1985 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1985 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Agriculture
diversified agriculture; main crops — wheat, rye, oats, corn, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, hogs, cattle, horses; net food importer — meat, wheat, vegetable oils, fresh fruits and vegetables
Area
175km Land 127,870 km2; the size of New York; 60% arable, 35% forest, 14% other agricultural, 9% other
Branches
executive — President (elected by Federal Assembly), Cabinet (appointed by President); legislative (Federal Assembly; elected directly — House of Nations, House of the People), 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
CNP
$147.1 billion in 1982 (in 1982 dollars), $9,550 per capita; 1982 real growth rate 0.5%
Communists
1.6 million party members and candidate members (August 1984)
Crude steel
15.0 million metric tons produced (1983), 974 kg per capita
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 (since 1969); Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS) has status of "provincial KSC organization"
Electric power
19,800,000 kW capacity (1984); 78.578 billion kWh produced (1984), 5,080 kWh per capita Exports.- $16.265 billion (f.o.b., 1982); 54% machinery, equipment; 17% manufactured consumer goods; 15% fuels, raw materials, metals; 7% foods, food products, live animals, forestry (1982)
Ethnic divisions
64.3% Czech, 30.5% Slovak, 3.8% Hungarian, 0.4% German, 0.4% Polish, 0.3% Ukrainian, 0.1% Russian, 0.2% other (Jewish, Gypsy)
Government leaders
Gustav HUSAK, President (since 1975); Lubomir STROUGAL, Premier (since 1970)
Imports
$16.219 billion (f.o.b., 1982); 39% fuels, raw materials, metals; 33% machinery, equipment; 14% foods, food products, live animals, forestry; 5% manufactured consumer goods (1980)
Labor force
7.8 million; 38.1% industry; 12.5% agriculture; 49.4% construction, communications, and other (1982) Government
Land boundaries
3,540 km People
Language
Czech and Slovak (official), Hungarian
Legal system
civil law system based on Austrian-Hungarian 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
Literacy
99%
Major industries
iron and steel, machinery and equipment, cement, sheet glass, motor vehicles, armaments, chemicals, ceramics, wood, paper products
Major trade partners
USSR, GDR, Poland, Hungary, FRG, Yugoslavia, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania; $32,484 million (1982); 71% with Communist countries, 29% with nonCommunist countries (1982)
Member of
CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, ICAO, ICO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO Economy
National holiday
Liberation Day, 9 May
Nationality
noun — Czechoslovak(s); adject i ve — Czechoslo va k
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); 7 regions (kraj) in Czech lands, 3 regions in Slovakia; republic capitals of Prague and Bratislava have regional status
Population
15,503,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 0.3%
Religion
77% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 2% Orthodox, 1% other
Shortages
ores, crude oil
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
Communist state
Voting strength
(1981 election) 99.96% for Communist-sponsored single slate