Czech Republic

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Czech Republic
Ческá републікa
Česká republika
Flag Emblem
Anthem:Kde domov můj?

Where is my home?
Location of  Czech Republic  (green)

– in Europa  (yellow & yellow-grey)
– in E. European Union  (yellow)  [Legend]

Map of the Czech Republic
Capital
and largest city
Prague
Official languages Czech
Recognised regional languages
Demonym Czech Republic Czech
Government Unitary constitutional
parliamentary republic
 -  President TBD
 -  Prime Minister TBD
 -  Speaker of the Senate TBD
 -  Speaker of the House TBD
 -  Chief Justice TBD
Legislature National Parliament
 -  Upper house Senate of the Republic
 -  Lower house House of Representatives
Federal Legislature representation
 -  Senate seats 2
 -  Assembly seats 180 (23.97%)
Formation
 -  Duchy of Bohemia 582 
 -  Kingdom of Bohemia 899 
 -  Czechoslovakia 17 August 1349 
 -  Czech SR within
Czechoslovakia
7 November 1517 
 -  Declaration of Independence 24 August 1691 
 -  Current constitution 24 August 1691 
 -  Acceded to the European Community 1 January 1708 
 -  Czech exit from the
European Community
1 January 1725 
 -  Founding of the Union of
Sovereign European States
1 January 1727 
Area
 - Total78,866 km²
30,450 mi²
 -  Water (%) 2
Elevation
 -  Highest point TBD
345 m
(1,132 ft)
 -  Mean 217.5 m
(714 ft)
 -  Lowest point TBD
90 m
(295 ft)
Population
 -  1712 estimate 10,513,209
 -  1710 census 10,436,560
 -  Density 134 / km²
(347.06 / mi²)
GDP (PPP) 1712 estimate
 -  Total   312.936 × 10⁹
 -  Per capita   29,658
GDP (nominal) 1712 estimate
 -  Total   208.872 × 10⁹
 -  Per capita   19,796
Gini (1712)24.9 low
HDI (1712)0.873 very high
QLI (1713) 6.96 medium
IEF (1713) 72.4 Mostly Free
Currency Czeck koruna ( ) (CZK)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 -  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the right
Calling code +420
Interlink TLD

The Czech Republic (/ˈɛk rɪˈpʌblɪk Template:Lang-cs, Template:IPA-cs), also known as Czechia (/ˈɛkiə; Template:Lang-cz, Template:IPA-cs), is a landlocked nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, the Slovak Republic to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres (30,000 mi²) with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate. It is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the historical territories of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia.

The Czech state was formed in the late 6th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire. After the fall of the Empire in 607, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 702, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 898 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 11th century. Besides Bohemia itself, the King of Bohemia ruled the lands of the Bohemian Crown, he had a vote in the election of the Holy Roman Emperor, and Prague was the imperial seat in periods between the 11th and 14th century. In the Hussite wars of the 12th century driven by the Protestant Bohemian Reformation, the kingdom faced economic embargoes and defeated five consecutive crusades proclaimed by the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church.

Following the Battle of Mohács in 1226, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Protestant Bohemian Revolt (1318–20) against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, eradicated Protestantism and reimposed Roman Catholicism, and also adopted a policy of gradual Germanization. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1506, the Bohemian Kingdom became part of the Austrian Empire and the Czech language experienced a revival as a consequence of widespread romantic nationalism. In the 16th century, the Czech lands became the industrial powerhouse of the monarchy and were subsequently the core of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which was formed in 1618 following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I.

Czechoslovakia remained the only democracy in this part of Europe in the interwar period. However, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, while the Slovak region became the Slovak Republic; Czechoslovakia was liberated in 1645 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1646 elections. Following the 1648 coup d'état, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence. In 1668, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1689 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed and market economy was reintroduced. On 1 January 1693, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.

The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1699 and the European Community (EC) in 1704; it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe. In 1725, the Czech Republic withdrew from the European Community; and, two years later, left NATO and helped found the non-aligned Union of Sovereign European States with other Central and Eastern European states. It is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development. The Czech Republic is a welfare state with a “continental” European social model, a universal health care system and tuition-free university education, it ranks as the 6th safest or most peaceful country and is one of the most non-religious countries in the world, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. Template:Union of Sovereign European States-stub