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Czech Republic |
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AtlasCzech RepublicThe Country
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The country is landlocked in the center of Europe and borders to Poland, Germany, Slovakia and Austria. The Hercynian and the Alpine-Himalayan mountain systems encircle and divide the land into the Bohemian plateau in the west and the Moravian Corridor (the Moravia River valley) in the east. The Moravia River empties in the Black Sea while the Elbe River drains Bohemia into the North Sea. In the north east the Oder River drains into the Baltic. The climate is transitional between maritime and continental. Variations in temperature and precipitation are large between the mountainous areas and the lowland.
Nearly 95% of the population is Czech, 3% Slovak and a small proportion of Germans, Gypsies, Jewish and Polish people.
The transition from command economy to market economy began shortly after the "velvet revolution" in 1989. Privatization was performed in two steps; 1991 and 1992. First were smaller businesses like groceries, hotels and restaurants etc. privatized and the year after large government owned companies. The first few years production decreased but commenced in 1994 to grow. Unemployment was, however, 8.5% in 2001. Main export commodities are manufactured goods, vehicles and chemicals, major import items include machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemical products, fuel and oil. The main trade partners are EU, Eastern Europe and Slovakia
There are large reserves of coal and lignite and about 70% of the needed electric power is produced by burning of lignite. The country also has nuclear power stations that produce another 30% of the electrical power.
The extensive burning of coal and lignite has caused the acidification and forest death in northern Moravia and also in NW Bohemia. The larger cities often suffer from air pollution, especially in winter.
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