About Estonia

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.

Formal country name
Czech Republic

Location
Central Europe, southeast of Germany

Area
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km

Land boundaries
Austria 466.3 km, Germany 810.3 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km

Coastline
0 km (land located)

Climate
temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain
Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country

Natural resources
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber

Natural hazards
Flooding

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)

Median age
total: 39.3 years
male: 37.5 years
female: 41.1 years (2006)

Population growth rate
-0.06% (2006)

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

Death rate
10.59 deaths/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)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 76.22 years
male: 72.94 years
female: 79.69 years (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

Government type
parliamentary democracy

Capital
Prague

Independence
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

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%