287 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
287 lines
23 KiB
Plaintext
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CZECHOSLOVAKIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 127,870 km2; land area: 125,460 km2
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Comparative area: slightly larger than New York State
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Land boundaries: 3,446 km total; Austria 548 km, Germany 815 km,
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Hungary 676 km, Poland 1,309 km, USSR 98 km
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Coastline: none--landlocked
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Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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Disputes: Nagymaros Dam dispute with Hungary
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Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters
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Terrain: mixture of hills and mountains separated by plains and
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basins
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Natural resources: coal, timber, lignite, uranium, magnesite,
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iron ore, copper, zinc
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Land use: arable land 40%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
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13%; forest and woodland 37%; other 9%; includes irrigated 1%
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Environment: infrequent earthquakes; acid rain; water pollution;
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air pollution
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Note: landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest
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and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a
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traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the
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Danube in central Europe
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PEOPLE
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Population: 15,724,940 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
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Birth rate: 14 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 11 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 77 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Czechoslovak(s); adjective--Czechoslovak
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Ethnic divisions: Czech 62.9%, Slovak 31.8%, Hungarian 3.8%,
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Polish 0.5%, German 0.3%, Ukrainian 0.3%, Russian 0.1%, other 0.3%
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Religion: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Orthodox 2%,
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other 28%
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Language: Czech and Slovak (official), Hungarian
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Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1970 est.)
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Labor force: 8,200,000 (1987); industry 36.9%, agriculture 12.3%,
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construction, communications, and other 50.8% (1982)
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Organized labor: Czech and Slovak Confederation of Trade
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Unions (CSKOS); new independent trade unions forming
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Czech and Slovak Federal Republic; note--on
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23 March 1990 the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was renamed the
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Czechoslovak Federative Republic; Slovak concerns about their
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status in the federation prompted the Federal Assembly to approve the
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name Czech and Slovak Federative Republic on 20 April 1990; on 23 April
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1990 the name was modified to Czech and Slovak Federal Republic
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Type: federal republic in transition to a confederative republic
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Capital: Prague
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Administrative divisions: 2 republics (republiky,
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singular--republika); Czech Republic (Ceska Republika),
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Slovak Republic (Slovenska Republika)
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Independence: 28 October 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
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Constitution: 11 July 1960; amended in 1968 and 1970; new
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Czech, Slovak, and federal constitutions to be drafted in 1991-92
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Legal system: civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes,
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modified by Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative
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acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code in
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process of modification to bring it in line with Conference on
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Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) obligations and to expunge
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Marxist-Leninist legal theory
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National holiday: National Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) and
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Founding of the Republic, 28 October (1918)
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Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Federalni
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Shromazdeni) consists of an upper house or Chamber of Nations
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(Snemovna Narodu) and a lower house or Chamber of the People
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(Snemovna Lidu)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Vaclav HAVEL;
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(interim president from 29 December 1989 and president since
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5 July 1990);
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Head of Government--Premier Marian CALFA (since
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10 December 1989);
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Deputy Premier Vaclav VALES (since 28 June 1990);
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Deputy Premier Jiri DIENSTBIER (since 28 June 1990);
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Deputy Premier Jozef MIKLOSKO (since 28 June 1990);
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Deputy Premier Pavel RYCHETSKY (since 28 June 1990)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Civic Forum, Vaclav KLAUS, chairman;
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Public Against Violence, Fedor GAL, chairman;
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Christian and Democratic Union, Vaclav BENDA;
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Christian Democratic Movement, Jan CARNOGURSKY;
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Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC), Pavol KANIS, chairman;
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KSC toppled from power in November 1989 by massive antiregime
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demonstrations, minority role in coalition government since 10 December
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1989
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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President--last held 5 July 1990 (next to be held July 1992);
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results--Vaclav HAVEL elected by the Federal Assembly;
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Federal Assembly--last held 8-9 June 1990 (next to be held June
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1992);
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results--Civic Forum/Public Against Violence coalition 46%, KSC 13.6%;
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seats--(300 total) Civic Forum/Public Against Violence coalition 170,
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KSC 47, Christian and Democratic Union/Christian Democratic
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Movement 40, Czech, Slovak, Moravian, and Hungarian groups 43
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Communists: 760,000 party members (September 1990); about
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1,000,000 members lost since November 1989
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Other political or pressure groups: Czechoslovak Socialist Party,
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Czechoslovak People's Party, Czechoslovak Social Democracy, Slovak
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Nationalist Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian Democratic Party;
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over 80 registered political groups fielded candidates in the 8-9 June
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1990 legislative election
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Member of: BIS, CCC, CSCE, ECE, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC,
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ICAO, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN,
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UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA;
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Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
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363-6315 or 6316;
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US--Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK; Embassy at Trziste 15,
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125 48, Prague 1 (mailing address is AMEM, Box 5630, APO New York
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09213-5630); telephone 42 (2) 536641 through 536649
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Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue
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isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a
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well-educated and skilled labor force. Its industry, transport, energy
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sources, banking, and most other means of production are state owned. The
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country is deficient, however, in energy and in many raw materials.
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Moreover, its aging capital plant lags well behind West European
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standards. Industry contributes almost 50% to GNP and construction
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contributes 10%. About 95% of agricultural land is in collectives or
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state farms. The centrally planned economy has been tightly linked in
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trade (80%) to the USSR and Eastern Europe. Growth has been sluggish,
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averaging less than 2% in the period 1982-89. GNP per capita is the
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highest in Eastern Europe. As in the rest of Eastern Europe, the sweeping
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political changes of 1989-90 have been disrupting normal channels of
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supply and compounding the government's economic problems. Having eased
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restrictions on private enterprise in 1990 and having adjusted some key
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prices, Czechoslovakia is now implementing a broad two-year program
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to make the difficult transition from a command to a market economy.
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Inflation and unemployment are beginning to rise, albeit from
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comparatively low levels.
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GNP: $120.3 billion, per capita $7,700; real growth rate - 2.9%
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(1990 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1990 est.)
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Unemployment rate: officially 0.8% (1990)
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Budget: revenues $17.1 billion; expenditures $16.8 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $1.5 billion (1991)
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Exports: $14.4 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
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commodities--machinery and equipment 42.7%; fuels, minerals,
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and metals 16.4%; agricultural and forestry products 12.5%, other
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28.4%;
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partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
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Bulgaria, Romania, US
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Imports: $14.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
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commodities--machinery and equipment 38.6%;
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fuels, minerals, and metals 24.1%; agricultural and forestry
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products 16.4%; other 20.9%;
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partners--USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria,
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Bulgaria, Romania, US
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External debt: $7.6 billion, hard currency indebtedness (September
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Industrial production: growth rate - 3.3% (1990 est.); accounts
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for almost 50% of GDP
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Electricity: 23,000,000 kW capacity; 90,000 million kWh produced,
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5,740 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: iron and steel, machinery and equipment, cement, sheet
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glass, motor vehicles, armaments, chemicals, ceramics, wood, paper
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products, footwear
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Agriculture: accounts for 7% of GNP (includes forestry); largely
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self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock
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production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs,
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cattle, and poultry; exporter of forest products
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Economic aid: donor--$4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist
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less developed countries (1954-89)
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Currency: koruna (plural--koruny); 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru
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Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1--27.65 (January 1991),
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17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989), 14.36 (1988), 13.69 (1987), 14.99 (1986),
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17.14 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 13,103 km total; 12,855 km 1.435-meter standard gauge,
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102 km 1.520-meter broad gauge, 146 km 0.750- and 0.760-meter narrow
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gauge; 2,861 km double track; 3,798 km electrified; government owned
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(1988)
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Highways: 73,540 km total; including 517 km superhighway (1988)
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Inland waterways: 475 km (1988); the Elbe (Labe) is the principal
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river
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Pipelines: crude oil, 1,448 km; refined products, 1,500 km; natural
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gas, 8,100 km
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Ports: maritime outlets are in Poland (Gdynia, Gdansk, Szczecin),
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Yugoslavia (Rijeka, Koper), Germany (Hamburg, Rostock); principal river
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ports are Prague on the Vltava, Decin on the Elbe (Labe),
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Komarno on the Danube, Bratislava on the Danube
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Merchant marine: 24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 363,002 GRT/
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565,813 DWT; includes 15 cargo, 6 bulk
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Civil air: 47 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 158 total, 158 usable; 40 with permanent-surface
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runways; 19 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: 4 million telephones; 25% of households
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have a telephone; stations--60 AM, 16 FM, 39 TV (11 Soviet TV
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relays); 4.4 million TVs (1990)
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Czechoslovak People's Army, Air and Air Defense Forces,
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Civil Defense, Border Guard
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,066,419; 3,110,958 fit for
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military service; 140,620 reach military age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: 26.9 billion koruny, NA% of GDP (1991);
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note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the
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official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading
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results
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