Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia.
The Czech lands were independent since 9th century and under Habsburg rule from 1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia and disillusion with the Western response the Communist party gained the majority in 1946 elections. Czechoslovakia was a Communist state from 1948 until the 1989 Velvet Revolution. On 1 January 1993, the country peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy. President Václav Klaus is the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government (currently Mirek Topolánek). The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of the OECD, the Visegrád group and the Council of Europe.
The country was the first former member of the Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic assistance from 1949 to 1991 controlled by USSR) and the first present member of the Visegrád countries to achieve the status of a developed country (2006) according to the World Bank. The Czech Republic also ranks best compared to the former Comecon members in international surveys, including the Human Development Index and quality of life.

Location: Central Europe, southeast of Germany

Area:
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km

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, Silesia in the northeast is hilly too

Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, uranium

Population: 10,349,372 (September 2007)

International organization participation: ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Economy - overview: The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-07 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The current account deficit has declined to around 3.3% of GDP as demand for automotive and other products from the Czech Republic remains strong in the European Union. Rising inflation from higher food and energy prices are a risk to balanced economic growth. Significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections prevented the government from meeting its goal of reducing its budget deficit to 3% of GDP in 2007. Negotiations on pension and additional healthcare reforms are continuing. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds will strengthen output growth. The pro-business Civic Democratic Party-led government approved reforms in 2007 designed to cut spending on some social welfare benefits and reform the tax system with the aim of eventually reducing the budget deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2010. The government withdrew a 2010 target date for euro adoption and instead aims to meet the Euro zone criteria around 2012.

The Czech Republic is globally one of the most successful transition economies in attracting foreign direct investment. Over 138,000 Czech firms across all sectors are now supported by foreign capital. Since 1990 nearly $60 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) has been recorded.

GDP (purchasing power parity): $249.1 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $128.9 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5.7% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP): $24,400 (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.6% (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.6% (2007 est.)

Public debt: 31.1% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products: wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry

Industries: motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments

Exports: $113 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003)

Exports - partners: Germany 31.9%, Slovakia 8.5%, Poland 5.7%, France 5.6%, Austria 5.1%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2006)

Imports: $109.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - partners: Germany 32%, Netherlands 6.5%, Slovakia 6.1%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.7%, Austria 4.9%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.4% (2006)

Debt - external: $61.74 billion (30 June 2007)