The 2004 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
the Sudeten Germans and
the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated
Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968,
an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's
leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism
with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year
ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet
authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a
peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country
underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999
and the European Union in 2004.
Geography Czech Republic
Location:
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates:
49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 78,866 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km, Poland 658 km,
Slovakia 215 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
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 point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources:
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
Land use: arable land: 39.8% permanent crops: 3.05% other: 57.15% (2001)
Irrigated land:
240 sq km (1998 est.)
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; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - 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
People Czech Republic
Population:
10,246,178 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 15% (male 789,987; female 748,476)
15–64 years: 70.9% (male 3,643,574; female 3,622,276)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 557,496; female 884,369) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 38.6 years
male: 36.9 years
female: 40.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
−0.05% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
9.1 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
10.54 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 3.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.32 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.78 years
male: 72.52 years
female: 79.24 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.18 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 10 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
Ethnic groups:
Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%,
Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%,
atheist 39.8%
Languages:
Czech
Literacy: definition: NA total population: 99.9% (1999 est.) male: NA female: NA
Government Czech Republic
Country name:
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic
local short form: Ceska Republika
local long form: Ceska Republika
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital: