Czech Republic - Social & Geographic Profile
| Climate: |
Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Natural resources: |
Hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
| 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; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution |
| Population: |
10,211,904 (July 2009 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 13.6% (male 712,045/female 673,657)
15-64 years: 71% (male 3,641,887/female 3,604,044)
65 years and over: 15.5% (male 623,882/female 956,389) (2009 est.) |
| Ethnic groups: |
Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
| Languages: |
Czech
In business German & English are also spoken and it is widely accepted that discussions (in most cases) can be conducted in any of these three languages. It is always recommended that literature is presented in Czech with an English translation |
| Capital: |
name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 40 55 N, 21 00 E
time difference: GMT+1
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Major cities: |
Brno, Plzen and Ostrava |
| Administrative divisions: |
13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
| 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 |
| Executive branch: |
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Jan FISCHER (since 8 May 2009); Deputy Prime Ministers Jan KOHOUT (since 8 May 2009) and Martin BARTAK (since 8 May 2009)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held on 15 February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008 were inconclusive; next election to be held in 2013); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vaclav KLAUS reelected president on 15 February 2008; Vaclav KLAUS 141 votes, Jan SVEJNAR 111 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament) |
| Diplomatic representation from the UK: |
British Embassy
Chancery, Consular/Visa, Economic,
Press and Public Affairs Section,
Defence Section
Thunovska 14
118 00 Prague 1
Telephone: (420) 257 402 111 |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$256.6 billion (2009 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
1.1% (2009 est.) |
| Industries: |
motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments |
| Exports: |
$106.4 billion (2009 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuel, chemicals |
| Exports - partners: |
Germany 28%, Taiwan 8.5%, Slovakia 8.4%, Poland 5.9%, France 4.9%, UK 4.4%, Austria 4.3%, Italy 4.3% (2008) |
| Imports: |
£39.03 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels, chemicals |
| Imports - partners: |
Germany 28.6%, Taiwan 6.8%, Slovakia 6.2%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.8%, Netherlands 5.3%, Austria 4.9%, China 4.6% (2008) |
| Currency (code): |
Czech koruna (CZK) |
| Airports: |
122 (2009) |
| Railways: |
total: 9,620 km |
| Roadways: |
total: 128,582 km |
| Ports and terminals: |
Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
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