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ÄŒeskÃ¡ republikaCzech Republic


National motto: Truth prevails (Czech: Pravda vÃtÄ›zÃ)

Official language	Czech
Capital	Prague
President	VÃ¡clav Klaus
Prime Minister	JiÅ™Ã Paroubek
Area - Total - % water	Ranked 114th 78,866 kmÂ² 2%
Population - Total (2003) - Density	Ranked 76th 10.25 million 130/kmÂ²
GDP - Total - GDP per capita	(PPP 2005) $198.976 billion (41st) $19,475 (40th)
UN HDI	Ranked 32nd (2004)
Christianized - Date	BoÅ™ivoj I AD 883
Independence - Date	Regained October 28, 1918 as Czechoslovakia, divided January 1, 1993
Currency	Czech koruna (CZK)
Time zone - in summer	CET (UTC1) CEST (UTC2)
National anthem	Where is My Home? Czech: Kde domov mÅ¯j
Internet TLD	.cz
Calling Code	420 1
1. Shared code 42 with Slovakia until 1997

The Czech Republic (Czech: ÄŒeskÃ¡ republika listen?), or Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The republic borders Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. Historic Prague (Czech: Praha Czech Republic ), a major tourist attraction, is its capital and largest city. Other major cities include Brno, Ostrava, PlzeÅˆ, Hradec KrÃ¡lovÃ©, ÄŒeskÃ© BudÄ›jovice, and ÃšstÃ nad Labem.

The country is composed of two older regions, Bohemia and Moravia, and part of a third one, Silesia. As of May 1, 2004, it is a member state of the European Union.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993 announced that the name Czechia (Czech: ÄŒesko) is to be used in all situations other than formal official documents and the full names of government institutions [1], [2], but this has not caught on in English usage. Czech lands.

History

History of the Czech Republic

The Czech lands emerged in the late 9th century when it was unified by the PÅ™emyslids. The kingdom of Bohemia was a significant local power, but religious conflicts such as the 15th century Hussite Wars and the 17th century Thirty Years War were devastating. It later came under the Habsburg influence and became part of Austria-Hungary.

Following the collapse of this state after World War I, the Czechs and neighbouring Slovaks joined together and formed the independent republic of Czechoslovakia in 1918. This new country contained a large German minority, which would lead to the dissolution of Czechoslovakia when Germany successfully annexed the minority through the Munich Agreement in 1938, and Slovakia gained greater autonomy, with the state renamed "Czecho-Slovakia". Slovakia broke away further in 1939 and the remaining Czech state was occupied by the Germans.

After World War II, a reconstituted 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 liberalise party rule and create "socialism with a human face" during the Prague Spring. In 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its "freedom" through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution". On January 1, 1993, the country peacefully split in two, creating independent Czech and Slovak republics.

The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.

Politics

Politics of the Czech Republic Hotel Prague Czech Republic

According to its constitution the Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy, whose head of state is a president, indirectly elected every five years by the parliament. The president is also granted specific powers such as the right to nominate Constitutional Court judges, dissolve parliament under certain conditions, and enact a veto on legislation. He also appoints the prime minister, who sets the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister.

The Czech parliament (Parlament) is bicameral, with a Chamber of Deputies (PoslaneckÃ¡ snÄ›movna) and a Senate (SenÃ¡t). The 200 Chamber delegates are elected for 4-year terms, on the basis of proportional representation. The 81 members of the Czech Senate serve for 6-year terms with one-third being elected every 2 years on the basis of two-round majority voting.

The country's highest court of appeals is the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court, which rules on constitutional issues, is appointed by the president, and its members serve 10-year terms.

Regions

Regions of the Czech Republic; see also: Overview of regions in Czech Republic

The Czech Republic consists of 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and one capital city (hlavnÃ mÄ›sto), marked by a *:

Czech Republic Travel

Region (in Czech)	Capital (in Czech)	colour
Prague* (Praha)
Central Bohemian Region (StÅ™edoÄeskÃ½ kraj)	its offices are located in Prague (Praha)
South Bohemian Region (JihoÄeskÃ½ kraj)	ÄŒeskÃ© BudÄ›jovice
PlzeÅˆ Region (PlzeÅˆskÃ½ kraj)	PlzeÅˆ
Carlsbad Region (KarlovarskÃ½ kraj)	Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad)
ÃšstÃ nad Labem Region (ÃšsteckÃ½ kraj)	ÃšstÃ nad Labem
Liberec Region (LibereckÃ½ kraj)	Liberec
Hradec KrÃ¡lovÃ© Region (KrÃ¡lovÃ©hradeckÃ½ kraj)	Hradec KrÃ¡lovÃ©
Pardubice Region (PardubickÃ½ kraj)	Pardubice
Olomouc Region (OlomouckÃ½ kraj)	Olomouc
Moravian-Silesian Region (MoravskoslezskÃ½ kraj)	Ostrava
South Moravian Region (JihomoravskÃ½ kraj)	Brno
ZlÃn Region (ZlÃnskÃ½ kraj)	ZlÃn
VysoÄina Region (VysoÄina)	Jihlava

Geography

Geography of the Czech Republic

Map of the Czech Republic

The Czech landscape is quite varied; Bohemia to the west consists of a basin, drained by the Elbe (Czech: Labe) and Vltava rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains such as the Sudeten with its part KrkonoÅ¡e, where one also finds the highest point in the country, the SnÄ›Å¾ka at 1,602 m. Moravia, the eastern part, is also quite hilly and is drained predominantly by the Morava river, but also contains the source of the Oder (Czech: Odra) river. Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea.

The local climate is temperate with warm summers and cold, cloudy, humid winters, typified by a mixture of maritime and continental influences.

Economy

Economy of the Czech Republic Czech Republic Calling Card

One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-2001 was led by exports to the EU, especially Germany, and foreign investment, while domestic demand is reviving. With a GDP (PPP) per capita of $19,475, the Czech Republic's per-capita output is approximately two-thirds that of the large Western European economies and approximately on par with that of Portugal, Greece and Slovenia.

Uncomfortably high fiscal and current account deficits could be future problems.

Moves to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatisation will add to foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth.

Demographics

Demographics of the Czech Republic

Population of the Czech lands (CSU, Prague) Year Total Change Year Total Change 1857 1930 1869 1950 1880 1961 1890 1970 1900 1980 1910 1991 1921 2001

7,016,531 - 10,674,386 6.6%

7,617,230 8.6% 8,896,133 -16.7%

8,222,013 7.9% 9,571,531 7.6%

8,665,421 5.4% 9,807,697 2.5%

9,372,214 8.2% 10,291,927 4.9%

10,078,637 7.5% 10,302,215 0.1%

10,009,587 -0.7% 10,230,060 -0.7%

The majority of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic (95%) are ethnically Czech and speak Czech, a member of the Slavic languages. Other ethnic groups include Germans, Roma, Hungarians, Ukrainians and Poles. After the 1993 division, some Slovaks remained in the Czech Republic and comprise roughly 2% of the current population. The border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia is open for citizens of the former Czechoslovakia.

Despite very visible presence of cathedrals and church buildings all over the country majority of Czechs (59%) are agnostics or atheists. Significant religious groups include Roman Catholics (27%), Protestants (1.2%), Czechoslovak Hussites (1%).

Culture

Culture of the Czech Republic

Cinema of the Czech Republic
Famous Czech People
Literature of the Czech Republic
Music of the Czech Republic
National Theatre (Prague)
Czech TV
TV Nova

Czech Republic Hotel