Western Sahara (2005) | Czech Republic (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
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 | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 114 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total:
71 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 42 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
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 | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 9.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues:
$16.7 billion expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | none | Prague |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
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 | NA deaths/1,000 population | 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $21.3 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | 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 | NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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 | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 52.898 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 18.744 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 8.735 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 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: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point:
Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Arab, Berber | 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 | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | 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 | none | 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 | NA | $28.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | machinery and transport equipment 44%, other manufactured goods 40%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (1999) |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 43%, Slovakia 8.4%, Austria 6.6%, Poland 5.6%, France 4% (1999) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | 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: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
3.7% industry: 41.8% services: 54.5% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $12,900 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
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 | - | 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 | NA | $31.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment 42%, other manufactured goods 33%, chemicals 12%, raw materials and fuels 10% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Germany 37.5%, Slovakia 6.7%, Austria 6.2%, Italy 5.9%, France 5.4% (1999) |
Independence | - | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 7.6% (2000) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 3.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 sq km | 240 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
Labor force | 12,000 | 5.203 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture 5%, industry 40%, services 55% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km |
total:
1,881 km border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land:
41% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 11% forests and woodland: 34% other: 12% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Czech |
Legal system | - | 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 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population:
74.73 years male: 71.23 years female: 78.43 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none (landlocked) |
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 | - | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun:
Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | flooding |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
Net migration rate | - | 0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 3,550 km (2000) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 | none | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions [Richard FALBR] |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 est.) | 10,264,212 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | NA | -0.07% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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 | Muslim | atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 3.869 million (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 4.346 million (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | 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 | NA children born/woman | 1.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 8.7% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | 303 km
note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000) |