Czechia

Airports

total: 155 usable: 123 with permanent-surface runways: 27 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 17 with runways 1,060-2,439 m: 52 note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Highways

total: 55,890 km (1988) paved: NA unpaved: NA

Inland waterways

NA km; the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river

Merchant marine

18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 225,934 GRT/350,330 DWT, bulk 7, cargo 11

Pipelines

natural gas 5,400 km

Ports

coastal outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin), Croatia (Rijeka), Slovenia (Koper), Germany (Hamburg, Rostock); principal river ports are Prague on the Vltava, Decin on the Elbe (Labe)

Railroads

9,434 km total (1988)

Telecommunications

NA

Branches

Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense, Railroad Units

Defense expenditures

23 billion koruny, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 2,747,126; fit for military service 2,091,532; reach military age (18) annually 93,342 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

largely self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry; exporter of forest products

Budget

revenues: $11.9 billion expenditures: $11.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Currency

1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru

Economic aid

donor: the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89)

Electricity

capacity: 16,500,000 kW production: 62.2 billion kWh consumption per capita: 6,030 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 30.122 (January 1994), 29.153 (1993), 28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991), 17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989) note: values before 1993 reflect Czechoslovak exchange rates

Exports

$12.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, minerals, and metals partners: Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, US, UK, CIS republics

External debt

$8.6 billion (October 1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe

Imports

$12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manfactured goods, raw materials, chemicals, agricultural products partners: Slovakia, CIS republics, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Hungary, UK, Italy

Industrial production

growth rate -5.5% (December 1993 over December 1992)

Industries

fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and equipment, coal, motor vehicles, glass, armaments

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

19% (1993 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $75 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$7,200 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

0% (1993 est.)

Overview

The dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two independent nation states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia - on 1 January 1993 has complicated the task of moving toward a more open and decentralized economy. The old Czechoslovakia, even though highly industrialized by East European standards, suffered from an aging capital plant, lagging technology, and a deficiency in energy and many raw materials. In January 1991, approximately one year after the end of communist control of Eastern Europe, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic launched a sweeping program to convert its almost entirely state-owned and controlled economy to a market system. In 1991-92 these measures resulted in privatization of some medium- and small-scale economic activity and the setting of more than 90% of prices by the market - but at a cost in inflation, unemployment, and lower output. For Czechoslovakia as a whole inflation in 1991 was roughly 50% and output fell 15%. In 1992, in the Czech lands, inflation dropped to an estimated 12.5% and GDP was down a more moderate 5%. In 1993, Czech aggregate output remained unchanged, prices rose about 19%, and unemployment hovered above 3%; exports to Slovakia fell roughly 30%. An estimated 40% of the economy was privately owned. In 1994, Prague expects 2% to 3% growth in GDP, roughly 9% inflation, and 5% unemployment. Economic growth in 1994 is less important than continued economic restructuring; a mere 1% growth would be noteworthy if restructuring is accompanied by rising unemployment and enterprise bankruptcies.

Unemployment rate

3.3% (1993 est.)

Area

total area: 78,703 sq km land area: 78,645 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than South Carolina

Climate

temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues: air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia centered around Zeplica and in northern Moravia around Ostrava presents health hazards; acid rain damaging forests natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

International disputes

Liechtenstein claims l,606 square miles of Czech territory confiscated from its royal family in 1918; Sudeten German claims for restitution of property confiscated in connection with their expulsion after World War II versus the Czech Republic claims that restitution does not proceed before February 1948 when the Communists seized power; unresolved property issues with Slovakia over redistribution of property of the former Czechoslovak federal government

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

total 1,880 km, Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 214 km

Land use

arable land: NA% permanent crops: NA% meadows and pastures: NA% forest and woodland: NA% other: NA%

Location

Central Europe, between Germany and Slovakia

Map references

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite

Note

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

Terrain

two main regions: Bohemia in the west, consisting of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; and Moravia in the east, consisting of very hilly country

Administrative divisions

8 regions (kraje, kraj - singular); Jihocesky, Jihomoravsky, Praha, Severocesky, Severomoravsky, Stredocesky, Vychodocesky, Zapadocesky

Capital

Prague

Chamber of Deputies

elections last held 5-6 June 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (200 total) Civic Democratic Party/Christian Democratic Party 76, Left Bloc 35, Czech Social Democratic Party 16, Liberal Social Union 16, Christian Democratic Union/Czech People's Party 15, Assembly for the Republic/Republican Party 14, Civic Democratic Alliance 14, Movement for Self-Governing Democracy for Moravia and Silesia 14

Constitution

ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993

Digraph

EZ

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Michael ZANTOVSKY chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 363-6315 or 6316

Executive branch

chief of state: President Vaclav HAVEL (since 26 January 1993); election last held 26 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998); results - Vaclav HAVEL elected by the National Council head of government: Prime Minister Vaclav KLAUS (since NA June 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers Ivan KOCARNIK, Josef LUX, Jan KALVODA (since NA June 1992) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president on recommendation of the prime minister

FAX

(202) 966-8540

FAX

[42] (2) 531-193

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (almost identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia)

Independence

1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, Constitutional Court

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 Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory

Legislative branch

bicameral National Council (Narodni rada)

Member of

BIS, CCC, CE (guest), CEI, CERN, COCOM (cooperating), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, IFCTU, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NSG, PCA, UN (as of 8 January 1993), UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOMIG, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Names

conventional long form: Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cechy

National holiday

National Liberation Day, 9 May; Founding of the Republic, 28 October

Other political or pressure groups

Left Bloc; Liberal Party; Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions

Political parties and leaders

Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Vaclav KLAUS, chairman; Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL), Josef LUX, chairman; Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), Jan KALVODA, chairman; Christian Democratic Party (KDS), Ivan PILIP, chairman; Czech Social Democratic Party, Milos ZEMAN, chairman; Czech-Moravian Center Party, Jan KYCER, chairman; Liberal Social Union (LSU), Frantisek TRNKA; Communist Party of Bohemia/Moravia (KSCM), Miroslav GREBENICEK, chairman; Association for the Republic - Republican Party, Miroslav SLADEK, chairman; Left Bloc, Marie STIBOROVA, chairman

Senate

elections not yet held; seats (81 total)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Adrian A. BASORA embassy: Trziste 15, 11801, Prague 1 mailing address: Unit 25402; APO AE 09213 telephone: [42] (2) 251-0847

Birth rate

13.23 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

11.14 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Czech 94.4%, Slovak 3%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Gypsy 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 1%

Infant mortality rate

9.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

5.389 million by occupation: industry 37.9%, agriculture 8.1%, construction 8.8%, communications and other 45.2% (1990)

Languages

Czech, Slovak

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.08 years male: 69.38 years female: 76.99 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: Czech(s) adjective: Czech

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

10,408,280 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.21% (1994 est.)

Religions

atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%

Total fertility rate

1.84 children born/woman (1994 est.)