Turks and Caicos Islands (2008) | Czech Republic (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Brnensky, Budejovicky, Jihlavsky, Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Olomoucky, Ostravsky, Pardubicky, Plzensky, Praha*, Stredocesky, Ustecky, Zlinsky |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.3% (male 3,466/female 3,345)
15-64 years: 64.8% (male 7,398/female 6,690) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 394/female 453) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
16.09% (male 847,219; female 804,731) 15-64 years: 69.99% (male 3,592,984; female 3,590,802) 65 years and over: 13.92% (male 549,538; female 878,938) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, beans, cassava (tapioca), citrus fruits; fish | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 8 (2007) | 114 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
43 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 16 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory. | After World War II, 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 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. |
Birth rate | 21.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $47 million
expenditures: $33.6 million (1997-98 est.) |
revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Grand Turk (Cockburn Town)
geographic coordinates: 21 28 N, 71 08 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Prague |
Climate | tropical; marine; moderated by trade winds; sunny and relatively dry | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 389 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2006 (effective 9 August 2006) | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turks and Caicos Islands abbreviation: TCI |
conventional long form:
Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Ceska Republika |
Currency | - | Czech koruna (CZK) |
Death rate | 4.23 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $21.3 billion (2000) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Steven J. COFFEY 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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexsandr VONDRA 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 | have received Haitians fleeing economic and civil disorder | 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 nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
Economic aid - recipient | $4.1 million (1997) | $NA |
Economy - overview | The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, offshore financial services, and fishing. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the leading source of tourists, accounting for more than three-quarters of the 175,000 visitors that arrived in 2004. Major sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. | Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. The economy grew about 2.5% in 2000 and should achieve somewhat higher growth in 2001. Growth is led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is down to 8.7% as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 3.8% but still moderate. 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 add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 10.76 million kWh (2005) | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 11.57 million kWh (2005) | 67.642 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
77.8% hydro: 3.43% nuclear: 18.77% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Hills 49 m |
lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources, private cisterns collect rainwater | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests |
Environment - international agreements | - | 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, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, mixed, European, or North American 10% | 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 | the US dollar is used | koruny per US dollar - 37.425 (January 2001), 38.598 (2000), 34.569 (1999), 32.281 (1998), 31.698 (1997), 27.145 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Richard TAUWHARE (since 11 July 2005)
head of government: Premier Michael Eugene MISICK (since 15 August 2003); note - the office of premier was created in the 2006 constitution cabinet: Cabinet consists of the governor, the premier, six ministers appointed by the governor from among the members of the House of Assembly, and the attorney general elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is appointed premier by the governor |
chief of state:
President Vaclav HAVEL (since 2 February 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Milos ZEMAN (since 17 July 1998); Deputy Prime Ministers Vladimir SPIDLA (since 22 July 1998), Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 22 July 1998), Jan KAVAN (since 8 December 1999) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held 20 January 1998 (next to be held NA January 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav HAVEL reelected president; Vaclav HAVEL received 47 of 81 votes in the Senate and 99 out of 200 votes in the Chamber of Deputies (second round of voting) |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | lobster, dried and fresh conch, conch shells | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US, UK (2006) | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the colonial shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield is yellow and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus | 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 - $132.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 45 N, 71 35 W | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | about 40 islands (eight inhabited) | 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 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
55,432 km paved: 55,432 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 | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; domestic consumption - especially of locally produced synthetic drugs - on the rise |
Imports | 83.55 bbl/day (2004) | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | food and beverages, tobacco, clothing, manufactures, construction materials | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US, UK (2006) | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.6% (2000) |
Industries | tourism, offshore financial services | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (1995) | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), UPU | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | more than 300 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 240 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 4,848 (1990 est.) | 5.203 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | note: about 33% in government and 20% in agriculture and fishing; significant numbers in tourism, financial, and other services | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 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: 2.33%
permanent crops: 0% other: 97.67% (2005) |
arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | Czech |
Legal system | based on laws of England and Wales, with a few adopted from Jamaica and The Bahamas | 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 Assembly (21 seats of which 15 are popularly elected; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 February 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 60%, PDM 40%; seats by party - PNP 13, PDM 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 12 and 19 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Chamber of Deputies - last held 19-20 June 1998 (next to be held by NA June 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - KDU-CSL 28, ODS 22, CSSD 15, ODA 7, US 4, KSCM 3, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - CSSD 32.3%, ODS 27.7%, KSCM 11%, KDU-CSL 9.0%, US 8.6%; seats by party - CSSD 74, ODS 63, KSCM 24, KDU-CSL 20, US 18, CSNS 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.95 years
male: 72.69 years female: 77.32 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of The Bahamas, north of Haiti | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Territorial Defense, Railroad Units |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.2 billion (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.2% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,653,456 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
2,024,070 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
69,393 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 30 August (1976) | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: none
adjective: none |
noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | frequent hurricanes | flooding |
Natural resources | spiny lobster, conch | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | 9.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
People - note | destination and transit point for illegal Haitian immigrants bound for the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, and the US | - |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) |
Political parties and leaders | People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Floyd SEYMOUR]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Michael Eugene MISICK] | Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jan KASAL, chairman]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Daniel KROUPA, chairman]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Vaclav KLAUS, 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 [Milos ZEMAN, chairman]; Democratic Union or DEU [Ratibor MAJZLIK, chairman]; Freedom Union or US [Karel KUEHNL, chairman]; Quad Coalition [Cyril SVOBODA, chairman] (includes KDU-CSL, US, ODA, DEU); Republicans of Miroslav SLADEK or RMS [Miroslav SLADEK, chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
Population | 21,746 (July 2007 est.) | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.722% (2007 est.) | -0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000) |
Radios | - | 3,159,134 (December 2000) |
Railways | - | total:
9,444 km standard gauge: 9,350 km 1.435-m standard gauge (2,843 km electrified; 1,929 km double track) narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (2000) |
Religions | Baptist 40%, Anglican 18%, Methodist 16%, Church of God 12%, other 14% (1990) | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.036 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.106 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.073 male(s)/female (2007 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 (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully digital system with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service available international: country code - 1-649; the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic telecommunications submarine cable provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic 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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5,700 (2002) | 3.869 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,700 (1999) | 4.346 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (broadcasts received from The Bahamas; 2 cable television networks) (2003) | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | low, flat limestone; extensive marshes and mangrove swamps | 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 | 3.02 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (1997 est.) | 8.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |