| Economy - overview | The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-05 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The current account deficit has declined to around 3% of GDP as demand for Czech products in the European Union has increased. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004, the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006. However, due to significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections, the government is not likely to meet this goal. Negotiations on pension and healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom took place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. |
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| GDP | 1.81% (2005 est.) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 37.8%
services: 59.4% (2006 est.) |
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| Population below poverty line | NA% |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
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Distribution of family income
- Gini index | 27.3 (2003) |
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| Labor force | 5.31 million (2006 est.) |
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| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 37.6%
services: 58.3% (2003) |
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| Unemployment rate | 8.4% (2006 est.) |
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| Budget | revenues: $57.88 billion
expenditures: $62.53 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 9.5% (2006 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 79.14 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9%
nuclear: 20%
other: 1% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 58.8 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
exports | 24.6 billion kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
imports | 9.8 billion kWh (2004) |
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| Oil - production | 15,240 bbl/day (2005) |
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| Oil - consumption | 203,100 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | 26,670 bbl/day (2001) |
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| Oil - imports | 182,000 bbl/day (2004) |
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| Oil - proved reserves | 17.25 million bbl (1 January 2002) |
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| Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
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| Exports | $89.34 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
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| Exports - partners | Germany 33.5%, Slovakia 8.7%, Austria 5.5%, Poland 5.5%, France 5.3%, UK 4.6%, Italy 4.3% (2005) |
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| Imports | $87.7 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
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| Imports - partners | Germany 30%, Russia 5.7%, Slovakia 5.4%, China 5.1%, Poland 5%, Italy 4.8%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 4% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $50.2 billion (30 June 2006 est.) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $2.4 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004-06) |
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| Currency code | CZK |
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| Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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