THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 78,866 sq km
Population: 10.3m
Capital City: Prague
People: Czech 81.2%; Moravian 13.2%;
Slovak 3.1%; Polish 0.6%; German 0.5%;
Roma 0.3%, others 1.1%
Languages: Czech
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 39.2%;
Protestant 4.6%; Orthodox 3%;
non-religious 39.8%, other 13.4%.
Currency: Czech Crown (CZK)
Major political parties: Czech Social
Democrat Party (CSSD); Civic
Democratic Party (ODS); Freedom
Union (US); Christian Democratic
Union/Czechoslovak People's Party
(KDU/CSL), Communist Party of
Bohemia and Moravia (KCSM).
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
led by a coalition of the Czech Social
Democrat Party, the Freedom Union
and the Christian Democrats.
GEOGRAPHY
A landlocked country, the Czech
Republic borders Austria, Germany,
Poland and Slovakia. Bohemia, in the
west, is comprised of rolling plains and
plateaux surrounded by low mountains;
Moravia, in the east, is hilly country.
34% of the Czech Republic is covered in
forests and woodlands, while about 41%
of land is arable.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent History
The first Czechoslovak Republic was
founded on October 28, 1918. Under
the leadership of Tomas Masaryk, it
was a relatively stable and democratic
state. The Sudeten lands were ceded
to Germany in 1938 and in 1939 the
Germans occupied Czechoslovakia.
After it was liberated in 1945
Czechoslovakia fell under the Soviet
sphere of influence. The August 1968
invasion by other Warsaw Pact
countries ended a short period of
reform known as the 'Prague Spring'
and was followed by a period of harsh
repression. The 1989 'Velvet Revolution'
saw the communists ousted and a
democratic government installed with
Vaclav Havel as President. Differences
between the Czechs and Slovaks led to
the 'Velvet Divorce' on 1 January 1993
and the formation of the Czech
Republic. On 13 December the Czech
Republic completed negotiations to join
the European Union. They signed the
Accession Treaty in Athens on 16 April
2003 and, subject to a referendum to
be held in June 2003, will become a full
member of the European Union on 1
May 2004.
Longer Historical Perspective
The development of the Czech nation is
rooted in the 9th century when the
Kingdom of Bohemia emerged. Bohemia
was a major medieval and early
modern political, cultural and economic
state. The power of Bohemia reached
its zenith with the reign of Charles IV
in the 14th century. The religious
reform movement (1419-1436) of Jan
Hus created religious dualism for the
first time in Christian Europe and was
a precursor to the Reformation of the
16th century. From 1526 until 1918
Bohemia was part of what was to
become the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
GDP: US$ 132.4bn (purchasing power
parity)
GDP per head: US$ 12,900 (purchasing
power parity)
Annual Growth: 2.5%
Inflation: 3.8%
Major Industries: metallurgy, machinery
and equipment, motor vehicles, glass,
armaments
Major trading partners: Germany,
Slovakia, Austria, France, United
Kingdom
Exchange rate:ú1 = 42 kr (approx.)
Further information about the Czech
Republic's economy can be found at
Trade Partners UK Country Profile:
Czech Republic
The economy is doing relatively well. In
1997 a currency crisis triggered a
recession from which the economy has
now recovered. 2000 saw a modest
growth of around 2+%. Inflation is low
(close to EU levels) and the trade
deficit comparatively small. However,
unemployment is rising and pressure to
address the problem has led to a
loosening of control over public
spending.
The EU now accounts for around two
thirds of the Czech Republic's imports
and exports. Improved economic
performance is reflected in increased
foreign direct investment (FDI). In
2000 the Czech Republic attracted
nearly US$5bn of FDI (equivalent to 9%
of GDP). On a per capita basis this is
more than any other country in the
region.
Although the Czech Republic has made
significant progress towards
establishing an internationally
competitive free market economy, the
transition is not yet complete. The
government is tackling a legacy of
insufficient bank and enterprise
restructuring. It has privatised three
of the four largest banks and has
launched a programme to restructure
and privatise state-owned enterprises.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The Czech Republic's Relations with
Neighbours
The Czech Republic is a founding
member of the Visegrad Group with
Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. The
group seeks to work together to
promote their common interests.
The Czech Republic's Relations with the
International Community
Czech foreign policy is focussed on
joining the main European and western
organisations. The Czech Republic was
the first former Soviet bloc country to
join the OECD in December 1995.
The Czech Republic joined NATO, along
with Hungary and Poland, in March
1999 and has contributed forces to
both SFOR and KFOR in the Balkans.
The last NATO Summit was held in
Prague in November 2002.
Flags Of The World: The Czech Republic
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