held NA November 2004); 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 14, CSSD 11, US 9, KSCM 3, independents 18; 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:
68.77 years male: 67.63 years female: 69.98 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 75.18 years
male: 71.69 years female: 78.87 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
| Map references | Middle East | Europe |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
41 NM territorial sea: 35 NM |
none (landlocked) |
| Merchant marine | total:
133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 425,392 GRT/612,097 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 117, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Defense Forces, Police and Security Force | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense Force |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $1,190.2 million (FY01) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY98) | 2.1% (FY01) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
4,384,528 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,622,192 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
2,448,630 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,002,202 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
200,859 (2001 est.) |
males: 67,777 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
| Nationality | noun:
Syrian(s) adjective: Syrian |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | flooding |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km | gas 7,020 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general of the party, and chairman of the National Progressive Front after the death of Hafiz al-ASAD on 10 June 2000]; Arab Socialist Unionist Movement or ASU [Sami SOUFAN]; Arab Socialist Party [Abd al-Ghani KANNUT]; Socialist Unionist Democratic Party [Ahmad al-ASAD]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL] | Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Miroslav KALOUSEK, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Michael ZANTOVSKY, 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 [Jan SULA, chairman]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Vladimir SPIDLA, chairman]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Petr MARES, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Karel KUHNL, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
| Population | 16,728,808
note: in addition, there are about 38,200 people living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 18,200 Arabs (16,500 Druze and 1,700 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (July 2001 est.) |
10,249,216 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.54% (2001 est.) | -0.08% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
| Radios | 4.15 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total:
2,750 km standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2000) |
total: 9,462 km
standard gauge: 9,363 km 1.435-m gauge (1,745 km electrified) narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%, atheist 39.8% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 3.869 million (2000) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 4.346 million (2000) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | 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 | 3.95 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | 9.8% (2002) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | 303 km
note: the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river (2000) |
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