Country Summary
Introduction
Background
Following World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia, but then split in 1993 in the nonviolent “velvet divorce.” The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. The country added the short-form name Czechia in 2016.
Geography
Area
total: 78,867 sq km
land: 77,247 sq km
water: 1,620 sq km
Climate
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
Natural resources
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, arable land
People and Society
Population
10,705,384 (2022 est.)
Ethnic groups
Czech 57.3%, Moravian 3.4%, other 7.7%, unspecified 31.6% (2021 est.)
Languages
Czech (official) 88.4%, Slovak 1.5%, other 2.6%, unspecified 7.2%
note: includes only persons with one mother tongue (2021 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 7%, other believers belonging to a church or religious society 6% (includes Evangelical United Brethren Church and Czechoslovak Hussite Church), believers unaffiliated with a religious society 9.1%, none 47.8%, unspecified 30.1% (2021 est.)
Population growth rate
0.02% (2022 est.)
Government
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Prague
Executive branch
chief of state: President Milos ZEMAN (since 8 March 2013)
head of government: Prime Minister Petr FIALA (since 17 December 2021); First Deputy Prime Minister Vit RAKUSAN (since 17 December 2021), Deputy Prime Ministers Marian JURECKA, Ivan BARTOS, Vlastimil VALEK (all since 17 December 2021)
Legislative branch
description: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of:
Senate or Senat (81 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds if needed; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years)
Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members directly elected in 14 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote with a 5% threshold required to fill a seat; members serve 4-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
high income, diversified EU economy; advanced services and automotive exporter; mostly intra-EU trader; low unemployment; usually maintains a positive trade balance; large investments in systems innovation and information technologies
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$409.97 billion (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$38,300 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products
wheat, sugar beet, milk, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, maize, pork, triticale, poultry
Industries
motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments
Exports
$174.92 billion (2020 est.)
Exports - partners
Germany 31%, Slovakia 7%, Poland 6%, France 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
cars and vehicle parts, computers, broadcasting equipment, office machinery/parts, seating (2019)
Imports
$157.95 billion (2020 est.)
Imports - partners
Germany 27%, China 12%, Poland 9%, Slovakia 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
broadcasting equipment, cars and vehicle parts, office machinery/parts, computers, packaged medicines (2019)
Exchange rates
koruny (CZK) per US dollar -
Page last updated: Wednesday, November 16, 2022
