Czechia

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

10,706,242 (2023 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

0.1% (2023 est.)

Government

Government type

parliamentary republic

Capital

name: Prague

Executive branch

chief of state: President Petr PAVEL (since 9 March 2023)
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)

$428.016 billion (2021 est.)
$413.365 billion (2020 est.)
$437.437 billion (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$40,700 (2021 est.)
$38,600 (2020 est.)
$41,000 (2019 est.)

Agricultural products

wheat, sugar beet, milk, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, maize, pork, triticale, poultry

Industries

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

Exports

$204.785 billion (2021 est.)
$172.837 billion (2020 est.)
$186.545 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

Germany 31%, Slovakia 7%, Poland 6%, France 5% (2019)

Exports - commodities

cars and vehicle parts, computers, broadcasting equipment, office machinery and parts, insulated wiring (2021)

Imports

$196.243 billion (2021 est.)
$156.129 billion (2020 est.)
$171.429 billion (2019 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 -
Exchange rates:
21.678 (2021 est.)
23.21 (2020 est.)
22.932 (2019 est.)
21.73 (2018 est.)
23.376 (2017 est.)


Page last updated: Friday, March 22, 2024