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Background Note: Czech Republic
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Czech Republic
Geography
Area: 78,864 sq. kilometers; about the size of Virginia.
Cities: Capital--Prague (pop. 1.16 million). Other
cities--Brno (376,172), Ostrava (314,744), Plzen (165,529).
Terrain: Low mountains to the north and south, hills in the
west.
Climate: Temperate.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Czech(s).
Population (est.): 10.2 million.
Annual growth rate: 0.1%.
Ethnic groups: Czech (90.4% or 9.25 million); Moravian (more
than 380,000); Slovak (193,000); Roma (171,000); Silesian
(11,000); Polish (52,000); German (39,000); Ukrainian (22,000);
and Vietnamese (18,000).
Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant.
Language: Czech.
Education: Literacy—99.8%.
Health: Life expectancy--males 72.3 yrs., females 78.5
yrs.
Work force (5.13 million): Industry, construction, and
commerce—54.3%; government and other services--41%;
agriculture—4.7%.
Government
Type: Parliamentary republic.
Independence: The Czech Republic was established January 1, 1993
(former Czechoslovak state established 1918).
Constitution: Signed December 16, 1992.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime
minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--Chamber
of Deputies, Senate. Judicial--Supreme Court,
Constitutional Court.
Political parties (June 2006 election): Civic Democratic Party
(ODS), 81 seats; Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), 74 seats;
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), 26 seats;
Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak Peoples Party (KDU-CSL),
13 seats; Green Party (SZ), 6 seats.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Administrative subdivisions: Two regions--Bohemia and Moravia;
13 administrative districts and Prague.
Economy
GDP (2005): $109.3 billion.
Per capital income: $10,710.
Natural resources: Coal, coke, timber, lignite, uranium,
magnesite.
Agriculture: Products--wheat, rye, oats, corn, barley,
hops, potatoes, sugar beets, hogs, cattle, horses.
Industry: Types--motor vehicles, machinery and equipment,
iron, steel, cement, sheet glass, armaments, chemicals,
ceramics, wood, paper products, and footwear.
Trade (2005): Exports--$79 billion (est.): motor
vehicles, machinery, iron, steel, chemicals, raw materials,
consumer goods. Imports--$78 billion (est.). Trading
partners--Germany (32%), Slovakia, Poland, France, Austria,
Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, U.K., China, United States.
PEOPLE
The majority of the 10.2 million inhabitants of the Czech
Republic are ethnically and linguistically Czech (95%). Other
ethnic groups include Germans, Roma, and Poles. After the 1993
division of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, some Slovaks
remained in the Czech Republic and comprise roughly 3% of the
current population. The border between the Czech Republic and
Slovakia is open for citizens of the former Czechoslovakia. Laws
establishing religious freedom were passed shortly after the
revolution of 1989, lifting oppressive regulations enacted by
the former communist regime. Major denominations and their
estimated percentage populations are Roman Catholic (39%) and
Protestant (3%). A large percentage of the Czech population
claim to be atheists (40%), and 16% describe themselves as
uncertain. The Jewish community numbers a few thousand today; a
synagogue in Prague memorializes the names of more than 80,000
Czechoslovak Jews who perished in World War II. |
