Czechia Travel Podcast with Tereza Nováková

Location

Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria

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

Climate

Temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters

Elevation

Highest point

Snezka 1,602 m

Lowest point

Labe (Elbe) River 115 m

Mean elevation

433 m

Area

Total

78,867 sq km

Land

77,247 sq km

Water

1,620 sq km

Size comparison

About two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than South Carolina

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Land borders

Total

2,046 km

Border countries

Austria 402 km; Germany 704 km; Poland 699 km; Slovakia 241 km

Natural resources

Hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, arable land

Land use

Agricultural land

45.8% (2023 est.)

Arable land

32.7% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

0.5% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

12.5% (2023 est.)

Forest

38.2% (2023 est.)

Other

16% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Flooding

Note

Note 1: landlocked; strategically located on 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

Note 2: the Hranice Abyss in Czechia is the world's deepest surveyed freshwater cave at 519 m (1,703 ft); its survey is not complete, and it may be up to 800-1,200 m (2,625-3,937 ft) deep

Population

Total

10,838,703 (2025 est.)

Male

5,337,128

Female

5,501,575

Nationality

Noun

Czech(s)

Adjective

Czech

Ethnic groups

Czech 57.3%, Moravian 3.4%, other 7.7%, unspecified 31.6% (2021 est.)

Languages

Languages

Czech (official) 88.4%, Slovak 1.5%, other 2.6%, unspecified 7.2% (2021 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

World Factbook, nepostradatelný zdroj základních informací. (Czech)

Religions

Roman Catholic 7%, other believers belonging to a church or religious society 6% (includes Evangelical United Brethren Church and Czechoslovak Hussite Church), believers unaffiliated with a religious society 9.1%, none 47.8%, unspecified 30.1% (2021 est.)

Median age

Total

44.4 years (2025 est.)

Male

42.7 years

Female

45.7 years

Life expectancy

Total population

78.6 years (2024 est.)

Male

75.6 years

Female

81.8 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

74.6% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

0.2% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, but the northern and eastern regions tend to have larger urban concentrations

Largest cities

1.323 million PRAGUE (capital) (2023)

Background

At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia, a parliamentarian democracy. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, the new country's predominantly Czech leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the increasingly strident demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Slovaks, the Sudeten Germans, and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, Nazi Germany occupied the territory that today comprises Czechia, and Slovakia became an independent state allied with Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) fell within the Soviet sphere of influence when the pro-Soviet Communist party staged a coup in February 1948. In 1968, an invasion by fellow Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. The country formally added the short-form name Czechia in 2016, while also continuing to use the full form name, the Czech Republic.

Government

Parliamentary republic

Capital

Prague

Time zone

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Ceska republika

Independence

1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)

National day

Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)

Overview

High-income, diversified EU economy; manufacturing-oriented exporter led by automotive industry; moderate growth driven by household consumption and investments, despite negative contribution from net exports; tight labor market with low unemployment; gained energy independence from Russian oil in April 2025

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$48,000 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$47,500 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$48,400 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

2.4% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

10.7% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

15.1% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

2.6% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

2.6% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

2.3% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Koruny (CZK) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2024

23.217 (2024 est.)

Exchange rates 2023

22.198 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

23.357 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

21.678 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

23.21 (2020 est.)

Main industries

Motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments

Agriculture

Wheat, sugar beets, milk, barley, rapeseed, potatoes, maize, triticale, pork, chicken (2023)

Airports

252 (2025)

Railways

Total 9,548 km (2020) 3,242 km electrified

Internet domain

.cz

Internet users

Percent of population 86% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

13.6 million (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

127 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

Air and water pollution (including acid rain) in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava; pollution from industry, mining, and agriculture

Fresh water

13.15 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Total global geoparks and regional networks

1

Global geoparks and regional networks

Bohemian Paradise (2023)