3. The Czech Republic is a country in Central
Europe, which borders Poland to the
Northeast, Germany to the west and
northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to
the east. The country's capital is Prague. It has
been a member of the European Union since
2004 May.
On January 1st 1993 Czechoslovakia, was
divided into two by a parliamentary decision.
Since then, the Czech Republic and Slovak
Republic (Slovakia) are two independent
countries.
4. The Czech landscape is varied. To the west, it
consists of a basin drained by the Elbe and
the Vltava rivers, surrounded by mostly low
mountains.
The Czech climate is mixed,with moderate
summers and winters somewhat strict.
Vegetation is basically the temperate
rainforest, which has needle-shaped leaves
that fall in winter.
5. The River Elbe is a river in central Europe that is
born in the Czech Republic to 1386 m in height
and heading out towards the northwest, and
empties into the North Sea, Germany, covering a
total length of 1165 km. It is the 12th longest
river in Europe, and is among the 130 longest
rivers in the world.
6. Demographic evolution of the Czech Republic since
1993.
Most 10.2 million inhabitants of the Czech Republic
are ethnically and linguistically Czechs (95%). Other
ethnic groups include Germanic, Gypsies and Pole.
The border between the Czech Republic and
Slovakia is open to people with citizenship of
Czechoslovakia. Laws establishing religious
freedom were created shortly after the revolution of
1989, revoking oppressive rules promoted by the
Communist regime.
The largest religious community is the Roman
Catholic (27% of the population). A large
percentage of the Czech population claims to be
Czech (59%)
7. The Prime Minister is the head of Government and maintains
considerable powers, including the right to determine most of
domestic and foreign policy, mobilize the parliamentary
majority and choose government ministers.
The Parliament is bicameral, with the Chamber of Deputies and
the Senate .
8. The Czech Republic consists of 13 regions and a capital city, marked
by one:
Núm. Region (in Czech) Capital
01 Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary
02 Ústí nad Labem Ústí nad Labem
03 Liberec Liberec
04 Hradec Králové Hradec Králové
05 Pardubice Pardubice
06 Olomouc Olomouc
07 Moravia-Silesia Ostrava
08 Plzeň Plzeň
09 Prague Prague
10 South Bohemia České Budějovice
11 Vysočina Jihlava
12 South Moravia Brno
13 Zlín Zlín
9. Prague, capital city and the
largest in the country. Since the
1990s the city has become one
of the biggest tourist destinations of Europe.
The principal industries are heavy and
general machine-building, iron and steel
production, metalworking, chemical
production, electronics, transportation
equipment, textiles, glass, brewing, china,
ceramics, and pharmaceuticals. Its main
agricultural products are sugarbeets,
potatoes, wheat, and hops.
