Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Capital: Prague
History
At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, the new country's predominantly Czech leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the increasingly strident demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Slovaks, the Sudeten Germans, and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the Czech part of the country and Slovakia became an independent state allied with Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) 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 rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "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
Metric Units
|
Total Area
|
78,867
sq km
|
| Land Boundaries |
1,989
km
|
| Border Countries |
Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km, Slovakia 197 km |
| Coastline |
0
km
|
| 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 |
| Minimum Elevation |
115
m
|
| Maximum Elevation |
1,602
m
|
| Climate |
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Natural Resources |
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
| Arable Land |
40.12% |
| Permanent Crops |
0.96% |
Economy
Budget & Debt
Trade
| Exports |
$134.1 billion |
| Export Items |
machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuel, chemicals |
| Export Partners |
Germany 32.4%, Slovakia 9%, Poland 6.3%, France 5.5%, Austria 4.6%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.2% (2011) |
| Imports |
$129 billion |
| Import Items |
machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuels, chemicals |
| Import Partners |
Germany 29.6%, China 7.6%, Poland 7.1%, Slovakia 7%, Netherlands 5.7%, Russia 4.8%, Austria 4.4% (2011) |
People
| Population |
10,162,921 |
| Population Growth |
-0.15% |
| Ethnic Groups |
Czech 63.7%, Moravian 4.9%, Slovak 1.4%, other 30% (2011 census) |
| Religion |
Roman Catholic 10.3%, Protestant (includes Czech Brethren and Hussite) 0.8%, other and unspecified 54.6%, none 34.2% (2011 census) |
| Life Expectancy |
77.56 years |
| Infant Mortality |
0.95 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality |
-0.03 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
