Map of Czech Republic | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia, a parliamentarian democracy. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, the new country's predominantly Czech leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the increasingly strident demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Slovaks, the Sudeten Germans, and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the territory that today comprises Czechia, and Slovakia became an independent state allied with Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) fell within the Soviet sphere of influence when the pro-Soviet Communist party staged a coup in February 1948. In 1968, an invasion by fellow Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "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. The country formally added the short-form name Czechia in 2016, while also continuing to use the full form name, the Czech Republic.


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Location: Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria

Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 78,867 km²
Land: 77,247 km²
Water: 1,620 km²
Comparative: about two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than South Carolina

Land boundaries
Total: 2,046 km
Border countries: (4) Austria 402 km; Germany 704 km; Poland 699 km; Slovakia 241 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain: Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country

Elevation
Highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Lowest point: Labe (Elbe) River 115 m
Mean elevation: 433 m

Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 54.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 41% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 12.8% (2018 est.)
Forest: 34.4% (2018 est.)
Other: 10.8% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 220 km² (2020)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 630 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 700 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 13.5 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding

Geography
Note 1: 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
Note 2: the Hranice Abyss in Czechia is the world's deepest surveyed underwater cave at 404 m (1,325 ft); its survey is not complete and it could end up being some 800-1,200 m deep


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Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, but the northern and eastern regions tend to have larger urban concentrations: 10,706,242 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.1% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 10.1% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Czech(s)
Adjective: Czech

Ethnic groups: Czech 57.3%, Moravian 3.4%, other 7.7%, unspecified 31.6% (2021 est.)
Note: includes only persons with one ethnicity

Languages: Czech (official) 88.4%, Slovak 1.5%, other 2.6%, unspecified 7.2%
Note: includes only persons with one mother tongue (2021 est.)
Major-language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 7%, other believers belonging to a church or religious society 6% (includes Evangelical United Brethren Church and Czechoslovak Hussite Church), believers unaffiliated with a religious society 9.1%, none 47.8%, unspecified 30.1% (2021 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.68% (male 808,583/female 763,540)
15-64 years: 64.18% (male 3,514,664/female 3,356,764)
65 years and over: 21.13% (2023 est.) (male 954,139/female 1,308,552)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.4
Youth dependency ratio: 25.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 32.2
Potential support ratio: 3.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 43.9 years (2023 est.)
Male: 42.5 years
Female: 45.4 years

Population growth rate: 0.1% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 10 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 12.3 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 3.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, but the northern and eastern regions tend to have larger urban concentrations

Urbanization
Urban population: 74.6% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.2% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1.323 million PRAGUE (capital) (2023)

Environment
Current issues: air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; land pollution caused by industry, mining, and agriculture
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 14.34 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 102.22 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 13.11 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.5 years (2020 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 3 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.3 years (2023 est.)
Male: 75.1 years
Female: 81.6 years

Total fertility rate: 1.74 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.9% of population
Improved rural: 99.8% of population
Improved total: 99.9% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.1% of population
Unimproved rural: 0.2% of population
Unimproved total: 0.1% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 9.2% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 4.15 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 6.6 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 26% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 12.73 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 6.77 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 2.73 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 3.24 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 30.7% (2020 est.)
Male: 35% (2020 est.)
Female: 26.4% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 5.1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2011)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 17 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 7.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 8.7%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Czech Republic
Conventional short form: Czechia
Local long form: Ceska republika
Local short form: Cesko
Etymology: name derives from the Czechs, a West Slavic tribe who rose to prominence in the late 9th century A.D.; the country officially adopted the English short-form name of Czechia on 1 July 2016

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
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
Etymology: the name may derive from an old Slavic root "praga" or "prah", meaning "ford", and refer to the city's origin at a crossing point of the Vltava (Moldau) River

Administrative divisions: 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia), Karlovarsky (Karlovy Vary), Kralovehradecky (Hradec Kralove), Liberecky (Liberec), Moravskoslezsky (Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky (Olomouc), Pardubicky (Pardubice), Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky (Usti), Vysocina (Highlands), Zlinsky (Zlin)

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia); note - although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day

National holiday: Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)

Constitution
History: previous 1960; latest ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993
Amendments: passage requires at least three-fifths concurrence of members present in both houses of Parliament; amended several times, last in 2021

Legal system: new civil code enacted in 2014, replacing civil code of 1964 - based on former Austro-Hungarian civil codes and socialist theory - and reintroducing former Czech legal terminology

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Czechia
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Petr PAVEL (since 9 March 2023)
Head of government: Prime Minister Petr FIALA (since 17 December 2021); First Deputy Prime Minister Vit RAKUSAN (since 17 December 2021), Deputy Prime Ministers Marian JURECKA, Ivan BARTOS, Vlastimil VALEK (all since 17 December 2021)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); elections last held on 27-28 January 2023 the second round and 13-14 January 2023 for the 1st round; prime minister appointed by the president for a 4-year term
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description:
Elections:
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (organized into Civil Law and Commercial Division, and Criminal Division each with a court chief justice, vice justice, and several judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 justices); Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 36 judges, including the court president and vice president, and organized into 6-, 7-, and 9-member chambers)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges proposed by the Chamber of Deputies and appointed by the president; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; judges appointed for 10-year, renewable terms; Supreme Administrative Court judges selected by the president of the Court; unlimited terms
Subordinate courts: High Court; regional and district courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Miloslav STASEK (since 16 September 2022)
In the us chancery: 3,900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008-3,803
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 274-9,100
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 966-8,540
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bijan SABET (since 15 February 2023)
From the us embassy: Trziste 15, 118 01 Praha 1 - Mala Strana
From the us mailing address: 5,630 Prague Place, Washington DC 20,521-5,630
From the us telephone: [420] 257-022-000
From the us FAX: [420] 257-022-809
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
Note: combines the white and red colors of Bohemia with blue from the arms of Moravia; is identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia

National symbols: silver (or white), double-tailed, rampant lion; national colors: white, red, blue

National anthem
Name: "Kde domov muj?" (Where is My Home?)
Lyrics/music: Josef Kajetan TYL/Frantisek Jan SKROUP
Note: adopted 1993; the anthem was originally written as incidental music to the play "Fidlovacka" (1834), it soon became very popular as an unofficial anthem of the Czech nation; its first verse served as the official Czechoslovak anthem beginning in 1918, while the second verse (Slovak) was dropped after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 17 (all cultural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: high income, diversified EU economy; advanced services and automotive exporter; mostly intra-EU trader; low unemployment; usually maintains a positive trade balance; large investments in systems innovation and information technologies

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 47.4% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.2% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 24.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.1% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 79.9% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -72.3% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 36.9% (2017 est.)
Services: 60.8% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, sugar beet, milk, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, maize, pork, triticale, poultry

Industries: motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 5.266 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 7.6% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 6.9%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 8.7%

Population below poverty line: 10.1% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 25.3 (2019 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 4.1%
Highest 10%: 21.7% (2015 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $103.838 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $103.167 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: 1.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 14.34% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.17% of GDP (2017 est.)
From coal: 0.14% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Partners: Germany 31%, Slovakia 7%, Poland 6%, France 5% (2019)
Commodities: cars and vehicle parts, computers, broadcasting equipment, office machinery and parts, insulated wiring (2021)

Imports:
Partners: Germany 27%, China 12%, Poland 9%, Slovakia 5% (2019)
Commodities: broadcasting equipment, cars and vehicle parts, office machinery/parts, computers, packaged medicines (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 22.485 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 60.814 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Exports: 23.521 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Imports: 13.368 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 4.117 billion kWh (2020 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 47% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 37.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 4.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 33.806 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 37.212 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 1.885 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 3.795 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 2.927 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 6,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 219,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 400 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 150,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 15 million barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 177,500 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products exports: 52,200 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Products imports: 83,860 bbl/day (2017 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 189.185 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Consumption: 8,815,133,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Imports: 7,590,318,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 3.964 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 99.533 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 57.268 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 25.526 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 16.739 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 161.972 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,214,380 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 13,129,905 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 125 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: 22 TV stations operate nationally, with 17 of them in private hands; publicly operated Czech Television has 5 national channels; throughout the country, there are some 350 TV channels in operation, many through cable, satellite, and IPTV subscription services; 63 radio broadcasters are registered, operating over 80 radio stations, including 7 multiregional radio stations or networks; publicly operated broadcaster Czech Radio operates 4 national, 14 regional, and 4 Internet stations; both Czech Radio and Czech Television are partially financed through a license fee (2019)

Internet
Country code: .cz
Users total: 9.13 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 83% (20,201 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 3,845,426 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 36 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces: Czech Armed Forces: Land Forces, Air Forces, Cyber Forces, Special Forces (2023)

Military service age and obligation: 18-28 years of age for voluntary military service for men and women; conscription abolished 2004 (2023)
Note: as of 2020, women comprised about 13% of the military's full-time personnel

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 48
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 5,727,200 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 25.23 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: OK

Airports: 128 (2021)
With paved runways: 41
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 87
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 1 (2021)

Pipelines: 7,160 km gas, 675 km oil, 94 km refined products (2016)

Railways
Total: 9,548 km (2020) 3,242 km electrified

Roadways
Total: 55,744 km (2019) (includes urban and category I, II, III roads)
Paved: 55,744 km (2019) (includes 1,252 km of expressways)

Waterways: 664 km (2010) (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
River ports:


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 373,080 (Ukraine) (as of 10 December 2023)
Stateless persons: 1,625 (2022)

Illicit drugs: main country of origin of methamphetamine in European markets; manufacture of methamphetamine continues to be mostly based on pseudoephedrine from Poland or Turkey