CZECH REPUBLIC - BASIC FACTS

Total area of Czech REPUBLIC is almost 79,000 square kilometers, and the population is 10,349,372 people. The Czech Republic is a midsize European country. It’s size is comparable to that of Austria or Ireland and it would fit seven times into France. The Czech Republic makes up 2% of the European Union.

The country is made up of three historical regions – largest Bohemia (in the west), Moravia and Silesia (in the south-east and north-east respectively). The Capital of Czech Republic is Prague (Praha) which is located in the middle of Bohemia. Administratively, the Czech Republic is divided into 14 regions (the biggest is the region of Central Bohemia around capital city of Prague). Czech Republic has 6 232 municipalities.

Largest cities are the capital-Prague (1, 3 mil.), Brno in southern Moravia (376 000), Ostrava in northern Moravia (337 000) and Plzeň (Pilsen) in western Bohemia (164 000). Plzeň is famous for its beer – Pilsner Urquell.

The main rivers running through the Czech Republic are the Elbe (in czech Labe, 370 km) and Vltava (433 km) both are located in Bohemia. The main Moravian rivers are: Morava (246 km), Dyje (306 km) and Odra (Oder) (135 km).

From a geographical point of view, the Czech Republic lies on the boundary line of two mountain ranges. The hilly western and middle part of Bohemia is formed by the Czech highlands and the slightly higher mountain ranges of Šumava, Český les, Krušné hory, Krkonoše (the highest point in the country, the Sněžka, at 1,602 metres), Orlické hory and Jeseníky. The West Carpathian Mountains (Beskydy) lie in the eastern part of the country.