Trinidad and Tobago (2006) | Czech Republic (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 regional corporations, 2 city corporations, 3 borough corporations, 1 ward
regional corporations: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco city corporations: Port-of-Spain, San Fernando borough corporations: Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin ward: Tobago |
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: 20.1% (male 109,936/female 104,076)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 398,657/female 361,093) 65 years and over: 8.6% (male 41,162/female 50,918) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.1% (male 738,391/female 698,999)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,657,877/female 3,627,493) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 588,531/female 917,453) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 6 (2006) | 122 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 45
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 18 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 50 (2007) |
Area | total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 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 Delaware | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Independence was attained in 1962. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing. | 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 | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.5 billion
expenditures: $4.06 billion; including capital expenditures of $117.3 million (2005 est.) |
revenues: $56.31 billion
expenditures: $62.57 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Port-of-Spain
geographic coordinates: 10 39 N, 61 31 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to December) | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 362 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 August 1976 | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
conventional short form: Trinidad and Tobago |
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
Death rate | 10.57 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.767 billion (2005 est.) | $55.47 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Roy L. AUSTIN
embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port-of-Spain mailing address: P. O. Box 752, Port-of-Spain telephone: [1] (868) 622-6371 through 6376 FAX: [1] (868) 628-5462 |
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 Marina Annette VALERE
chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
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 | Barbados will assert its claim before the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; Guyana has also expressed its intention to challenge this boundary as it may extend into its waters as well | in 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in an Austrian parliamentary motion threatening international legal action |
Economic aid - recipient | $24 million (1999 est.) | $278.7 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) |
Economy - overview | Trinidad and Tobago, the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low inflation and a growing trade surplus. Prospects for growth in 2006 are good as prices for oil, petrochemicals, and liquefied natural gas are expected to remain high, and foreign direct investment continues to grow to support expanded capacity in the energy sector. The government is coping with a rise in violent crime. | 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. However, due to significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections, the government is not likely to meet this goal. Negotiations on pension and healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. 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 | 5.651 billion kWh (2003) | 59.72 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 24.99 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 12.35 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.076 billion kWh (2003) | 77.38 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: El Cerro del Aripo 940 m |
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion | 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indian (South Asian) 40%, African 37.5%, mixed 20.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 0.8% (2000 census) | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2842 (2005), 6.299 (2004), 6.2951 (2003), 6.2487 (2002), 6.2332 (2001) | koruny per US dollar - 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George Maxwell RICHARDS (since 17 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Patrick MANNING (since 24 December 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among the members of Parliament elections: president elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 February 2003 (next to be held in 2008); the president usually appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives election results: George Maxwell RICHARDS elected president; percent of electoral college vote - 43% |
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 9 January 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Petr NECAS (since 9 January 2007), Jiri CUNEK (since 9 January 2007), Martin BURSIK (since 9 January 2007), and Alexandr VONDRA (since 9 January 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next election to be held in 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 bbl/day | 20,930 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
Exports - partners | US 68.8%, Jamaica 5.5%, Barbados 2.9% (2005) | Germany 31.9%, Slovakia 8.5%, Poland 5.7%, France 5.6%, Austria 5.1%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side | 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: 0.7%
industry: 57% services: 42.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 39.1% services: 58.2% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2005 est.) | 6.4% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 61 00 W | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | Pitch Lake, on Trinidad's southwestern coast, is the world's largest natural reservoir of asphalt | 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 (2007) |
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 South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime; significant consumer of ecstasy |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 203,700 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
Imports - partners | US 27.7%, Venezuela 13.3%, Brazil 11.8%, Japan 5.5%, Canada 4.2% (2005) | Germany 32%, Netherlands 6.5%, Slovakia 6.1%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.7%, Austria 4.9%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 31 August 1962 (from UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 9% (2005 est.) | 9.5% (2006 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 25.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2005 est.) | 2.5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | 240 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (comprised of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeals; the chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; other justices are appointed by the president on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission); High Court of Justice; Caribbean Court of Appeals member; Court of Appeals; the highest court of appeal is the Privy Council in London | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 620,000 (2005 est.) | 5.334 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 9.5%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, construction and utilities 12.4%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 14.62%
permanent crops: 9.16% other: 76.22% (2005) |
arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese | Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census) |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; 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 | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the President, 6 by the opposition party for a maximum term of five years) and the House of Representatives (36 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 October 2002 (next to be held by October 2007) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote - PNM 55.5%, UNC 44.5%; seats by party - PNM 20, UNC 16 note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly with 12 members serving four-year terms; last election held January 2005; seats by party - PNM 11, DAC 1 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 20-21 and 27-28 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 41, CSSD 12, KDU-CSL 11, others 15, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.76 years
male: 65.71 years female: 67.86 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 76.42 years
male: 73.14 years female: 79.88 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.6% male: 99.1% female: 98% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the outer edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 16,760 GRT/7,941 DWT
by type: liquefied gas 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (US 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2006) |
registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force: Ground Force, Coast Guard (includes air wing) (2004) | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $66.72 million (2003 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2003 est.) | 1.81% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian |
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms | flooding |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, asphalt | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | -11.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 253 km; gas 1,278 km; oil 571 km (2006) | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH]; People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]; Team Unity or TU [Ramesh MAHARAJ]; United National Congress or UNC [Basdeo PANDAY]; Democratic Action Committee or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES], note - only active in Tobago | Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Jana HYBASKOVA]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan HADRAVA]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Jamaat-al Muslimeen [Yasin BAKR] | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] |
Population | 1,065,842 (July 2006 est.) | 10,228,744 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 21% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.87% (2006 est.) | -0.071% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 18, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Railways | - | total: 9,597 km
standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, other Christian 5.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.641 male(s)/female total population: 0.951 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent international service; good local service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-868; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Barbados and Guyana |
general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily; access to the fixed-line telephone network expanded throughout the 1990s; mobile telephone usage increased sharply beginning in the mid-1990s and there are now about 120 mobile telephones per 100 persons
domestic: 93% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 323,500 (2005) | 3,217,300 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 800,000 (2005) | 12.15 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2005) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly plains with some hills and low mountains | 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 | 1.74 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 8% (2005 est.) | 8.4% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | - | 664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006) |