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