entities, the internationally recognized Cypriot Government and a
Turkish-Cypriot community (north Cyprus); the 1,000-strong UN
Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has served in Cyprus since
1964 and maintains the buffer zone between north and south; on 1 May
2004, Cyprus entered the European Union still divided, with the EU's
body of legislation and standards (acquis communitaire) suspended in
the north; Turkey protests Cypriot Government creating hydrocarbon
blocks and maritime boundary with Lebanon in March 2007
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 210,000 (both Turkish and Greek Cypriots; many displaced for
over 30 years) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Cyprus is primarily a destination country for a
large number of women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe,
the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose of
sexual exploitation; traffickers continued to fraudulently recruit
victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term
"artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or
for illegal work on tourist or student visas
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Cyprus is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for a third consecutive year for failure to show evidence of
increasing efforts to combat human trafficking during 2007; although
Cyprus passed a new trafficking law and opened a government
trafficking shelter, these efforts are outweighed by its failure to
show tangible and critically needed progress in the areas of law
enforcement, victim protection, and the prevention of trafficking
(2008)
Illicit drugs:
minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air routes and
container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon and Turkey;
some cocaine transits as well; despite a strengthening of
anti-money-laundering legislation, remains vulnerable to money
laundering; reporting of suspicious transactions in offshore sector
remains weak
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Czech Republic
Introduction
Czech Republic
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.
Geography
Czech Republic
Location:
Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates:
49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than South Carolina
Land boundaries:
total: 1,989 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 815 km, Poland 615 km,
Slovakia 197 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources:
hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber
Land use:
arable land: 38.82%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 58.18% (2005)
Irrigated land:
240 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
16 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 1.91 cu km/yr (41%/57%/2%)
per capita: 187 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards:
flooding
Environment - current issues:
air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in
northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain
damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should
improve domestic pollution
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most
significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional
military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in
central Europe
People
Czech Republic
Population:
10,220,911 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 723,521/female 684,786)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,653,679/female 3,619,872)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 604,419/female 934,634) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 39.8 years
male: 38.2 years
female: 41.6 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.082% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
8.89 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
10.69 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 3.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.17 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.46 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.62 years
male: 73.34 years
female: 80.08 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.23 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 10 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
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 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
4.4% of GDP (2004)
Government
Czech Republic
Country name:
conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czech Republic
local long form: Ceska Republika
local short form: Cesko
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni
mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia),
Karlovarsky, Kralovehradecky, Liberecky, Moravskoslezsky
(Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky, Pardubicky, Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha
(Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky, Vysocina, Zlinsky
Independence:
1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and
Slovakia)
National holiday:
Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
Constitution:
ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993
Legal system:
civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line
with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 9 January
2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Petr NECAS (since 9 January 2007),
Martin BURSIK (since 9 January 2007), and Alexandr VONDRA (since 9
January 2007)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); last successful election held 15
February 2008 (after earlier elections held 8 and 9 February 2008
were inconclusive; next election to be held in February 2013); prime
minister appointed by the president
election results: Vaclav KLAUS reelected president on 15 February
2008; Vaclav KLAUS 141 votes, Jan SVEJNAR 111 votes (third round;
combined votes of both chambers of parliament)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat
(81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year
terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of
Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 17-18 and 24-25 October
2008 (next to be held in October 2010); Chamber of Deputies - last
held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party - ODS 35, CSSD 29, KDU-CSL 7, others 8, independents 2;
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD
32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by
party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6; note - seats
by party as of December 2007 - ODS 81, CSSD 72, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13,
Greens 6, unaffiliated 2 (former CSSD members)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen
are appointed by the president for a 10-year term
Political parties and leaders:
Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED
[Helmut DOHNALEK]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's
Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek
TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech
FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Union
of Freedom-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan CERNY]; Green Party
[Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY];
Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri
LOBKOWITZ]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH]
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI,
CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA,
MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate),
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. GRABER
embassy: Trziste 15, 118 01 Prague 1
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [420] 257 022 000
FAX: [420] 257 022 809
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue
isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
note: identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia
Economy
Czech Republic
Economy - overview:
The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the
post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in
2000-07 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany,
and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic
demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth
as the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The
current account deficit has declined to around 3.3% of GDP as demand
for automotive and other products from the Czech Republic remains
strong in the European Union. Rising inflation from higher food and
energy prices are a risk to balanced economic growth. Significant
increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections
prevented, the government from meeting its goal of reducing its
budget deficit to 3% of GDP in 2007. Negotiations on pension and
additional healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects
for agreement and implementation. Intensified restructuring among
large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and
effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth.
The pro-business Civic Democratic Party-led government approved
reforms in 2007 designed to cut spending on some social welfare
benefits and reform the tax system with the aim of eventually
reducing the budget deficit to 2.3% of GDP by 2010. Parliamentary
approval for any additional reforms could prove difficult, however,
because of the parliament's even split. The government withdrew a
2010 target date for euro adoption and instead aims to meet the
eurozone criteria around 2012.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$251 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$175.3 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$24,500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 38.7%
services: 58.6% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
5.36 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6%
services: 58.3% (2003)
Unemployment rate:
6.6% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
26 (2005)
Investment (gross fixed):
24.1% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $72.1 billion
expenditures: $74.98 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt:
26% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.9% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
3.5% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
5.79% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$84.43 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$58.77 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$103.9 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Industries:
metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Industrial production growth rate:
9.8% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
82.88 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
61.52 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
26.36 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
10.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9%
nuclear: 20%
other: 1% (2001)
Oil - production:
13,530 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
207,400 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
27,360 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:
224,600 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
15 million bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
172 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
8.622 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
402 million cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
8.628 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
3.964 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
-$4.534 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$122.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 52%, raw materials and fuel 9%,
chemicals 5% (2003)
Exports - partners:
Germany 30.7%, Slovakia 8.7%, Poland 5.9%, France 5.4%, UK 5.1%,
Italy 4.9%, Austria 4.6% (2007)
Imports:
$116.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%,
chemicals 10% (2003)
Imports - partners:
Germany 31.8%, Netherlands 6.7%, Slovakia 6.4%, Poland 6.3%, Austria
5.1%, China 5.1%, Russia 4.5%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.1% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$278.7 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion
funds (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$34.59 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$74.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$86.75 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$6.058 billion (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$48.6 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Czech koruna (CZK)
Currency code:
CZK
Exchange rates:
koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 20.53 (2007), 22.596 (2006), 23.957
(2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003)
Communications
Czech Republic
Telephones - main lines in use:
2.888 million (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
13.075 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: privatization and modernization of the Czech
telecommunication system got a late start but is advancing steadily;
access to the fixed-line telephone network expanded throughout the
1990s but the number of fixed line connections has been dropping
since then; mobile telephone usage increased sharply beginning in
the mid-1990s and the number of cellular telephone subscriptions now
greatly exceeds the population
domestic: virtually all exchanges now digital; existing copper
subscriber systems enhanced with Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
(ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other digital signals;
trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 6 (2
Intersputnik - Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, 1 Intelsat, 1
Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 31, FM 304, shortwave 17 (2000)
Radios:
3,159,134 (December 2000)
Television broadcast stations:
150 (plus 1,434 repeaters) (2000)
Televisions:
3,405,834 (December 2000)
Internet country code:
.cz
Internet hosts:
2.434 million (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
more than 300 (2000)
Internet users:
4.4 million (2007)
Transportation
Czech Republic
Airports:
122 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 45
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 18 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 50 (2007)
Heliports:
1 (2007)
Pipelines:
gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 9,597 km
standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 128,512 km
paved: 128,512 km (includes 657 km of expressways) (2007)
Waterways:
664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable
rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006)
Merchant marine:
registered in other countries: 1 (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem
Military
Czech Republic
Military branches:
Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes
Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
18-28 years of age for voluntary and 19-28 for compulsory military
service (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,522,383
females age 16-49: 2,425,095 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,100,789
females age 16-49: 2,018,101 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 63,124
female: 59,786 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.46% of GDP (2007 est.)
Transnational Issues
Czech Republic
Disputes - international:
while threats of international legal action never materialized in
2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of the popular Freedom
Party, signed a petition in January 2008, demanding that Austria
block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Prague closes
its controversial Soviet-style nuclear plant in Temelin, bordering
Austria
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit
point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of
synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money
laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime; significant
consumer of ecstasy
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Denmark
Introduction
Denmark
Background:
Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European
power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is
participating in the general political and economic integration of
Europe. It joined NATO in 1949 and the EEC (now the EU) in 1973.
However, the country has opted out of certain elements of the
European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the European Economic
and Monetary Union (EMU), European defense cooperation, and issues
concerning certain justice and home affairs.
Geography
Denmark
Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a
peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major
islands (Sjaelland and Fyn)
Geographic coordinates:
56 00 N, 10 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 43,094 sq km
land: 42,394 sq km
water: 700 sq km
note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest
of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major
islands of Sjaelland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and
Greenland
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts
Land boundaries:
total: 68 km
border countries: Germany 68 km
Coastline:
7,314 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate:
temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers
Terrain:
low and flat to gently rolling plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Lammefjord -7 m
highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, chalk, stone, gravel
and sand
Land use:
arable land: 52.59%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 47.22% (2005)
Irrigated land:
4,490 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
6.1 cu km (2003)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.67 cu km/yr (32%/26%/42%)
per capita: 123 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards:
flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of
Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are
protected from the sea by a system of dikes
Environment - current issues:
air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions;
nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and
surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides
Environment - international agreements: