About country

Background
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.

Population
10,235,455 (July 2006)

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.4% (male 755,098/female 714,703)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,656,021/female 3,629,036)
65 years and over: 14.5% (male 576,264/female 904,333) (2006)

Population growth rate
-0.06% (2006)

Birth rate
9.02 births/1,000 population (2006)

Net migration rate
0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006)

Infant morality rate
total: 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)

Total fertility rate
1.21 children born/woman (2006)

Ethnic groups
Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census)

Religions
Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census)

Languages
Czech

GDP - real growth rate
6.1% (2005)

GDP - per capita
$20,000 (2005)

Unemployment rate
8,9% (2005)

Population below poverty line
At risk of poverty after social transfers: 8%