Economy - overview:
One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states,
the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since
mid-1999. Growth in 2000-03 was supported by exports to the EU,
primarily to Germany, and a near doubling of foreign direct
investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role
in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability
of credit cards and mortgages increases. High current account
deficits - averaging around 5% of GDP in the last several years -
could be a persistent problem. Inflation is under control. The EU
put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in
preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and
direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking,
telecommunications, and energy privatization will encourage
additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among
large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector
should strengthen output growth. But revival in the European
economies remains essential to stepped-up growth.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $157.1 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 41%
services: 55.2% (2001)
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:
25.4 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.6% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
5.203 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9.8% (2002)
Budget:
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001 est.)
Industries:
metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass,
armaments
Industrial production growth rate:
3.5% (2002)
Electricity - production:
70.04 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9%
other: 1% (2001)
nuclear: 20%
Electricity - consumption:
55.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
18.92 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
9.38 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
7,419 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
175,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
26,670 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
192,300 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
17.25 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
160 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
9.892 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
1 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
9.521 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
3.057 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Exports:
$40.8 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures
25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000)
Exports - partners:
Germany 40.2%, Slovakia 7.1%, Austria 5.8%, UK 5.1%, Poland 5%,
France 4% (2002)
Imports:
$43.2 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures
21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000)
Imports - partners:
Germany 39.1%, Slovakia 6%, Austria 5.6%, Italy 5.4%, France 5.3%,
Poland 4.1%, UK 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$23.8 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient:
$108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002)
Currency:
Czech koruna (CZK)
Currency code:
CZK
Exchange rates:
koruny per US dollar - 32.74 (2002), 38.04 (2001), 38.6 (2000),
34.57 (1999), 32.28 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year