Czech Republic - At a Glance

The Czech Republic has an area of 79,000 km² (30,502 mi²) and around 10.4 million inhabitants. It first came into existence in its current form in 1993 as a successor state to the former Czechoslovakia. It is located in the historical area of Bohemia, Moravia, and a small part of Silesia. The form of government is a democratic republic with a parliamentary governing system. In 2004, the young state joined the European Union (EU) and in the first half of 2009, assumed the Presidency of the European Council for the first time.

For the Czech Republic, boundaries are defined naturally by surrounding mountains on which the national borders have been established. It can be separated into three large regions: Bohemia, Marovia, and Czech Silesia, with about 30% of the total area being forested. For effective administration, the country was divided into 13 regions and the capital city of Prague (Praha). Prague is also the largest Czech city with approx. 1.18 million inhabitants. The next largest cities are Brno with approx. 380,000, Pilsen (Plzeň) with approx. 162,000, Olomouc with approx. 104,000, and Budweis (České Budějovice) with approx. 100,000 inhabitants. About 75% of inhabitants live in the cities and the remaining 25% in the countryside.

About 4% of the Czech population is employed in agriculture. The very fertile earth is used to cultivate such products as hops from which the famed Czech beer is brewed. Agriculture is hence an important factor. Scientifically speaking, the Czech Republic traditionally belongs to the most extensively developed countries of Europe. Indeed, this development was sharply arrested by its central administration in the time of the Cold War. However, since 1989 and the resulting privatisation that occurred, it has recovered quite rapidly. The focal point of Czech industry lies in the manufacturing of technology-intensive products. The rate of unemployment lies at 5.3% (as of November 2008) with strong regional variations. A newly emerging economic factor is tourism, with Prague and therapeutic spas being frequented more often.
The official language is Czech, but English and German are also commonly understood. The "Czech Koruna" (CZK) is still used as currency. 1 € is equal to 26 CZK (as of January 2009). Insofar as the stability criteria are maintained, the Czech Republic is projected to introduce the Euro as the new form of currency in 2012.

In the Czech Republic, the following official holidays are celebrated: New Year's Day (January 1st), Easter, Labour Day (May 1st), and Christmas (24th-26th of December). Additional celebrations in the Czech Republic are "Liberation Day" (May 8th), the arrival of the Slavic Saints Cyril and Methodius (July 5th), a memorial day for Master Jan Hus (July 6th), and "Independent Czechoslovak State Day" (October 28th). Religiously, the country is quite distinctly Christian, and today is home to about twice as many non-denominational adherents (approx. 59%) as Catholic believers (27%). The largest religious minorities are Protestants (2.5%), Hussites (1.7%), and Orthodox and Jews for whom no figures are available.