*Czech Republic, Geography

Location:
  Eastern Europe, between Germany and Slovakia
Map references:
  Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  78,703 km2
 land area:
  78,645 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
  total 1,880 km, Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km, Slovakia 214
  km
Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
  none; landlocked
International disputes:
  Liechtenstein claims 620 square miles of Czech territory confiscated from
  its royal family in 1918; the Czech Republic insists that restitution does
  not go back before February 1948, when the Communists seized power;
  unresolved property dispute issues with Slovakia over redistribution of
  Czech and Slovak Federal Republic's property; establishment of international
  border between Czech Republic and Slovakia
Climate:
  temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
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
Natural resources:
  hard coal, kaolin, clay, graphite
Land use:
 arable land:
  NA%
 permanent crops:
  NA%
 meadows and pastures:
  NA%
 forest and woodland:
  NA%
 other:   NA%
Irrigated land:
  NA km2
Environment:
  NA
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

*Czech Republic, People

Population:
  10,389,256 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  0.16% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  13 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  11.44 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  72.64 years
 male:
  68.9 years
 female:
  76.58 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  1.85 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Czech(s)
 adjective:
  Czech
Ethnic divisions:
  Czech 94.4%, Slovak 3%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Gypsy 0.3%, Hungarian
  0.2%, other 1%
Religions:
  atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other
  13.4%
Languages:
  Czech, Slovak
Literacy:
 total population:
  NA%
 male:
  NA%
 female:
  NA%
Labor force:   5.389 million
 by occupation:
  industry 37.9%, agriculture 8.1%, construction 8.8%, communications and
  other 45.2% (1990)

*Czech Republic, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Czech Republic
 conventional short form:
  none
 local long form:
  Ceska Republika
 local short form:
  Cechy
Digraph:
  EZ
Type:
  parliamentary democracy
Capital:
  Prague
Administrative divisions:
  7 regions (kraje, kraj - singular); Severocesky, Zapadocesky, Jihocesky,
  Vychodocesky, Praha, Severomoravsky, Jihomoravsky
Independence:
  1 January 1993 (from Czechoslovakia)
Constitution:
  ratified 16 December 1992; effective 1 January 1993
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
National holiday:
  NA
Political parties and leaders:
  Civic Democratic Party, Vaclav KLAUS, chairman; Christian Democratic Union,
  leader NA; Civic Democratic Alliance, Jan KALVODA, chairman; Christian
  Democratic Party, Vaclav BENDA, chairman; Czech People's Party, Josef LUX;
  Czechoslovak Social Democracy, Milos ZEMAN, chairman; Left Bloc, leader NA;
  Republican Party, Miroslav SLADEK, chairman; Movement for Self-Governing
  Democracy for Moravia and Silesia, Jan STRYCER, chairman; Liberal Social
  Union, leader NA; Assembly for the Republic, leader NA
Other political or pressure groups:
  Czech Democratic Left Movement; Civic Movement
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  last held 26 January 1993 (next to be held NA January 1998); results -
  Vaclav HAVEL elected by the National Council
 Senate:
  elections not yet held; seats (81 total)
 Chamber of Deputies:
  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, Czechoslovak Social Democracy 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
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, Cabinet

*Czech Republic, Government

Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Council (Narodni rada) will consist of an upper house or
  Senate (which has not yet been established) and a lower house or Chamber of
  Deputies
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court, Constitutional Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  President Vaclav HAVEL (since 26 January 1993)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Vaclav KLAUS (since NA June 1992); Deputy Prime Ministers
  Ivan KOCARNIK, Josef LUX, Jan KALVODA (since NA June 1992)
Member of:
  BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
  IFC, IFCTU, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM
  (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, PCA, UN (as of 8
  January 1993), UNAVEM II, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UNPROFOR, UPU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Adrian A. BASORA
 embassy:
  Trziste 15, 125 48, Prague 1
 mailing address:
  Unit 25402; APO AE 09213-5630
 telephone:
  [42] (2) 536-641/6
 FAX:
  [42] (2) 532-457
Flag:
  two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles
  triangle based on the hoist side

*Czech Republic, Economy

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, theCzech 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%. For 1993 the government of the Czech Republic anticipates
  inflation of 15-20% and a rise in unemployment to perhaps 12% as some
  large-scale enterprises go into bankruptcy; GDP may drop as much as 3%,
  mainly because of the disruption of trade links with Slovakia. Although the
  governments of the Czech Republic and Slovakia had envisaged retaining the
  koruna as a common currency, at least in the short term, the two countries
  ended the currency union in February 1993.
National product:
  GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $75.3 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  -5% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $7,300 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  12.5% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  3.1% (1992 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
  $8.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
 commodities:
  manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels,
  minerals, and metals
 partners:
  Slovakia, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, US, UK, CIS
  republics
Imports:
  $8.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
 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
External debt:
  $3.8 billion hard currency indebtedness (December 1992)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -4% (November 1992 over November 1991); accounts for over 60% of
  GDP
Electricity:
  16,500,000 kW capacity; 62,200 million kWh produced, 6,030 kWh per capita
  (1992)

*Czech Republic, Economy

Industries:
  fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and equipment, coal, motor vehicles,
  glass, armaments
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
Illicit drugs:
  the former Czechoslovakia was a transshipment point for Southwest Asian
  heroin and was emerging as a transshipment point for Latin American cocaine
  (1992)
Economic aid:
  the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2 billion in bilateral aid to
  non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89)
Currency:
  1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru
Exchange rates:
  koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 28.59 (December 1992), 28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991),
  17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989), 14.36 (1988), 13.69 (1987)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Czech Republic, Communications

Railroads:
  9,434 km total (1988)
Highways:
  55,890 km total (1988)
Inland waterways:
  NA km; the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river
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)
Merchant marine:
  the former Czechoslovakia had 22 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 290,185
  GRT/437,291 DWT; includes 13 cargo, 9 bulk; may be shared with Slovakia
Airports:
 total:
  75
 usable:
  75
 with permanent-surface runways:   8
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  2
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  4
Telecommunications:
  NA

*Czech Republic, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army, Air and Air Defense Forces, Civil Defense, Railroad Units
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 2,736,657; fit for military service 2,083,555; reach
  military age (18) annually 95,335 (1993 est.)
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