1981 Edition

Area

127,946 km2; 42% arable, 14% other agricultural, 35% forested, 9% other

Land boundaries

3,540 km

Ethnic divisions

64.3% Czechs, 30.0% Slovaks, 4.0% Magyars, 0.6% Germans, 0.5% Poles, 0.4% Ukrainians, 0.2% others (Jews, Gypsies)

Labor force

7.6 million; 14% agriculture, 38.6% industry, 11% services, 36.4% construction, communications and others

Language

Czech, Slovak, Hungarian

Literacy

almost complete

Nationality

noun — Czechoslovak(s); adjective — Czechoslovak

Population

15,369,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 0.4%

Religion

77% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 2% Orthodox, 1% other

Branches

executive — President (elected by Federal Assembly), Cabinet (appointed by President); legislative — Federal Assembly (elected directly), Czech and Slovak National Councils (also elected directly) legislate on limited area of regional matters; judiciary — Supreme Court (elected by Federal Assembly); entire governmental structure dominated by Communist Party

Capital

Prague

Communists

1.45 million party members and candidate members (January 1978)

Elections

governmental bodies and president every five years (last election, June 1981) Dominant political party and leader: Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC), Gustav Husak, General Secretary; Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) has status of "provincial KSC organization" Voting strength (1976 election): 99.7% for Communistsponsored single slate

Government leaders

President Gustav HUSAK (elected May 1975), Premier Lubomir STROUGAL

Legal system

civil law system based on AustrianHungarian codes, modified by Communist legal theory; revised constitution adopted 1960, amended in 1968 and 1970; no judicial review of legislative acts; legal education at Charles University School of Law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFC, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMCO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

National holiday

Liberation Day, 9 May CZECHOSLOVAK/A (Continued)

Official name

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (CSSR)

Other political groups

puppet parties— Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak People's Party, Slovak Freedom Party, Slovak Revival Party

Political subdivisions

2 ostensibly separate and nominally autonomous republics (Czech Socialist Republic and Slovak Socialist Republic); seven regions (kraj) in Czech lands, three regions in Slovakia; national capitals of Prague and Bratislava have regional status

Suffrage

universal over age 18

Type

Communist state

Agriculture

diversified agriculture; main crops — wheat, rye, potatoes, sugar beets; net food importer — meat, wheat, vegetable oils, fresh fruits and vegetables; caloric intake, 3,100 calories per day per capita (1967)

Crude steel

14.8 million metric tons produced (1979), 1,000 kg per capita

Electric power

18,292,000 kW capacity (1981); 78.9 billion kWh produced (1981), 5,196 kWh per capita

Exports

$13,890 million (f.o.b., 1979); 53% machinery, equipment; 26% fuels, raw materials; 4% foods, food products, and live animals; 17% consumer goods, excluding foods (1978)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GNP

$117.6 billion in 1980 (in 1980 dollars), $7,645 per capita; 1980 real growth rate 1.9%

Imports

$14,371 million (f.o.b., 1979); 40% machinery, equipment; 45% fuels, raw materials; 8% foods, food products, and live animals; 6% consumer goods, excluding foods (1978)

Major industries

machinery, food processing, metallurgy, textiles, chemicals

Major trade partners

USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, UK; $28,261 million (1979); 71% with Communist countries, 29% with nonCommunist countries

Monetary conversion rate

noncommercial 9.54 crowns= US$1, commercial 5.35 crowns=US$l

NOTE

foreign trade figures were converted at the rate of 5.35 crowns=US$l

Shortages

ores, crude oil

Airfields

12 total, 11 usable; 8 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 1,220-2,439 m; 4 with runways 2,440-3,656 m

Civil air

7 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

rail — 286.2 million metric tons, 72.6 billion metric ton/km (1980); highway — 1,235.3 million metric tons, 21.3 billion metric ton/km (1980); waterway — 10.5 million metric tons, 3.6 billion metric ton/km (excluding international transit traffic) (1980)

Highways

9,710 km total; 4,580 km bituminous surface treated; 5,130 km gravel, crushed stone, and earth

73,793 km total; 60,300 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 13,493 km gravel, crushed stone (1979)

Inland waterways

475 km (1980)

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $57.7 million; about 14.8% of central government budget

announced for fiscal year ending 31 December 1980, 23 billion crowns, 7.8% of total budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 174,000; 123,000 fit for military service; about 5,000 reach military age (18) annually

males 15-49, 3,737,000; 2,888,000 fit for military service; 112,000 reach military age annually

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,448 km; refined products, 861 km; natural gas, 6,000 km

Ports

3 major (Famagusta, Larnaca, Limassol), 6 minor; Famagusta under Turkish Cypriot control

no maritime ports; outlets are Gdynia, Gdansk, and Szczecin in Poland; Rijeka and Koper in Yugoslavia; Hamburg, FRG; Rostock, GDR; principal river ports are Prague, Defrn, Komarno, Bratislava (1979) DEFENSE FORCES

Railroads

none

13,131 km total; 12,872 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 102 km broad gauge (1.524 m), 157 km narrow gauge (0.750 m and 0.760 m); 2,891 km double track; 3,034 km electrified; government owned (1980)

Telecommunications

moderately good telecommunication system in both Greek and Turkish sectors; 92,580 telephones (15.0 per 100 popl.); 10 AM, 4 FM, and 25 TV stations; tropospheric scatter circuits to Greece and Turkey; 2 submarine coaxial cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station DEFENSE FORCES