What are the Key Facts of Czechia?

Where is Czechia?

Czechia is a landlocked Central European country that is located as a slightly squashed, oval fish between Austria, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany.

What is the Geography of Czechia?

Czechia or the Czech Republic has a total area of 78,866 sq. km (30,450 sq. mi), out of which 77,247 sq. km (29,825 sq. mi) is land area and 1,620 sq. km (625 sq. mi) is water area. It has a 2,143 km (1,332 mi) long land boundary, which is shared with 4 neighboring countries: Poland (796 km or 495 mi), Germany (704 km or 437 mi), Austria (402 km or 250 mi), and Slovakia (241 km or 150 mi). The country has no coastline as it is landlocked.

The Czech Republic is surrounded by hills on all sides. It mainly consists of uplands and some low mountain ranges. The terrain mostly consists of hilly plateaus and relatively low mountains surround them. There are many bordering mountain ranges such as the Sumarva Mountains of the southwest, Sudetic, Ore, and the Carpathian.

The highest elevation point in Czechia is Mount Snezka at 1,602 m (5,256 ft), which is located in the Sudetic Mountains. Some of the other major mountains are Lučni, Studnični, Wielki Szyszak, and many more.

The western region of the country is known as Bohemia, which consists of a low-lying basin that is drained by two rivers Elbe River and Vltava River. The eastern part of the Czech Republic is called Moravia, which is mainly a hilly land. Morava River drains the Moravia region.

One of the main rivers in Europe is called the Oder River, which rises in the northeast of Czechia and flows to the Baltic Sea in the north. Labe (Elbe) River at 115 m (377 ft) is the lowest elevation point in the country. The mean elevation of Czechia is 433 m (1,421 ft).

This Central European country lacks natural lakes and that’s why reservoirs have become very important. In the enclosed river valleys there are around 125 artificial lakes in Czechia.

The Czech Republic has a typical European continental influenced climate, having fairly cold winter season and warm but dry summer. The coldest month is January when the daytime temperature generally revolves around 0 °C (32 °F). On some days, heavy snowfall also takes place. Snowstorms also take place sometimes. In certain times of winter season, the temperature dips far below 0 °C (32 °F), accompanied by strong, cold winds.

In the low-land areas of Czechia, snow remains for less than 40 days on an average annually. The mountainous regions get up to 120 days of snow per year. During summer, the average daytime temperature revolves around 20-25 °C (68-77 °F). However, sometimes it can go as high as 30°C (86 °F) or even more. The average temperature revolves around 20 °C (68 °F) in July, the warmest month in Czechia.

Most of the times dry weather is accompanied by sunny days. However, heavy thunderstorms can also take place mainly in the mountainous areas at the end of the day. The region around Zatec is the driest area in Czechia, where the average annual precipitation level is 410 mm (16 inches). The average annual precipitation level in the mountainous region near Lysa Hora is around 1,600 mm (63 inches).

May-September is the best time to visit the Czech Republic.

What is the Economy of Czechia?

Czechia has a developed, high-income economy, which maintains the European social-economic model while being a welfare state. In 2018, the economy expanded at a rate of 3% to reach the nominal GDP of US$ 245,226 million.

In 2017, it had a positive balance of trade, amounting to US$ 4.14 billion. While the export was $164 billion, the import was $160 billion. While the main exports were cars, vehicle parts, broadcasting equipment, computers, office machine parts, etc, the main import items were vehicle parts, office machine parts, cars, etc.

The unemployment rate has dropped sharply over the years since 2013. It was 6.95% in 2013, which has come down to 2.4% in 2018. The statistics published by the Czech Statistical Office in November 2017 shows that Czechia has a poverty level of 9.5%, which is the lowest in Europe.

What is the Transportation System of Czechia?

Czechia has a decently developed transport system. There is a total of 55,744 km (34,638 mi) roadway in the country including urban and category I, II, III roads. All the roads are paved. 1,252 km (778 mi) of the roadway are expressways.

Around 9,408 km (5,846 mi) of railway tracks are there in the Czech Republic. Most of the railway network (9,385 km or 5,832 mi) is a standard gauge, which includes a 3,218 km (2,000 mi) electrified train network. 23 km (14 mi) of the narrow-gauge railway network is also present.

There is 664 km (413 mi) of waterway available in this Central European country and most of the navigation takes place on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers/lakes/canals. There are three river ports present in the country. While the Prague river port is located on Vltava River, Decin and Usti nad Labem River ports are located on Elbe River.

The Czech Republic has 128 airports, out of which 41 are paved and the rest 87 are unpaved. Most important airports of the country, in terms of passengers served, are Václav Havel Airport Prague, Brno–Tuřany Airport, Ostrava Airport, and Karlovy Vary Airport.

What International Organizations is Czechia part of?

WTO, CERN, UN, WHO, Schengen Convention, IMF, UNESCO, Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WIPO, WMO, ZC, BSEC (observer), ICC (national committees), ITUC (NGOs), WFTU (NGOs), OAS (observer), OIF (observer)

Related Links:

• What all Modern-day Countries Comprised Czechoslovakia?

• What is the Capital of Czechia?