TOPOGRAPHY

The divide between the two principal mountain systems in Europe - the Hercynian and Alpine-Himalayan - runs through Czech territory. The country's topography is therefore quite varied: plains (4.5 % of the country), hills (50.1 %) highlands (33.9 %) and mountains (11,6 %). Altitude levels: lowland regions under 200 m above sea level make up 4.95 % of the country, regions 200 - 500 m above sea level make up 74.1 %, regions 600 - 1,000m above sea level 19.3 % and regions over 1,000 m above sea level 1.6 %.

CLIMATE

The Czech Republic lies in the temperate climate zone of Europe, which makes for pleasantly mild summers and winters with only moderate amounts of precipitation.
Lowland temperatures in July average 20 °C, {Prague 19.5 °C} and in mountainous areas 8-11 °C.
Lowland temperatures in January average -1 to -2 °C, -5 to -7 °C in the mountains.

ENVIRONMENT AND ITS PROTECTION

Many landscape sites are protected by the government in order to preserve the biological diversity of the area and protect the local species. The Act on Nature and Landscape Protection defines six categories of specially protected areas: national parks (NP), protected landscape areas (CHKO), national nature reserves (NPR), nature reserves (PR), national natural monuments (NPP), and natural monuments (PP).

National Parks

National parks are defined as extensive territories that are unique according to a national or international standard, a considerable part of which are natural ecosystems or ecosystems little affected by human activities, where plants, animals and inanimate nature are of an exceptional scientific and educational significance. There are currently four national parks in the Czech Republic:

• Krkonoše National Park

• Šumava National Park

• Podyjí National Park

• České Švýcarsko (Czech Switzerland) National Park

 

POPULATION

According to a 2011 census, the Czech Republic has a population of 10.5 million people, approx. 5.1 million males and 5.4 million females. Three quarters of the population live in urban areas. The population density is 134 inhabitants per sq. km, while the total growth in population in the Czech Republic is 0.2 persons per 1,000 inhabitants.

Population Growth
Until 1994, an outstanding feature of the Czech Republic was its stable population growth, with the exception of the period of the two world wars. Since 1994 the population has been decreasing and was expected to have fallen to around 10 million by 2020. However, the immigration still keeps the increasing trend.
Birth rate
After WW II, the number of births fell from over 200,000 a year to less than 150,000 in 1970. In 1974 this figure had increased to 195,000 but by 1996 had fallen gradually to 90,000. The number of new-born babies per 1,000 inhabitants was 8.8 % in 1996. According to the 2015 estimation, the current birth rate in the Czech Republic is 1.53 births per woman.
Death rate
The number of deaths per 1,000 inhabitants gradually increased from World War II until 1983 (13.0%). Since then it has decreased and in 1996 it was only 10.9 %, thus corresponding to western European levels. According to the 2014 estimation, the current death rate in the Czech Republic is 10.29 deaths/1,000 population while the life expectancy is 79.47 years.
Ethnic Groups
The majority of the Czech Republic's inhabitants are of Czech nationality. The situation in individual regions differs however, according to whether these regions are considered Czech or Moravian. The only region where people claim Moravian nationality is in southern areas of Moravia.

- Czech	6.711.624
- Moravian and Silesian	534.015
- Slovak	147.152
- Ukrainian	53.253
- Polish	39.096
- Vietnamese	29.660
- Russian	17.872
- German	18.658
- Romany	5.135
- Other or unidentified	2.897.985

 

The long-term development of the population's ethnic structure indicates that between 1950 and 1991 no significant changes occurred, except for a relatively high number of Romany new-arrivals from Slovakia. Although just 5.135 people declared themselves as Romany in the 2011 census, there are estimated to be approximately 200,000 Romanies in the Czech Republic, i.e. nearly 2% of the population. Many said they were Czech, but most described themselves as Slovak.

RELIGION

After forty years of official suppression, a question concerning religious faith was again included in the most recent census in 2011. The results show that almost 80 % of the population describe themselves as agnostic or atheist.

Percent of population who describe themselves as "religious": 28.8 %

Roman Catholic	1.082.463
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren (Protestant)	51.858
Czech Hussite	39.229
Other	995.432
Without religion / Atheists	79.2 %

 

EDUCATION

The degree of education completion at elementary, secondary and university levels is very high in the Czech Republic compared to world standards. All children in the Czech Republic must attend elementary school up to the age of 15. According to the population census in 2011, 17.5 % of the population over 15 years of age had received a basic education, while 33 % had finished secondary professional education, 31 % had finished secondary universal or professional education and 12.5 % had finished university education with a minimum of four years' study. Approximately 6 % of the population did not state any education in the census or said they had not received any education.

EMPLOYMENT

Central planning biased the structure of employment by placing a grossly disproportionate emphasis on industry, to the detriment of the service sector. Economic transformation is correcting this imbalance, however, with employment rising in services and declining in industry. In 1989 a relatively small percentage of the population worked in agriculture and the number is still dropping.

Employment in the Czech Republic by sector (%):

	1990	2017
Primary	16.8	2.5
Secondary	40.5	37.5
Tertiary	42.7	60

The Czech Republic’s unemployment rate was the lowest in the European Union with approximately 3.5 % by the end of 2016. In addition, the trend is still decreasing reaching 2.9 % in mid-2017.