Czech Republic Facts

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest. It is ranked as the third most peaceful country in Europe.

The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague. It is situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river. It has been a political, cultural and economic center of central Europe. It was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. During World War I, it became the capital of Czechoslovakia. Since 1992, the historic center of the city has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Czech Koruna or Czech crown is the currency of the Czech Republic. Its ISO 4217 code is CZK. It has been the currency since February 8, 1993 when it replaced Czechoslovak koruna at par.

The capital, Prague, is the largest city of the Czech Republic. The name of the city is derived from the word "praga" which means "ford". The estimated population of the city is 1,290,846 and it covers an area of 191.5 square miles.

The official language of the Czech Republic is Czech. The language was known as Bohemian in English until late 19th century. Slovak, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Polish, Romani, Russian, Serbian and Ukrainian are officially recognized minority languages.

According to 2001 census, 59% of the population is agnostic, followed by Roman Catholic (26.8%) and Protestant (2.5%),

The average literacy rate of the Czech Republic is 99%.

The coat of arms of the Czech Republic depicts the three historical regions - the Czech lands: Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. The emblem of Bohemia depicts a silver double-tailed lion on a red background. It is repeated in the lower left-hand of the emblem. The Moravian red-silver eagle is shown on a blue background. The emblem of Silesia is a black eagle with a "clover stalk" in her breast on a yellow background. It was adopted on December 17, 1992.

The Czech Republic is a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic republic. The prime minister is the head of the government, while the president is the formal head of the state with limited specific powers. Vaclav Havel was the first president of the Czech Republic. Former prime minister of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus is the second president of the country. He is the co-founder of the country's largest center-right political party, the Civic Democratic Party. He assumed office on March 7, 2003. Former deputy prime minister and minister of labor and social affairs, Petr Necas is the current prime minister of the country. He assumed office on June 28,2010.

October 28 is celebrated as the national day of the Czech Republic. The country was granted independence by Austria-Hungary on October 28, 1918.

The Czech Republic is a developed, high-income economy. The GDP of the country is 195.2 billion dollars. It has the highest human development index in central and eastern Europe. Most of the economy is privatized. The country is a part of Schengen Area, having abolished border controls. It is a member of World Trade Organization. Principal industries are heavy and general machine-building, iron and steel, metalworking, electronics, textiles, glass, and pharmaceuticals. Major trading partners are Germany, Slovakia, Poland, France, Austria and Italy.

Modern contact lens, Semtex plastic explosive and the separation of modern blood types are some of the notable inventions of the country.