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Why images in Northern Ireland?
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Geography |
Location: Central Europe, southeast of Germany
Geographic coordinates: 49 45 N, 15 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 78,866 sq km
land: 77,276 sq km
water: 1,590 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than South
Carolina
Land boundaries:
total: 1,881 km
border countries: Austria 362 km, Germany 646 km,
Poland 658 km, Slovakia 215 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy,
humid winters
Terrain: Bohemia in the west consists of rolling
plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains;
Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Elbe River 115 m
highest point: Snezka 1,602 m
Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, kaolin,
clay, graphite, timber
Land use:
arable land: 41%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 11%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 12% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 240 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding
Environment - current issues: air and water
pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern
Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain
damaging forests
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen
Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - 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
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Background:
After World War II, Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere
of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended
the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule
and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet
demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh
repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989,
Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet
Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet
divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia. Now a member of NATO, the Czech Republic has moved
toward integration in world markets, a development that poses
both opportunities and risks.
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People |
Population: 10,272,179 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16% (male 866,754; female 823,795)
15-64 years: 70% (male 3,579,454; female
3,577,919)
65 years and over: 14% (male 547,462; female
876,795) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.08% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 9.1 births/1,000 population (2000
est.)
Death rate: 10.87 deaths/1,000 population (2000
est.)
Net migration rate: 0.95 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
(2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.51 years
male: 71.01 years
female: 78.22 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.18 children born/woman
(2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Czech(s)
adjective: Czech
Ethnic groups: Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak
3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%, Silesian 0.4%, Roma
0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (March 1991)
Religions: atheist 39.8%, Roman Catholic 39.2%,
Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%
Languages: Czech
Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: 99.9% (1999 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
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Communications |
Telephones - main lines in use: 3,741,492 (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 965,476 (1998)
Telephone system:
domestic: 70% of exchanges now digital; existing
copper subscriber systems now being enhanced with
Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to
accommodate Internet and other digital signals; trunk
systems include fiber-optic cable and microwave radio
relay
international: satellite earth stations - 2
Intersputnik (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions), 1
Intelsat, 1 Eutelsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 21, FM 199,
shortwave 1 (1999)
Radios: 3,173,856 (December 1999)
Television broadcast stations: 102 (of which 35 are
low power stations), plus about 500 repeaters (1988)
Televisions: 3,428,817 (December 1999)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 35 (1999)
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Transportation |
Railways:
total: 9,435 km
standard gauge: 9,341 km 1.435-m standard gauge
(2,946 km electrified at three voltages; 1,868 km double
track)
narrow gauge: 94 km 0.760-m narrow gauge (1998)
Highways:
total: 127,693 km
paved: 127,693 km (including 498 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 677 km; the Elbe (Labe) is the
principal river
Pipelines: natural gas 53,000 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem
Airports: 114 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 43
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 16 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 71
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 28
under 914 m: 42 (1999 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1999 est.)
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