Basic information

The country is a democratic republic, there are two legislative chambers - the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate
March 12 1999, - the Czech Republic becomes a NATO member1 May 2004, the Czech Republic enters the EU.

Economic structure
Manufacturing 26.6 %

Wholesale and retail trade 13.5 %

Agriculture, hunting and forestry, fishing 5%
Mining and quarrying 2.2%

Electricity, gas and water supply 5 %
Construction 6.8 %

Transport, storage, communication 6.1 %
Financial intermediation 7.6 %Others 27.2 %

Population and religion
Population: 10.3 million
Education: compulsory 9-year school attendance (from the age of 6), about 4 million people have completed secondary education and 0.5 million have completed University education
Official language: Czech
Ethnic composition: Czech - 94 % (Bohemians, Moravians, Silesians), Slovak - 3%, Rom - 1.3 %, Polish - 0.6%, German - 0.5 %, others - 0.6 %
Religions: Roman Catholic - 39.2 %, Protestants - 4.1 %, Atheists and non-believers - 39.7 %, others - 17 %
Largest cities: Prague (capital), Brno, Ostrava, Plzen, Olomouc, Liberec, Hradec Kralove


Currency
Czech Koruna (CZK)

Geographical position
Total area: 78,865 sq. kilometers
latitude 49 - 51 degrees N and longitude 12-19 degrees E
Neighboring states: Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland.
Length of state borders: 2,303 kilometers

Climate
Temperate, a mixture of oceanic and continental, average winter temperature is 5 degrees C, average summer temperature is 20 degrees C
Annual precipitation: 500 - 700 mm

Average height above the sea level: 450 meters (European average is 315 m), the highest mountain is Mount Snezka 1,602.
The longest rivers: Labe 1 165 km (415 km in the country), Vltava 433 km.

Time zone
GMT plus 1 hour, from April to October summer time - GMT plus 2 hours