Czech Republic
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Prague |
|
Borders |
Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km, Slovakia 197 km |
|
Government type |
parliamentary democracy |
|
Population |
10,211,904 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth % |
-0.08 (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
76.81 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
8.1% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
34[2] | |
|
52[3] | |
|
74[4] | |
Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia 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 party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "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.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Czech koruna (ISO code: CZK)
- Central bank discount rate: 0.25% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 6.25% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $86.56 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $58.69 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1991-?[5]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[6] | 60 192 | 56 721 | 61 842 | 75 276 | 91 358 | 109 525 | 124 549 | 142 611 | 174 215 | 215 500 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[7] | 11.729 | 13.705 | 15.484 | 16.071 | 19.055 | 20.926 | 23.014 | 24.666 | 25.063 | 26.576 |
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[8] | 30.005 | 30.466 | 31.812 | 31.581 | 32.456 | 31.663 | 31.548 | 30.680 | 31.165 | 31.432 |
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[9] | 31.242 | 33.394 | 35.389 | 37.268 | 37.300 | 35.288 | 35.705 | 35.554 | 33.716 | 34.133 |
| Debt to revenue (years) | 0.391 | 0.450 | 0.487 | 0.509 | 0.587 | 0.661 | 0.730 | 0.804 | 0.804 | 0.846 |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Czech Republic", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Czech Republic", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Czech Republic", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Czech Republic", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 359. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-19.
- ↑ World Bank. "Czech Republic: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Czech Republic: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Czech Republic: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Czech Republic: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-21.
Links
- Czech Republic on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Czech Republic
- Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
- Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
- BBC country profile
- Byli Přemyslovci podvodníci? ('Were the Přemyslids cheaters?' in Czech) by Jan Färber, about an 11th century inflation, December 2009
- A Laissez-Faire Fable of the Czech Republic (pdf) by Josef Sima and Dan Stastny, 2000
- The Czech Miracle: Why Privatization went right in the Czech Republic by Thomas W. Hazlett, April 1995
