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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: |
10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 755,098/female 714,703)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,656,021/female 3,629,036)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 576,264/female 904,333) (2006 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)
note: the Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years; parliament finally elected a successor on 28 February 2003 after two inconclusive elections in January 2003
head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 4 September 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Petr NECAS (since 4 September 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next election to be held January 2008); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February 2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142 votes, Jan SOKOL 124 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): |
£104.12 billion (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
1.9% (2005 est.) |
| Industries: |
Metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
| Exports: |
£39.95 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: |
Machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
| Exports - partners: |
Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) |
| Imports: |
£39.03 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: |
Machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
| Imports - partners: |
Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) |
| Economic aid - recipient: |
£1.43 billion in committed EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
| Currency (code): |
Czech koruna (CZK) |
| Exchange rates: |
Czech koruna per UK Pound - 42.39 |
| Airports: |
121 (2006) |
| Railways: |
total: 9,572 km
standard gauge: 9,473 km 1.435-m gauge (2,951 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 99 km 0.760-m gauge (2005) |
| Roadways: |
total: 127,747 km
paved: 127,747 km (including 518 km of expressways) (2003) |
| Ports and terminals: |
Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
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