According to Allcitycodes, Czech Republic is located between 48°33’09” and 51°03’22” north latitude and 12°05’33” and 18°51’40” east longitude. It borders: in the north with Poland (761.8 km), in the southwest and west with Germany (810.3 km), in the south with Austria (466.3 km), in the east with Slovakia (265 km).
The relief is dominated by highlands and medium-altitude mountains. More than 1/2 of the territory (66.97%) lies at an altitude of up to 500 m above sea level, 31.98% – 500-1000 m, 1.05% – at an altitude of St. 1000 m. The average height is 430 m. It is located on the border of two mountain systems that differ in their geological structure and age. In the western and central part – the Bohemian massif (Krkonose): Snezhka (1603 m) – the highest point of the Czech Republic, Jeseniki, Sumava, Krushne mountains, Izersky mountains, Eagle mountains, etc. – medium-altitude mountains of the Paleozoic era; in the eastern part – the Carpathians, Moravian-Slezsky Beskids, Javorniki, Bile Carpathians – younger folded mountains of the Tertiary period. The plains occupy an insignificant part of the territory (24.1%) and are located in river valleys.
The main European watershed passes through the territory of the inland Czech Republic, separating the basins of the North, Baltic and Black Seas. Rivers (km) flow through the country: Laba (Elbe) (370), Vltava (433), Morava (246), Die (306), Odra (Oder) (135), Opava (131). The largest among natural lakes is the Black Lake with an area of 18.4 hectares (Klatovy district). Pond pools in South Bohemia: the largest pond is Rožmberk with an area of 489 ha (indřichov Hradec district). Brown and podzolic soils predominate. Almost 1/3 of the territory is covered by forests, mostly coniferous (67% of the forest area); 26 state-protected national parks and nature reserves: Šumava National Park with an area of 685 km2, the largest forest area in Central Europe; Boubin Pralesie, Trebońsko region, on the territory of which there are 500 ponds built in the 16th century, are protected by UNESCO; Czech Kras is the deepest cave system in the Czech Republic. The fauna includes: deer, roe deer, wild boar, fox, badger, hare, squirrel, lynx, brown bear, wolf, mouflon, chamois, otter.
Of the minerals, there are: coal (reserves of approximately 13,942 million tons) – more than 1/2 of the deposits are located in the Ostrava-Karvinsky coal basin; brown coal (reserves 10,377 million tons) – large deposits in the Podkrushnogorsk basins – Mostetsky and Sokolovsky basins, lignite (reserves 1018 million tons). There are reserves of uranium ores in the areas of Jachymov, Pribram, Zdar nad Sazavou, Czech Lipa, small reserves of oil (48.4 million tons) and natural gas (17,083 million m3). Resources of metal ores – iron ore, manganese, copper, lead, zinc, tin, tungsten, silver, gold – are insignificant, the deposits are depleted. From non-metallic minerals: graphite, magnesite, kaolin, quartz sands. The Czech Republic is rich in healing mineral springs (Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne, Frantiskov Lazne).
The climate is temperate, transitional from maritime to continental. The amount of precipitation is 500-700 mm/year. The average January temperature is -2°—3°C, in some areas it drops to -25°C. The average July temperature is +17-18°С, the maximum temperature is +35°С.
Population of the Czech Republic
The population density is 131 inhabitants per 1 km2. The main trends in the demographic structure of the population are low birth rates and an unfavorable age structure of the population. The birth rate (8.8‰) is one of the lowest in Europe and the lowest since 1785, when statistics began to be kept in the Czech Republic. In terms of infant mortality (4.1 per 1,000 newborns), the Czech Republic occupies one of the first places in the world. The average life expectancy for men is 71.7 years, for women 78.4 years. The problem of population aging has aggravated: for the first time in the thousand-year history of the Czech Republic, there are fewer children under the age of 14 in the age structure of the population than older people over 60 years of age. In 2001, the proportion of people aged 0-14 years was 16.5%, 15-59 years – 62.4%, 60 years and older – 18.1% (for comparison: in 1980 – 0-14 years 23.4%, 60 years and older 17%). According to the forecast, the share of people aged 60 and over will increase to 27% by 2020, and there will be 1 person of retirement age for every 2 people of working age. In the structure of the population, 51.3% are women, 70% of the population lives in cities and urban-type settlements. As part of the pension reform, the retirement age is increased every year by 2 months for men and 4 months for women. In 2007, the retirement age for men will be 62 years, for women 57-61 years, depending on the number of children.
Practically universal literacy has been achieved: 14% of the country’s population has primary and incomplete secondary education, 74.4% – secondary and 11.6% – higher education.
According to the 2001 census, 90.1% of the population is of Czech nationality, 3.6% Moravian, 0.1% Silesian, 1.8% Slovak, 0.5% Polish, 0.4% German, 0. 1% – gypsy, 3.4% – other nationalities. For the main part of the population, the spoken language is Czech (93.8%). Compared with the previous census in 1991, the population decreased by 0.1%. In the 1991 census, 81.1% of the population identified themselves as Czech, 13.2% Moravian, 0.4% Silesian, 3.1% Slovak, 0.5% German, 0.6% Polish, 0.3% – Roma and 0.2% – other nationalities. Compared to 1991, the number of persons of Moravian nationality decreased by 10.8%, or by 1 million people; in the 2001 census, they identified themselves as Czech nationality. By 64.4%, or by 33 thousand people, the number of people who identify themselves as Roma nationality has decreased. According to the 2001 census, 58, 3% of citizens classified themselves as atheists, 31.7% as believers, which is 28%, or 1 million people, less than in 1991; 83.1% of believers are Catholics.
