Country Facts - Czech Republic

The People

Nationality
Czech(s)

Ethnic Composition

Czech	94.4%
Slovak	3.0%
Other	2.6%

Religious Composition

Roman Catholic	39.2%
Protestant	4.6%
Orthodox	3.0%
Other and nonaffiliated	13.4%
Declared atheist	39.8%

Languages Spoken

Czech (official), Slovak.

Education and Literacy

Education is free through the university level. The adult literacy rate is 99 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 5,203,000

By occupation:

Services	46.8%
Industry	32.0%
Construction	8.7%
Transportation	6.9%
Agriculture	5.6%

Geography

Land Mass Total

30,450 sq mi (78,866 sq km)

Land

29,836 sq mi (77,276 sq km)

Water

613 sq mi (1,590 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 1,168 mi (1,881 km)
Border countries: Austria 224 mi (362 km), Germany 401 mi (646 km), Poland
408 mi (658 km), Slovakia 133 mi (215 km)

Coastline

0 mi (0 km), landlocked

Climate/Weather

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 extremes

Lowest: Elbe River 377 ft (115 m)
Highest: Sne~ka 5,255 ft (1,602 m)

Natural Resources

Hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber

Land use

Arable land	40%
Permanent crops	3%
Other	57%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Flooding

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.

Geography Note

Strategically located astride some of the 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.

Demographics

Population

10,256,760 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	15.7%	Male: 828,273	Female: 786,617
15-64 years:	70.3%	Male: 3,605,766	Female: 3,603,058
65 years and over:	14%	Male: 551,852	Female: 881,194

(2002)

Growth Rate

-0.07% (2002)

Life Expectancy

74.95 years (2002)
female: 78.65 years
male: 71.46 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$14,400 (2001)

Infant Mortality

5.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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

(2002)

Net migration rate

0.96 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Basically one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-01 was led by exports to the E.U., especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems. Unemployment is gradually declining as job creation continues in the rebounding economy; inflation is up to 4.7% but still moderate. The E.U. 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. Although floods in the summer devastated the important agricultural sector, Czech exports to the European Union for the year rose by over 8 percent to just under ¬28 billion in 2002. The share of small and medium-sized businesses also increased sharply in 2002 approaching 50 percent of GDP (compared with 40 percent in 2000). Admission to the E.U., slated for 2004, will undoubtedly spur on the already dynamic Czech economy.

Unemployment

8.5% (2001)

Inflation Rate

4.7% (2001)

Industries

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

Exports

US$32.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

US$37.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$147.9 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Germany 40.4%, Slovakia 7.7%, Austria 6.0%, Poland 5.4%, UK 4.3% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Germany 26.7%, Russia 6.4%, Slovakia 6.0%, Italy 5.2%, Austria 4.9% (2000)

Top Exports

Machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000)

Top Imports

Machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000)

Debt - external

US$24.6 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$351.6 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year.

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. or 9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed
Retail	9a.m. to 6p.m.	Saturday 9a.m. to noon. Food stores open between 6 and 7a.m. and close between 6 and 7p.m. Some department stores stay open until 8p.m.
Banks	8a.m. to 3:30 or 4:30p.m.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Note: Many small shops, offices, and those government services in rural areas often close for an hour at noon....

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	May 12	March 28
May Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Liberation Day, 1945	May 8	May 8	May 8
Sts. Cyril and Methodius	July 5	July 5	July 5
Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Jan Hus	July 6	July 6	July 6
Czech Statehood Day	September 28	September 28	September 28
Independence Day	October 28	October 28	October 28
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Remembrance of the Velvet Revolution	November 17	November 17	November 17
St. Nicholas Day	December 6	December 6	December 6
Christmas Eve	December 24	December 24	December 24
Christmas Day²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Second Day of Christmas	December 26	December 26	December 26

Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press