Czechoslovakia

in transition from Communist state to republicIndependence 18 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Czechoslovakia as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 3 editions from 1990 to 1992.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalPrague

Area127,870 km2

Populationas each edition published it

15.68 million July 1990 · 15.73m in 1992

Fertility ratechildren per woman

2 children per woman 1990 · 1.9 in 1992

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

11 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 11 in 1992

Corrected. Source files these entries under Slovakia. Czechoslovakia is a separate state that dissolved in 1993. All corrections

Geography

12 fields

Land useshare of 127,870 km2

arable land 40%permanent crops 1%meadows and pastures 13%forest and woodland 37%other 9%includes 1% irrigated

Total area

127,870km2

land area: 125,460 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than New York State

Land boundaries

3,446km total

Austria 548 km, GDR 459 km, Hungary 676 km, Poland 1,309 km, USSR 98 km, FRG 356 km

Climate

temperate;
cool summers;
cold, cloudy, humid winters

Terrain

mixture of hills and mountains separated by plains and basins

Natural resources

coal, timber, lignite, uranium, magnesite, iron ore, copper, zinc

Environment

infrequent earthquakes;
acid rain;
water pollution;
air pollution

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

14 fields

Population

15,683,234

(July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

14Death

Ethnic divisions

Czech 64.3%Slovak 30.5%Hungarian 3.8%German 0.4%Polish 0.4%Ukrainian 0.3%Russian 0.1%other (Jewish 0.2%Gypsy)

Religion

Roman Catholic 50%Protestant 20%Orthodox 2%other 28%

Labor force

8,200,000

(1987); 36.9% industry, 12.3% agriculture, 50.8% construction, communications, and other (1982)

Literacy

99%

Nationality

noun--Czechoslovak(s); adjective--Czechoslovak

Organized labor

Revolutionary Trade Union Movement (ROH), formerly regime-controlled;
other industry-specific strike committees;
new independent trade unions forming

Government

In transition from Communist state to republic

19 fields

Legislature, 350 seatsseats by party

-(350 total) KSC 350

Long-form name

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic;
abbreviated CSSR;
note--on 23 March 1990 the name was changed to Czechoslovak Federative Republic;
because of Slovak concerns about their status in the Federation, the Federal Assembly approved the name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic on 20 April 1990

Type

in transition from Communist state to republic

Administrative divisions

2 socialist republics (socialisticke republiky, singular--socialisticka republika); Ceska Socialisticka Republika, Slovenska Socialisticka Republika

Independence

18 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Constitution

11 July 1960;
amended in 1968 and 1970;
new constitution under review (1 January 1990)

Legal system

civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes, modified by Communist legal theory;
no judicial review of legislative acts;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday

National Holiday of the Republic (Anniversary of the Liberation), 9 May (1945)

Legislative branch

bicameral Federal Assembly (Federalni Shromazdeni) consists of an upper house or House of Nations (Snemovna Narodu) and a lower house or House of the People (Snemovna Lidu)

Leaders

Chief of State--President Vaclav HAVEL (since 28 December 1989);
Head of Government--Premier Marian CALFA (since 10 December 1989);
First Deputy Premier Valtr KOMAREK (since 7 December 1989);
Jan CARNOGURSKY (since 7 December 1989)

Political parties and leaders

Civic Forum, since December 1989 leading political force, loose coalition of former oppositionists headed by President Vaclav Havel;
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC), Ladislav Adamec, chairman (since 20 December 1989);
KSC toppled from power in November 1989 by massive antiregime demonstrations, minority role in coalition government since 10 December 1989

Suffrage

universal at age 18 President--last held 22 May 1985 (next to be held 8 June 1990; will be a free election);
results--Gustav Husak was reelected without opposition;
Federal Assembly--last held 23 and 24 May 1986 (next to be held 8 June 1990; will be a free election);
results--KSC was the only party;
seats--(350 total) KSC 350

Communists

1.71 million party members (April 1988) and falling

Other political groups

Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak People's Party, Slovak Freedom Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian Democratic Party;
more than 40 political groups are expected to field candidates for the 8 June 1990 election

Member of

CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ICO, ILO, ILZSG, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA;
Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 363-6315 or 6316;
US--Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK;
Embassy at Trziste 15-12548, Prague (mailing address is APO New York 09213);
telephone [42] (2) 53 6641 through 6649

Flag

two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side

Economy

Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a well-educated and skilled labor force.

16 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

1.5%

(1989)

Unemployment rate

0.9%

(1987)

External debt

$7.4billion

hard currency indebtedness (1989)

Budget

Revenues

$22.4 billionExpenditures

$21.9 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $3.7 billion (1986 state budget)

Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a well-educated and skilled labor force. Its industry, transport, energy sources, banking, and most other means of production are state owned. The country is deficient, however, in energy and many raw materials. Moreover, its aging capital plant lags well behind West European standards.

Industry contributes over 50% to GNP and construction 10%. About 95% of agricultural land is in collectives or state farms. The centrally planned economy has been tightly linked in trade (80%) to the USSR and Eastern Europe. Growth has been sluggish, averaging less than 2% in the period 1982-89.

GNP per capita ranks next to the GDR as the highest in the Communist countries. As in the rest of Eastern Europe, the sweeping political changes of 1989 have been disrupting normal channels of supply and compounding the government's economic problems. Czechoslovakia is beginning the difficult transition from a command to a market economy.

GNP

$123.2 billion, per capita $7,878; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)

Exports

$24.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 58.5%;
industrial consumer goods 15.2%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 10.6%;
agricultural and forestry products 6.1%, other products 15.2%;
partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, US

Imports

$23.5 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--machinery and equipment 41.6%;
fuels, minerals, and metals 32.2%;
agricultural and forestry products 11.5%;
industrial consumer goods 6.7%;
other products 8.0%;
partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, US

Industrial production

growth rate 2.1% (1988)

Electricity

22,955,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced, 5,410 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

iron and steel, machinery and equipment, cement, sheet glass, motor vehicles, armaments, chemicals, ceramics, wood, paper products, footwear

Agriculture

accounts for 15% of GNP (includes forestry);
largely self-sufficient in food production;
diversified crop and livestock production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry;
exporter of forest products

Aid

donor--$4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-88)

Currency

koruna (plural--koruny); 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru

Exchange rates

koruny (Kcs) per US$1--17.00 (March 1990), 10.00 (1989), 5.63 (1988), 5.43 (1987), 5.95 (1986), 6.79 (1985), 6.65 (1984)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 21 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 15bulk 621 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 208,471 GRT/ 308,072 DWT

Airports, 158 total, 158 usable

permanent-surface runways

40runways 2,440-3,659 m

19runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

73,805 (1986)Railroads

13,116 (1986)Inland waterways

475

Highways: ; including 489 km superhighway · Railroads: ; 12,868 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 102 km 1.524-meter broad gauge, 146 km 0.750- and 0.760-meter narrow gauge; 2,854 km double track; 3,530 km electrified; government owned · Inland waterways: (1986); the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river

Railroads

13,116 km total;
12,868 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 102 km 1.524-meter broad gauge, 146 km 0.750- and 0.760-meter narrow gauge;
2,854 km double track;
3,530 km electrified;
government owned (1986)

Highways

73,805 km total; including 489 km superhighway (1986)

Inland waterways

475 km (1986); the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,448 km;
refined products, 1,500 km;
natural gas, 8,000 km

Ports

maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin), Yugoslavia (Rijeka, Koper), FRG (Hamburg), GDR (Rostock);
principal river ports are Prague on the Vltava, Decin on the Elbe (Labe), Komarno on the Danube, Bratislava on the Danube

Civil air

40 major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

stations--58 AM, 16 FM, 45 TV;
14 Soviet TV relays;
4,360,000 TV sets;
4,208,538 radio receivers;
at least 1 satellite earth station

Defense Forces

Czechoslovak People's Army, Frontier Guard, Air and Air Defense Forces

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49

4,019,311fit for military service

3,076,735reach military age (18) annually

137,733

Defense expenditures

28.4billion koruny

7% of total budget (1989); note--conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results

Branches