View source for Czech Republic

{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Country in Central Europe}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{Redirect-distinguish|Czechia|Chechnya}}
{{Other uses|Czechia (disambiguation)|Czech Republic (disambiguation)}}
}}
{{Protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Czech Republic
| common_name            = Czechia
| linking_name           = the Czech Republic<!--to link to "[Topic] of the Czech Republic" articles-->
| native_name            = {{native name|cs|Česká republika}}
| image_flag             = Flag of the Czech Republic.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg
| coa_size               = 80
| symbol_type            = {{nowrap|[[Coat of arms of the Czech Republic|Coat of arms]]}}
| national_motto         = {{native phrase|cs|[[Truth prevails|Pravda vítězí]]|nolink=yes}}<br />"Truth prevails"
| national_anthem        = {{native phrase|cs|[[Kde domov můj]]|nolink=yes}}<br />"Where My Home Is"<br /><div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.5em;">[[File:Czech anthem.ogg]]</div>
| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Czech Republic (orthographic projection).svg|frameless]]|Show globe|[[File:EU-Czechia.svg|frameless]]|Show map of the European Union|default=2}}
| map_width              = 250px
| map_caption            = {{map caption |countryprefix=the |location_color=dark green |region=Europe |region_color=dark gray |subregion=the European Union |subregion_color=green |legend=EU-Czechia.svg}}
| image_map2             = 
| capital                = [[Prague]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|50|05|N|14|28|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| languages_type         = Official language
| official_languages     = [[Czech language|Czech]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.czech.cz/en/67019-czech-language |title=Czech language |work=Czech Republic – Official website |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=14 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106000422/http://www.czech.cz/en/67019-czech-language |archive-date=6 November 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| languages2_type        = [[Minority languages of the Czech Republic|Officially recognized minority languages]]
| languages2             = {{flatlist|
* [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]]
* [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
* [[Croatian language|Croatian]]
* [[German language|German]]
* [[Greek language|Greek]]
* [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
* [[Polish language|Polish]]
* [[Romani language|Romani]]
* [[Russian language|Russian]]
* [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]]
* [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
* [[Slovak language|Slovak]]
* [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
* [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]
}}{{asof|2022}}{{efn|Citizens belonging to minorities, which traditionally and on a long-term basis live within the territory of the Czech Republic, enjoy the right to use their language in communication with authorities and in courts of law (for the list of recognized minority languages, see [[Minority languages of the Czech Republic]]).<ref name=languages>{{cite web |title=Historie a současnost Rady EN |url=http://www.vlada.cz/en/pracovni-a-poradni-organy-vlady/rnm/historie-a-soucasnost-rady-en-16666 |website=[[Government of the Czech Republic]] |date=4 May 2006 |lang=cs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607051111/http://www.vlada.cz/en/pracovni-a-poradni-organy-vlady/rnm/historie-a-soucasnost-rady-en-16666/ |archive-date=7 June 2012}}</ref>
Belarusian and Vietnamese since 4 July 2013.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Jan Jiřička |author2=Martina Žilková |title=Česko má nové oficiální národnostní menšiny. Vietnamce a Bělorusy |url=http://zpravy.idnes.cz/vietnamci-oficialni-narodnostni-mensinou-fiq-/domaci.aspx?c=A130703_133019_domaci_jj |website=iDNES.cz |date=3 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708074104/http://zpravy.idnes.cz/vietnamci-oficialni-narodnostni-mensinou-fiq-/domaci.aspx?c=A130703_133019_domaci_jj|archive-date=8 July 2013}}</ref> Article 25 of the Czech [[Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms]] ensures the right of the national and ethnic minorities to education and communication with the authorities in their own language. Act No. 500/2004 Coll. (''The Administrative Rule'') in its paragraph 16 (4) (''Procedural Language'') ensures that a citizen of the Czech Republic who belongs to a national or an ethnic minority, which traditionally and on a long-term basis lives within the territory of the Czech Republic, has the right to address an administrative agency and proceed before it in the language of the minority.<ref name="500_2004">{{cite web |title=500/2004 Coll. ACT of 24th June 2004 Code of Administrative Procedure |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/175155/20090113ATT46029EN.pdf |website=[[European Union]] |date=24 June 2004}}</ref> If the administrative agency has no employee with knowledge of the language, the agency is bound to obtain a translator at the agency's own expense. According to Act No. 273/2001 (''Concerning the Rights of Members of Minorities'') paragraph 9 (''The right to use language of a national minority in dealing with authorities and in front of the courts of law'') the same also applies to members of national minorities in the courts of law.<ref name="report2004">{{cite web |title=Government of the Czech Republic Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic No. 663 from 30 June 2004 |url=https://vlada.gov.cz/assets/ppov/rnm/dokumenty/dokumenty-rady/_en_report2003_.pdf |website=[[Government of the Czech Republic]] |date=30 June 2004}}</ref>}}{{efn|The Slovak language may be considered an official language in the Czech Republic under certain circumstances, as defined by several laws.<ref name="500_2004"/><ref>{{cite web  |title=337/1992 Sb. Zákon o správě daní a poplatků |url=https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/1992-337 |website=Zákony pro lidi |language=cs |date=1 July 1992 |trans-title=Act No. 337/1992 Coll. Act of the Czech National Council on the Administration of Taxes and Fees}}</ref>}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{vunblist
 | 89% [[Czechs]]
 | 3.3% [[Moravians]] 
 | 0.9% [[Slovaks in the Czech Republic|Slovaks]]
 | 0.7% [[Ukrainians in the Czech Republic|Ukrainians]]
 | 2.1% [[Demographics of the Czech Republic|other]]
 | 4.0% two nationalities
  }}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="census2021">{{cite web|title=Národnost|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/narodnost|work=Census 2021|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|language=cs|access-date=13 January 2022|archive-date=15 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220115083026/https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/narodnost|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| religion               = {{ublist |item_style=white-space:nowrap; |56.9% [[Irreligion in the Czech Republic|no religion]] |{{Tree list}}
* 11.7% [[Christianity]]
** 9.3% [[Catholic Church in the Czech Republic|Catholicism]]
** 2.4% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
{{Tree list/end}}
|1.2% [[Religion in Czech Republic|other]]|30.1% unanswered}}
| religion_ref           = <ref>{{cite web|title=Náboženská víra|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/nabozenska-vira|work=Census 2021|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|language=cs|access-date=13 January 2022|archive-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122135853/https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/nabozenska-vira|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| religion_year          = 2021
| demonym                = [[Czechs|Czech]]
| government_type        = [[Unitary parliamentary republic]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of the Czech Republic|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Petr Pavel]]
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Andrej Babiš]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of the Czech Republic|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Senate of the Czech Republic|Senate]]
| lower_house            = [[Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic|Chamber of Deputies]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of the Czech lands|Establishment]]
| established_event1     = [[Duchy of Bohemia]]
| established_date1      = {{circa}} 870
| established_event2     = {{nowrap|[[Kingdom of Bohemia]]}}
| established_date2      = 1198
| established_event3     = [[First Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]]
| established_date3      = 28 October 1918
| established_event4     = [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|Czech Republic]]
| established_date4      = 1 January 1993
| area_km2               = 78,871
| area_footnote          = <ref name=landuse>{{cite web |url=https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=vystup-objekt-vyhledavani&vyhltext=plochy&bkvt=cGxvY2h5&katalog=all&pvo=ZPR15|title=Land use (as at 31 December)|work=Public database|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 115th <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 30,452 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water          = 2.16 (as of 2022)<ref name=landuse/>
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 10,900,555<ref>{{cite web|title=Population of cohesion regions, regions and districts of the Czech Republic, 1 January 2024|url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/218418152/1300722401.pdf/61fe01a6-d309-4e44-be63-b30c279fd184?version=1.0|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|date=17 May 2024|access-date=17 May 2024|archive-date=17 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517095052/https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/218418152/1300722401.pdf/61fe01a6-d309-4e44-be63-b30c279fd184?version=1.0|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_census      = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 10,524,167<ref name="census2021"/>
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_estimate_rank = 85th
| population_census_year = 2021
| population_density_km2 = 133
| population_density_sq_mi = 345 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| population_density_rank = 91st
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $619.881&nbsp;billion<ref name="IMFWEO.CZ">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=935,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2029&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Czechia) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=www.imf.org |date=22 October 2024 |access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 46th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}} $56,686<ref name="IMFWEO.CZ" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 38th
| GDP_nominal            = {{decrease}} $342.992&nbsp;billion<ref name="IMFWEO.CZ" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 47th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{decrease}} $31,365<ref name="IMFWEO.CZ" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 38th
| Gini                   = 24.4 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2023
| Gini_change            = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="eurogini">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tessi190/default/table?lang=en |title=Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income – EU-SILC survey|publisher=[[Eurostat]] |website=ec.europa.eu |access-date=4 May 2024}}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.915 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 29th
| currency               = [[Czech koruna]]
| currency_code          = CZK
| time_zone              = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset             = +1
| utc_offset_DST         = +2
| time_zone_DST          = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| date_format            = d. m. yyyy
| drives_on              = right
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in the Czech Republic|+420]]{{efn|Code 42 was shared with [[Slovakia]] until 1997.}}
| patron_saint           = [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|St. Wenceslaus]]
| iso3166code            = CZ
| cctld                  = [[.cz]]{{Efn|Also [[.eu]], shared with other European Union member states.}}
| flag_p1                = Flag of the Czech Republic.svg
| today                  = 
}}

The '''Czech Republic''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=en-us-Czech Republic.ogg|tʃ|ɛ|k}} {{Respell|CHEK}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/|title=Oxford English Dictionary|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111125659/http://www.oed.com/|archive-date=11 January 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> {{langx|cs|Česká republika}} {{IPA|cs|ˈtʃɛskaː ˈrɛpublɪka||Cs-Ceska Republika.oga}}.}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://style-guide.europa.eu/en/content/-/isg/topic?identifier=7.1.1-designations-and-abbreviations| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412222619/http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370100.htm | archive-date=12 April 2023 | title=Publications Office — Interinstitutional style guide — 7.1. Countries — 7.1.1. Designations and abbreviations to use|publisher=Publications Office | access-date=8 October 2024}}</ref> also known as '''Czechia'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=Czechia.ogg|ˈ|tʃ|ɛ|k|i|ə}} {{Respell|CHEK|ee|ə}}; {{langx|cs|Česko}} {{IPA|cs|ˈtʃɛsko||Cs-Česko.ogg}}.}}<ref>{{cite web |title=the Czech Republic |url=https://unterm.un.org/unterm2/en/view/4275087d-4018-4082-899d-95f37efeda65 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616122308/https://unterm.un.org/unterm2/en/view/4275087d-4018-4082-899d-95f37efeda65 |archive-date=16 June 2023 |access-date=28 November 2023 |publisher=The United Nations Terminology Database}}</ref> and historically known as '''Bohemia''',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Šitler |first1=Jiří |date=12 July 2016 |title=From Bohemia to Czechia |url=https://english.radio.cz/bohemia-czechia-8220362 |access-date=1 June 2021 |website=Czech Radio|author-link=Jiří Šitler}}</ref> is a [[landlocked country]] in [[Central Europe]]. The country is bordered by [[Austria]] to the south, [[Germany]] to the west, [[Poland]] to the northeast, and [[Slovakia]] to the southeast.<ref>{{cite web|title=Information about the Czech Republic|url=http://www.mzv.cz/chicago/en/other_useful_information/information_about_the_czech_republic/index.html|website=Czech Foreign Ministry|access-date=25 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403192723/http://www.mzv.cz/chicago/en/other_useful_information/information_about_the_czech_republic/index.html|archive-date=3 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of {{convert|78871|km2|sqmi|sp=us}} with a mostly temperate [[Humid continental climate|continental]] and [[oceanic climate]]. The capital and largest city is [[Prague]]; other major cities and urban areas include [[Brno]], [[Ostrava]], [[Plzeň]] and [[Liberec]].

The [[Duchy of Bohemia]] was founded in the late 9th century under [[Great Moravia]]. It was formally recognized as an [[Imperial Estate]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1002 and became [[Kingdom of Bohemia|a kingdom]] in 1198.<ref name="The Path">{{cite web|url=http://www.vlada.cz/assets/udalosti/vystavy/Cesty-ceske-ustavnosti.pdf|title=The Path of Czech Constitutionality|last1=Mlsna|first1=Petr|last2=Šlehofer|first2=F.|year=2010|work=1st edition|publisher=Úřad Vlády České Republiky (The Office of the Government of the Czech Republic)|location=Praha|pages=10–11|language=cs, en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234802/http://www.vlada.cz/assets/udalosti/vystavy/Cesty-ceske-ustavnosti.pdf|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live|access-date=31 October 2012|last3=Urban|first3=D.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacr.cz/zpravy/zlatabula800.aspx|title=800 let Zlaté buly sicilské|last=Čumlivski|first=Denko|year=2012|publisher=National Archives of the Czech Republic (Národní Archiv České Republiky)|language=cs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128035158/http://www.nacr.cz/zpravy/zlatabula800.aspx|archive-date=28 November 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=31 October 2012}}</ref> Following the [[Battle of Mohács]] in 1526, all of the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]] were gradually integrated into the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. Nearly a hundred years later, the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Bohemian Revolt]] led to the [[Thirty Years' War]]. After the [[Battle of White Mountain]], the Habsburgs consolidated their rule. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Crown lands became part of the [[Austrian Empire]].

During the 19th century, the [[Czech lands]] underwent significant industrialization. Following the collapse of [[Austria-Hungary]] after [[World War I]], most of the region became part of the [[First Czechoslovak Republic]] in 1918.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dijk|first1=Ruud van|last2=Gray|first2=William Glenn|last3=Savranskaya|first3=Svetlana|last4=Suri|first4=Jeremi|last5=Zhai|first5=Qiang|title=Encyclopedia of the Cold War|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1135923112|page=76|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgX0bQ3Enj4C&pg=PA76|access-date=13 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122052153/https://books.google.cz/books?id=QgX0bQ3Enj4C|archive-date=22 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]] during the entirety of the [[interwar period]].<ref name="Ash0">Timothy Garton Ash ''[[iarchive:usesofadversitye0000gart h4f4|The Uses of Adversity]]'' Granta Books, 1991 {{ISBN|0-14-014038-7}} p. 60</ref> After the [[Munich Agreement]] in 1938, [[Nazi Germany]] systematically [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|took control]] over the Czech lands. [[Third Czechoslovak Republic|Czechoslovakia]] was restored in 1945 and three years later became an [[Eastern Bloc]] [[Communism|communist]] state following a [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état|coup d'état]] in 1948. Attempts to liberalize the government and economy were suppressed by a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-led invasion of the country during the [[Prague Spring]] in 1968. In November 1989, the [[Velvet Revolution]] ended communist rule in the country and restored [[democracy]]. On 31 December 1992, [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved]], with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Czech Republic is a [[Unitary state|unitary]] [[parliamentary republic]] and [[developed country]] with an [[Developed country#IMF advanced economies|advanced]], [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income]] [[social market economy]]. It is a [[welfare state]] with a [[European social model]], [[Healthcare in the Czech Republic|universal health care]] and [[Free education|free-tuition]] [[Education in the Czech Republic#Tertiary education|university education]]. It ranks 32nd in the [[Human Development Index]]. The Czech Republic is a member of the [[United Nations]], [[NATO]], the [[European Union]], the [[OECD]], the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]], the [[Council of Europe]] and the [[Visegrád Group]].

==Etymology==<!--linked-->
{{Main|Name of the Czech Republic}}

The traditional English name "Bohemia" derives from [[Latin]] ''Boiohaemum'', which means "home of the [[Boii]]" (a [[Gauls|Gallic]] tribe). The current English name ultimately comes from the Czech word {{lang|cs|Čech}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Czech definition and meaning|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/czech|website=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins|Collins]]|access-date=19 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234347/http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/czech|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="American Heritage Dictionary">{{cite web|title=Czech|url=https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Czech|website=[[American Heritage Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]|access-date=24 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="OxfordDictionary">{{cite web|title=Czech – Definition in English|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/czech|website=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=11 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412000947/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/czech|archive-date=12 April 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> The name comes from the Slavic tribe ({{langx|cs|Češi, Čechové}}) and, according to legend, their leader [[Lech, Czech, and Rus'|Čech]], who brought them to Bohemia, to settle on [[Říp]], a 461-metre high hill. The etymology of the word {{lang|cs|Čech}} is uncertain, but according to the most common derivation can be traced back to the [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]] root {{lang|sla-x-proto|*čel-}}, meaning 'member of the people; kinsman', thus making it [[Cognate (linguistics)|cognate]] to the Czech word {{wikt-lang|cs|člověk}} 'person'.<ref>{{cite web|last=Spal|first=Jaromír|title=Původ jména Čech|url=http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320|publisher=Naše řeč|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209232303/http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320|archive-date=9 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Cmejrkova2010">{{cite journal |last1=Čmejrková |first1=Světla |last2=Daneš |first2=František |year=2010 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2010_num_88_3_7799 |title=Czech |journal=[[Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire]] |volume=88 |issue=3 |page=692 |doi=10.3406/rbph.2010.7799 |quote=The origin of the ethnonym ''Čech'' (''Česi'' or ''Čechové'' in plural) is not entirely clear.}}</ref><ref name="Dickins2011">{{cite journal |last1=Dickins |first1=Tom |year=2011 |url=https://wlv.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/2436/621187/The%20Czech-Speaking%20Lands.pdf;jsessionid=3DD8A34AAC4E0F9B90130B3D79CE25CA?sequence=1 |title=The Czech-Speaking Lands, their Peoples and Contact Communities: Titles, Names and Ethnonyms |journal=[[The Slavonic and East European Review]] |volume=89 |issue=3 |page=402 |quote=As Spal has observed, the origin of ''Čech'' (Bohemian) is far from clear, but amongst the more plausible explanations is that it has the root ''čel'', as in ''čeleď'' (family), and also ''člověk'' (person).}}</ref><ref name="Rejzek2012">{{cite book |last=Rejzek |first=Jiří |date=2012 |orig-year=2001 |title=Český etymologický slovník |trans-title=Czech etymological lexicon |language=cs |location=Voznice |publisher=Leda |isbn=9788073352967 |page=111}}</ref>

The country has been traditionally divided into three lands, namely [[Bohemia]] ({{lang|cs|Čechy}}) in the west, [[Moravia]] ({{lang|cs|Morava}}) in the east, and [[Czech Silesia]] ({{lang|cs|Slezsko}}; the smaller, south-eastern part of historical [[Silesia]], most of which is located within modern Poland) in the northeast.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sviták |first1=Zbyněk |year=2014 |title=Úvod do historické topografie českých zemí: Územní vývoj českých zemí |trans-title=Introduction to the historical topography of the Czech lands: Territorial development of the Czech lands |url=https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/131842/Books_2010_2019_086-2014-1_9.pdf?sequence=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209153428/http://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/131842/Books_2010_2019_086-2014-1_9.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=9 December 2017 |access-date=23 June 2021 |work=1st edition |publisher= |pages=75–80, 82, 92–96 |language=cs |location=Brno }}</ref> Known as the ''lands of the Bohemian Crown'' since the 14th century, a number of other names for the country have been used, including ''Czech/Bohemian lands'', ''Bohemian Crown'', ''Czechia'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/letter/from-bohemia-to-czechia|title=From Bohemia to Czechia – Radio Prague|date=12 July 2016|access-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309102644/http://www.radio.cz/en/section/letter/from-bohemia-to-czechia|archive-date=9 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the ''lands of the Crown of [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslaus]]''. When the country regained its independence after the dissolution of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian empire]] in 1918, the new name of ''Czechoslovakia'' was coined to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak nations within one country.<ref name="Thompson2012">{{cite book|first=Wayne C.|last=Thompson|title=Nordic, Central and Southeastern Europe 2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jHtTydugD4C&pg=PA345|year=2012|publisher=Stryker Post|isbn=978-1-61048-892-1|pages=345–}}</ref>

After Czechoslovakia dissolved on the last day of 1992, {{lang|cs|Česko}} was adopted as the Czech short name for the new state and the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic]] recommended ''Czechia'' for the English-language equivalent.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Czechia – the civic initiative|url=http://www.czechia-initiative.com/aboutus.html|access-date=11 January 2022|website=www.czechia-initiative.com}}</ref> This form was not widely adopted at the time, leading to the long name ''Czech Republic'' being used in English in nearly all circumstances. The Czech government [[Name of the Czech Republic#Adoption of Czechia|directed use of ''Czechia'']] as the official English short name in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|title=Vláda schválila doplnení jednoslovného názvu Cesko v cizích jazycích do databází OSN|date=5 May 2016|url=https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/archiv_zprav/rok_2016/tiskove_zpravy/x_2016_05_02_vlada_schvalila_czechia.html|language=cs|website=Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí České republiky|access-date=28 August 2018|trans-title=The government has approved the addition of one-word Czech name in foreign languages to UN databases|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828220431/https://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/archiv_zprav/rok_2016/tiskove_zpravy/x_2016_05_02_vlada_schvalila_czechia.html|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The short name has been listed by the [[United Nations]]<ref>{{Cite web|author=UNGEGN|title=UNGEGN List of Country Names|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/11th-uncsgn-docs/E_Conf.105_13_CRP.13_15_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document.pdf|url-status=live|page=27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725172133/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/11th-uncsgn-docs/E_Conf.105_13_CRP.13_15_UNGEGN%20WG%20Country%20Names%20Document.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2018 }}</ref> and is used by other organizations such as the [[European Union]],<ref>{{Cite web|author=European Union|date=5 July 2016|title=Czechia|url=https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/czechia_en|url-status=live|access-date=31 May 2021|website=European Union|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225091801/https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/czechia_en |archive-date=25 December 2018 }}</ref> [[NATO]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=NATO |title=Member countries |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/nato_countries.htm |access-date=3 October 2022 |website=NATO}}</ref> the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]],<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Czechia|access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> [[Google Maps]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=8 June 2017|title=Czechia: mapping progress one year on|url=https://english.radio.cz/czechia-mapping-progress-one-year-8190607|access-date=31 May 2021|website=Radio Prague International}}</ref> and the [[European Broadcasting Union]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ebu.ch/about/members |title=Our Members |date=17 February 2023 |publisher=European Broadcasting Union |access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref> In 2022, the American ''[[AP Stylebook]]'' stated in its entry on the country that "both [Czechia and the Czech Republic] are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is preferred by the Czech government. If using Czechia, clarify in the story that the country is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic."<ref>{{cite tweet|number=1542946302761336836|user=APStylebook|title=We have a new Stylebook Online entry: Czechia, the Czech Republic.Both are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is…|date=1 July 2022}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of the Czech lands}}

=== Prehistory ===
{{multiple image
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| image1            = Vestonicka venuse edit.jpg
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| alt2              = Stone Sculpture
| footer            = '''Left''': [[Venus of Dolní Věstonice]], dated to 29,000–25,000 [[Common Era|BCE]], is the oldest ceramic figurine in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oldest ceramic figurine |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/682622-oldest-ceramic-figurine |publisher=Guinness World Records |access-date=20 May 2024}}</ref><br />'''Right''': the [[Mšecké Žehrovice Head|stone head of a Celt]] is the most valuable Celtic sculpture in Europe and dates to the 3rd century BCE.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hlava Kelta z Mšeckých Žehrovic – nejcennější keltská plastika v Evropě |url=https://www.kudyznudy.cz/ceska-nej/historicke/hlava-kelta-z-mseckych-zehrovic-nejcennejsi-keltsk |access-date=20 May 2024 |publisher=Kudyznudy.cz/}}</ref>
| caption1          = 
| caption2          = 
}}
Archaeological evidence indicates that the area now known as the Czech Republic has been inhabited since the [[Paleolithic|Paleolithic era]]. Notably, the [[Venus of Dolní Věstonice]], a ceramic figurine dated to approximately 29,000–25,000 BCE, was discovered in this region.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=24 December 2013 |title=Fingerprint on the venus of Dolní Vestonice I |journal=Anthropologie |volume=40 |issue=2 |url=https://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15129276 |access-date=7 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110818/https://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15129276 |archive-date=24 December 2013 }}</ref> This artifact is considered the oldest known ceramic figurine in the world.<ref>Pamela B. Vandiver, Olga Soffer, Bohuslav Klima and Jiři Svoboda, "The Origins of Ceramic Technology at Dolni Věstonice, Czechoslovakia", ''Science'', New Series, '''246''', No. 4933 (24 November 1989: pp. 1002–1008)</ref>

In the [[Classical antiquity|classical era]], as a result of the 3rd century BC [[Celts|Celtic]] migrations, Bohemia became associated with the [[Boii]].<ref name="Rankin2002">{{cite book|first=David|last=Rankin|title=Celts and the Classical World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6oqFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|date=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-74722-1|page=16}}</ref> The Boii founded an [[oppidum]] near the site of modern Prague.<ref name="(Firm)1997">{{cite book|author=Kartografie Praha (Firm)|title=Praha, plán města|year=1997|publisher=Kartografie Praha|isbn=978-80-7011-468-1|page=17}}</ref> Later in the 1st century, the Germanic tribes of the [[Marcomanni]] and [[Quadi]] settled there.<ref name="Salvia2007">{{cite book|author=Vasco La Salvia|title=Iron Making During the Migration Period: The Case of the Lombards|year=2007|publisher=Archaeopress|isbn=978-1-4073-0159-4|page=43}}</ref>

[[Slavs]] from the [[Black Sea]]–[[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] region settled in the area (their migration was pushed by an invasion of peoples from [[Siberia]] and Eastern Europe into their area:<ref name="Agnew2004">{{cite book|author=Hugh LeCaine Agnew|title=The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Db76shTEM60C&pg=PT37|year=2004|publisher=Hoover Press|isbn=978-0-8179-4492-6|page=37}}</ref> [[Huns]], [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]], [[Bulgars]] and [[Hungarians|Magyars]]).<ref name="HahnNadel2014"/> In the sixth century, the Huns had moved westwards into Bohemia, Moravia, and some of present-day Austria and Germany.<ref name="HahnNadel2014">{{cite book|first1=Sylvia|last1=Hahn|first2=Stanley|last2=Nadel|title=Asian Migrants in Europe: Transcultural Connections|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zwq9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA7|year=2014|publisher=V&R unipress GmbH|isbn=978-3-8471-0254-0|pages=7–8}}</ref>

During the 7th century, the Frankish merchant [[Samo]], supporting the Slavs fighting against nearby settled [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]],<ref name="BartlŠkvarna2002">{{cite book|first1=Július|last1=Bartl|first2=Dušan|last2=Škvarna|title=Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3orG2yZ9mBkC&pg=PA18|year=2002|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers|isbn=978-0-86516-444-4|page=18}}</ref> became the ruler of the first documented Slavic state in Central Europe, [[Samo's Empire]].<ref>''Lexikon des Mittelalters''. Verlag J.B. Metzler, Vol. 7, cols 1342-1343</ref> The principality of [[Great Moravia]], controlled by [[Moymirid dynasty|Moymir dynasty]], arose in the 8th century.<ref name="Champion2005">{{cite book|first=Tim|last=Champion|title=Centre and Periphery: Comparative Studies in Archaeology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZ2IAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA233|year=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-80679-9|page=233}}</ref> It reached its zenith in the 9th (during the reign of [[Svatopluk I of Moravia]]), holding off the influence of the Franks. Great Moravia was Christianized, with a role being played by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] mission of [[Cyril and Methodius]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Svatopluk {{!}} prince of Moravia {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Svatopluk |access-date=7 April 2025 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> They codified the [[Old Church Slavonic]] language, the first literary and liturgical language of the [[Slavs]], and the [[Glagolitic script]].<ref name="BenedettoDuke2008">{{cite book|first1=Robert|last1=Benedetto|first2=James O.|last2=Duke|title=The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History: The early, medieval, and Reformation eras|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g46euaF7HAsC&pg=PA474|year=2008|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|isbn=978-0-664-22416-5|page=474}}</ref>

=== Bohemia ===
{{Main|Bohemia}}

[[File:Locator Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire (1618).svg|thumb|left|The [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Crown of Bohemia]] within the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (1600). The Czech lands were part of the Empire in 1002–1806, and Prague was the imperial seat in 1346–1437 and 1583–1611.]]
The [[Duchy of Bohemia]] emerged in the late 9th century when it was unified by the [[Přemyslid dynasty]]. Bohemia was from 1002 until 1806 an [[Imperial Estate]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref name="PánekTůma2019">{{cite book|first1=Jaroslav|last1=Pánek|first2=Oldřich|last2=Tůma|title=A History of the Czech Lands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA76|year=2019|publisher=Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press|isbn=978-80-246-2227-9|page=76}}</ref>

In 1212, [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Přemysl Ottokar I]] extracted the [[Golden Bull of Sicily]] from the emperor, confirming Ottokar and his descendants' royal status; the [[Duchy]] of Bohemia was raised to a [[Realm|Kingdom]].<ref name="PánekTůma2019b">{{cite book|first1=Jaroslav|last1=Pánek|first2=Oldřich|last2=Tůma|title=A History of the Czech Lands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|year=2019|publisher=Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press|isbn=978-80-246-2227-9|page=111}}</ref> [[Germans|German immigrants]] settled in the Bohemian periphery in the 13th century.<ref name="PánekTůma2019c">{{cite book|first1=Jaroslav|last1=Pánek|first2=Oldřich|last2=Tůma|title=A History of the Czech Lands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBiWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA237|year=2019|publisher=Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press|isbn=978-80-246-2227-9|page=237}}</ref> The [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] in the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|invasion of Europe]] carried their raids into [[Moravia]] but were defensively defeated at [[Olomouc]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grousset |first1=René |title=The Empire of the Steppes |date=1970 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8135-1304-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppes00grou/page/266 266] |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppes00grou |url-access=registration |access-date=26 August 2017}}</ref>

After a series of dynastic wars, the [[House of Luxembourg]] gained the Bohemian throne.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.panovnici.cz/vaclav-II-kral|title=Václav II. český král|work=panovnici.cz|access-date=31 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907142314/http://www.panovnici.cz/vaclav-II-kral|archive-date=7 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

Efforts for a [[Bohemian Reformation|reform of the church in Bohemia]] started already in the late 14th century. [[Jan Hus]]' followers seceded from some practices of the [[Catholic Church|Roman Church]] and in the [[Hussite Wars]] (1419–1434) defeated five crusades organized against them by [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]]. During the next two centuries, 90% of the population in Bohemia and Moravia were considered [[Hussites]]. The pacifist thinker [[Petr Chelčický]] inspired the movement of the [[Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic)|Moravian Brethren]] (by the middle of the 15th century) that completely separated from the Roman Catholic Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.luther2017.de/en/reformation/and-its-people/jan-hus/|title=Mentor and precursor of the Reformation|access-date=29 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404211907/http://www.luther2017.de/en/reformation/and-its-people/jan-hus/|archive-date=4 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Husité - Jenský kodex.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Painting of battle between mounted knights|Battle between [[Hussites]] and [[Crusades|crusaders]] during the [[Hussite Wars]]; Jena Codex, 15th century]]
On 21 December 1421, [[Jan Žižka]], a successful military commander and mercenary, led his group of forces in the [[Battle of Kutná Hora]], resulting in a victory for the Hussites. He is honoured to this day as a [[Hero (title)|national hero]].

After 1526, Bohemia came increasingly under [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] control as the Habsburgs became first the elected and then in 1627 the hereditary rulers of Bohemia. Between 1583 and 1611 Prague was the official seat of the Holy Roman Emperor [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf II]] and his court.

The [[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]] and subsequent revolt against the Habsburgs in 1618 marked the start of the [[Thirty Years' War]]. In 1620, the rebellion in Bohemia was crushed at the [[Battle of White Mountain]] and the ties between Bohemia and the Habsburgs' hereditary lands in Austria were strengthened. The leaders of the [[Bohemian Revolt]] were [[Old Town Square execution|executed in 1621]]. The nobility and the middle class Protestants had to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=Protestantism in Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic)|url=http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/protestantism-in-the-republic-of-czechoslovakia/|website=Virtual Museum of Protestantism|access-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015211407/http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/protestantism-in-the-republic-of-czechoslovakia/|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

The following era of 1620 to the late 18th century became known as the "Dark Age". During the Thirty Years' War, the population of the [[Czech lands]] declined by a third through the expulsion of Czech Protestants as well as due to the war, disease and [[Famines in the Czech lands|famine]].<ref>Oskar Krejčí, Martin C. Styan, Ústav politických vied SAV. (2005). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=38ciAe4J4VMC Geopolitics of the Central European region: the view from Prague and Bratislava]''. p.293. {{ISBN|80-224-0852-2}}</ref> The Habsburgs prohibited all Christian confessions other than [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archiv.radio.cz/history_96/history07.html |title=RP's History Online – Habsburgs |publisher=Archiv.radio.cz |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717233917/http://archiv.radio.cz/history_96/history07.html |archive-date=17 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The flowering of [[Czech Baroque architecture|Baroque culture]] shows the ambiguity of this historical period.
[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] and [[Crimean Khanate|Tatars]] invaded Moravia in 1663.<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=j08L5xLOQKwC&pg=PA557 History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century. Part 2. The So-Called Tartars of Russia and Central Asia. Division 1]''". Henry Hoyle Howorth. p.557. {{ISBN|1-4021-7772-0}}</ref> In 1679–1680 the Czech lands faced the [[Great Plague of Vienna]] and an uprising of serfs.<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=FzQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA494 The new Cambridge modern history: The ascendancy of France, 1648–88]''". Francis Ludwig Carsten (1979). p.494. {{ISBN|0-521-04544-4}}</ref>

[[File:Prager.Fenstersturz.1618.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The 1618 [[Defenestrations of Prague|Defenestration of Prague]] marked the beginning of the [[Bohemian Revolt]] against the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburgs]] and therefore the first phase of the [[Thirty Years' War]].]]

There were peasant uprisings influenced by famine.<ref>"''The Cambridge economic history of Europe: The economic organization of early modern Europe''". E. E. Rich, C. H. Wilson, M. M. Postan (1977). p.614. {{ISBN|0-521-08710-4}}</ref> [[Serfdom]] was abolished between 1781 and 1848. Several battles of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] took place on the current territory of the Czech Republic.

The end of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1806 led to degradation of the political status of Bohemia which lost its position of an [[Prince-elector|electorate]] of the Holy Roman Empire as well as its own political representation in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hlavačka|first1=Milan|title=Formování moderního českého národa 1815–1914|journal=Historický Obzor|date=2009|volume=20|issue=9/10|page=195|language=cs}}</ref> Bohemian lands became part of the [[Austrian Empire]]. During the 18th and 19th century the [[Czech National Revival]] began its rise, with the purpose to revive [[Czech language]], culture, and national identity. The [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|Revolution of 1848]] in Prague, striving for liberal reforms and autonomy of the Bohemian Crown within the Austrian Empire, was suppressed.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|editor1-last=Cole|editor1-first=Laurence|editor2-last=Unowsky|editor2-first=David|title=The Limits of Loyalty: Imperial Symbolism, Popular Allegiances, and State Patriotism in the Late Habsburg Monarchy|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York, Oxford|url=http://www.brad.ac.uk/ssis/media/ssis/ceer/2013/Guyver_Cole-and-Unowsky.pdf|access-date=24 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525013421/http://www.brad.ac.uk/ssis/media/ssis/ceer/2013/Guyver_Cole-and-Unowsky.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2015}}</ref>

It seemed that some concessions would be made also to Bohemia, but in the end, the Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Franz Joseph I]] affected a compromise with Hungary only. The [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]] and the never realized coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Bohemia led to a disappointment of some Czech politicians.<ref name="auto" /> The Bohemian Crown lands became part of the so-called [[Cisleithania]].

The Czech Social Democratic and progressive politicians started the fight for universal suffrage. The first elections under [[Universal suffrage|universal male suffrage]] were held in 1907.<ref>{{cite web|date=29 February 2020|title=Františka Plamínková: the feminist suffragette who ensured Czechoslovakia's Constitution of 1920 lived up to the principle of equality|url=https://english.radio.cz/frantiska-plaminkova-feminist-suffragette-who-ensured-czechoslovakias-8106811|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Radio Prague International}}</ref>

=== Czechoslovakia ===
{{Main|History of Czechoslovakia}}
[[File:Czechoslovakia I.png|thumb|upright=1.35|The [[First Czechoslovak Republic]] comprised 27% of the population of the former Austria-Hungary and nearly 80% of the industry.<ref name="Stephen J. Lee. Page 107." />|alt=]]In 1918, during the collapse of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] at the end of World War I, the independent republic of [[Czechoslovakia]], which joined the winning Allied powers, was created, with [[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]] in the lead.<ref>Preclík, Vratislav. Masaryk a legie (Masaryk and legions), váz. kniha, 219 pages, first issue – vydalo nakladatelství Paris Karviná, Žižkova 2379 (734 01 Karviná, Czech Republic) ve spolupráci s Masarykovým demokratickým hnutím (Masaryk Democratic Movement, Prague), 2019, {{ISBN|978-80-87173-47-3}}, pages 22–81, 85–86, 111–112, 124–125, 128, 129, 132, 140–148, 184–209.</ref> This new country incorporated the [[Bohemian Crown]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tab. 3 Národnost československých státních příslušníků podle žup a zemí k 15 February 1921 |url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb/sldb.nsf/i/8BE4678613181F2AC1256E66004C77DD/$File/tab3_21.pdf |publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]] |language=cs |access-date=2 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605105429/http://www.czso.cz/sldb/sldb.nsf/i/8BE4678613181F2AC1256E66004C77DD/%24File/tab3_21.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[First Czechoslovak Republic]] comprised only 27% of the population of the former Austria-Hungary, but nearly 80% of the industry, which enabled it to compete with Western industrial states.<ref name="Stephen J. Lee. Page 107.">Stephen J. Lee. ''Aspects of European History 1789–1980''. Page 107. Chapter "Austria-Hungary and the successor states". [[Routledge]]. 28 January 2008.</ref> In 1929 compared to 1913, the gross domestic product increased by 52% and industrial production by 41%. In 1938 Czechoslovakia held 10th place in the world industrial production.<ref>{{cite web |date=21 August 1968 |title=Ekonomika ČSSR v letech padesátých a šedesátých |trans-title=The economy of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in the 1950s and 1960s |url=http://www.blisty.cz/art/59458.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707063441/http://www.blisty.cz/art/59458.html |archive-date=7 July 2014 |access-date=14 May 2014 |publisher=Blisty.cz}}</ref> Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a liberal democracy throughout the entire 
interwar period.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dijk|first1=Ruud van|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QgX0bQ3Enj4C|title=Encyclopedia of the Cold War|last2=Gray|first2=William Glenn|last3=Savranskaya|first3=Svetlana|last4=Suri|first4=Jeremi|last5=Zhai|first5=Qiang|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1135923112|page=76|access-date=13 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122052153/https://books.google.cz/books?id=QgX0bQ3Enj4C|archive-date=22 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the First Czechoslovak Republic was a [[unitary state]], it provided certain rights to its minorities, the largest being [[Germans in Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|Germans]] (23.6% in 1921), [[Hungarians in Slovakia|Hungarians]] (5.6%) and [[Rusyns and Ukrainians in Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)|Ukrainians]] (3.5%).<ref>{{cite book |last=Rothenbacher |first=Franz |date=2002 |title=The European Population 1850–1945|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, London. |page=145 |isbn=978-1-349-65611-0}}</ref>

[[File:Pilots of No. 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF in front of Hawker Hurricane Mk I at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, 7 September 1940. CH1299.jpg|thumb|left|Czechoslovak fighter pilots of [[No. 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF|No. 310 Squadron RAF]] during the [[Battle of Britain]] in 1940]]

Western Czechoslovakia was [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|occupied by Nazi Germany]], which placed most of the region into the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]]. The Protectorate was proclaimed part of the Third Reich, and the president and prime minister were subordinated to Nazi Germany's ''[[Protector (title)|Reichsprotektor]]''. [[Theresienstadt concentration camp|One Nazi concentration camp]] was located within the Czech territory at [[Terezín]], north of Prague. The vast majority of the Protectorate's Jews were murdered in [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi-run concentration camps]]. The Nazi {{Lang|de|[[Generalplan Ost]]}} called for the extermination, expulsion, [[Germanization]] or enslavement of most or all Czechs for the purpose of providing more [[Lebensraum|living space]] for the German people.<ref>[[Chad Bryant]] (2009) ''[https://www.amazon.com/Prague-Black-Nazi-Czech-Nationalism/dp/0674034597/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EJVFZM8S7A68&keywords=prague+in+black+nazi+rule+and+czech+nationalism&qid=1640960562&sprefix=prague+in+black+%2Caps%2C745&sr=8-1 Prague in Black: Nazi Rule and Czech Nationalism]'' (Harvard University Press, 2009), pp 104–178. [[Timothy Snyder|Snyder, Timothy]] (2010). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ks0WBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA160 Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin]''. Basic Books. p. 160. {{ISBN|0465002390}}</ref> There was [[Resistance in German-occupied Czechoslovakia|Czechoslovak resistance to Nazi occupation]] as well as [[German war crimes|reprisals]] against the Czechoslovaks for their anti-Nazi resistance. The German occupation ended on 9 May 1945, with the arrival of the Soviet and American armies and the [[Prague uprising]].<ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=JyN0hlKcfTcC&pg=PA409 A Companion to Russian History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906054042/https://books.google.com/books?id=JyN0hlKcfTcC&pg=PA409 |date=6 September 2015 }}''". Abbott Gleason (2009). Wiley-Blackwell. p.409. {{ISBN|1-4051-3560-3}}</ref> Most of Czechoslovakia's German-speakers were forcibly [[Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia|expelled]] from the country, first as a result of local acts of violence and then under the aegis of an "organized transfer" confirmed by the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain at the [[Potsdam Conference]].<ref>[[Chad Bryant]] (2009) ''[https://www.amazon.com/Prague-Black-Nazi-Czech-Nationalism/dp/0674034597/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2EJVFZM8S7A68&keywords=prague+in+black+nazi+rule+and+czech+nationalism&qid=1640960562&sprefix=prague+in+black+%2Caps%2C745&sr=8-1 Prague in Black: Nazi Rule and Czech Nationalism]'' (Harvard University Press, 2009), 208–252.</ref>
[[File:Praga 11.jpg|thumb|Prague during the 1968 [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]]]]
In the [[Czechoslovakian parliamentary election, 1946|1946 elections]], the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia|Communist Party]] gained 38%<ref>F. Čapka: [http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t98.html Dějiny zemí Koruny české v datech] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620225613/http://www.libri.cz/databaze/dejiny/text/t98.html |date=20 June 2008}}. XII. Od lidově demokratického po socialistické Československo – pokračování. Libri.cz {{in lang|cs}}</ref> of the votes and became the largest party in the Czechoslovak parliament, formed a coalition with other parties, and consolidated power. A [[1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état|coup d'état]] came in 1948 and a single-party government was formed. For the [[History of Czechoslovakia (1948–1989)|next 41 years]], the Czechoslovak Communist state conformed to [[Eastern Bloc]] economic and political features.<ref>{{cite news|title=Czech schools revisit communism|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4388764.stm|url-status=live|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804202643/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4388764.stm|archive-date=4 August 2014}}</ref> The [[Prague Spring]] political liberalization was stopped by the 1968 [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]]. Analysts believe that the invasion caused the communist movement to fracture, ultimately leading to the Revolutions of 1989.

=== Czech Republic ===
{{Main|Velvet Revolution|Dissolution of Czechoslovakia}}
{{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}[[File:Václav Havel cut out.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Václav Havel]], one of the most important figures in Czech history during the 20th century—leader of the [[Velvet Revolution]], the last president of [[Czechoslovakia]] and the first president of the Czech Republic]]

In November 1989, Czechoslovakia again became a liberal democracy through the [[Velvet Revolution]]. However, Slovak national aspirations strengthened ([[Hyphen War]]) and on 31 December 1992, the [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia|country peacefully split]] into the independent [[country|countries]] of the Czech Republic and [[Slovakia]]. Both countries went through economic reforms and [[privatization]]s, with the intention of creating a [[market economy]], as they have been trying to do since 1990, when Czechs and Slovaks still shared the common state. This process was largely successful; in 2006 the Czech Republic was recognized by the World Bank as a "developed country",<ref name="worldbank06">{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/76314|title=World Bank Marks Czech Republic's Graduation to 'Developed' Status|last=Velinger|first=Jan|date=28 February 2006|publisher=Radio Prague|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080112081601/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/76314|archive-date=12 January 2008|url-status=live|access-date=22 January 2007}}</ref> and in 2009 the [[Human Development Index]] ranked it as a nation of "Very High Human Development".<ref name="hdi09">{{cite web |url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf |title=Human Development Report 2009 |work=UNDP.org |date=January 2009 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122115116/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf |archive-date=22 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

From 1991, the Czech Republic, originally as part of Czechoslovakia and since 1993 in its own right, has been a member of the [[Visegrád Group]] and from 1995, the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]]. The Czech Republic joined [[NATO]] on 12 March 1999 and the [[European Union]] on 1 May 2004. On 21 December 2007 the Czech Republic joined the [[Schengen Area]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://factsmaps.com/eu-nato-schengen-eurozone-member-states-in-europe/|title=EU, NATO, Schengen and Eurozone member states in Europe|date=13 October 2018}}</ref>

Until 2017, either the centre-left [[Czech Social Democratic Party]] or the centre-right [[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]] led the governments of the Czech Republic. In October 2017, the populist movement [[ANO 2011]], led by the country's second-richest man, [[Andrej Babiš]], won the [[2017 Czech legislative election|elections]] with three times more votes than its closest rival, the Civic Democrats.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41708844|title = Czech election: Billionaire Babis wins by large margin|work = BBC News|date = 21 October 2017}}</ref> In December 2017, Czech president [[Miloš Zeman]] appointed Andrej Babiš as the new prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/czech-billionaire-andrej-babis-named-new-prime-minister/a-41680019|title = Czech billionaire Andrej Babis named new prime minister|date= 6 December 2017|website = [[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

In the [[2021 Czech legislative election|2021 elections]], [[ANO 2011]] was narrowly defeated and [[Petr Fiala]] became the new prime minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=Czech Republic: Petr Fiala named new prime minister |date=28 November 2021 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/czech-republic-petr-fiala-named-new-prime-minister/a-59960529 |work=DW.COM}}</ref> He formed a government coalition of the alliance [[Spolu (Czech Republic)|SPOLU]] ([[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|Civic Democratic Party]], [[KDU-ČSL]] and [[TOP 09]]) and the alliance of [[Pirates and Mayors]]. In January 2023, retired general [[Petr Pavel]] won the [[2023 Czech presidential election|presidential election]], becoming new Czech president to succeed Miloš Zeman.<ref>{{cite news |title=Retired general Petr Pavel wins election to become Czech president |url=https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/28/retired-general-petr-pavel-wins-election-to-become-czech-president |work=euronews |date=28 January 2023}}</ref> Following the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the country took in half a million [[2022–2023 Ukrainian refugee crisis|Ukrainian refugees]], the largest number per capita in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Regional Refugee Response Plan for the Ukraine Situation – Inter-Agency Operational Update: Czech Republic, July – October 2022 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/czechia/regional-refugee-response-plan-ukraine-situation-inter-agency-operational-update-czech-republic-july-october-2022 |website=reliefweb |date=17 November 2022 |publisher=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Field |first1=Matt |title=Ukraine is fighting on behalf of all democracies |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukraine-is-fighting-on-behalf-of-all-democracies|website=GOV.UK |publisher=British Embassy Prague |access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref> In December 2025, Andrej Babis returned to office as the Czech Republic's prime minister,<ref>{{cite news |title=Czech billionaire Babis becomes PM with promise to cut ties to business empire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yqvrewz45o |work=www.bbc.com |date=9 December 2025}}</ref> following his populist ANO party's win in October's parliamentary [[2025 Czech parliamentary election|election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Czech Republic: Billionaire populist Andrej Babis' party wins parliamentary election |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62qezmr92lo |work=www.bbc.com |date=5 October 2025}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of the Czech Republic}}

[[File:CzechRepublic-geographic map-en.svg|thumb|Topographic map]]
[[File:Krkonoše mountains in winter 2018 04.jpg|thumb|[[Giant Mountains]] in winter]]
The Czech Republic lies mostly between latitudes [[48th parallel north|48°]] and [[51st parallel north|51° N]] and longitudes [[12th meridian east|12°]] and [[19th meridian east|19° E]].

[[Bohemia]], to the west, consists of a basin drained by the [[Elbe]] ({{langx|cs|Labe}}) and the [[Vltava]] rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the [[Giant Mountains]] range ({{langx|cs|Krkonoše}}) of the [[Sudetes]]. The highest point in the country, [[Sněžka]] at {{convert|1603|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, is located here. Moravia, the eastern part of the country, is also hilly. It is drained mainly by the [[Morava (river)|Morava]] River, but it also contains the source of the [[Oder]] River ({{langx|cs|Odra}}).

Water from the Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the [[North Sea]], [[Baltic Sea]], and [[Black Sea]]. The Czech Republic also leases the [[Moldauhafen]], a {{convert|30000|m2|acre|sp=us|adj=on}} [[lot (real estate)|lot]] in the middle of the [[Hamburg]] Docks, which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships. The territory reverts to Germany in 2028.

[[Phytogeography|Phytogeographically]], the Czech Republic belongs to the Central European province of the [[Circumboreal Region]], within the [[Boreal Kingdom]]. According to the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]], the territory of the Czech Republic can be subdivided into four [[ecoregion]]s: the [[Western European broadleaf forests]], [[Central European mixed forests]], [[Pannonian mixed forests]], and [[Carpathian montane conifer forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref>

There are four [[national park]]s in the Czech Republic. The oldest is [[Krkonoše National Park]] ([[Man and the Biosphere Programme|Biosphere Reserve]]), and the others are [[Šumava National Park]] (Biosphere Reserve), [[Podyjí National Park]], and [[Bohemian Switzerland]].

The three historical lands of the Czech Republic (formerly some countries of the Bohemian Crown) correspond with the river basins of the Elbe and the Vltava basin for Bohemia, the Morava one for Moravia, and the Oder river basin for Czech Silesia (in terms of the Czech territory).

=== Climate ===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_v2_CZE_1991–2020.svg|thumb|[[Köppen climate classification]] types of the Czech Republic using the 0&nbsp;°C isotherm:
{{legend|#3dc6fa|[[Humid continental climate]]}}
{{legend|#007e7e|[[Subarctic climate]]}}
{{legend|#63fd32|Temperate, no dry season, warm summer (Cfb)}}]]
[[File:Czech Republic Köppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate classification types of the Czech Republic using the −3&nbsp;°C isotherm:
{{legend|#3dc6fa|[[Humid continental climate]]}}
{{legend|#63fd32|[[Oceanic climate]]}}
{{legend|#007e7e|[[Subarctic climate]]}}]]
The Czech Republic has a temperate climate, situated in the transition zone between the [[oceanic climate|oceanic]] and [[continental climate]] types, with warm summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. The temperature difference between summer and winter is due to the landlocked geographical position.<ref>R. Tolasz, ''Climate Atlas of the Czech Republic'', Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Prague, 2007. {{ISBN|80-244-1626-3}}, graphs 1.5 and 1.6</ref>

Temperatures vary depending on the elevation. In general, at higher altitudes, the temperatures decrease and [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] increases. The wettest area in the Czech Republic is found around [[Bílý Potok (Liberec District)|Bílý Potok]] in [[Jizera Mountains]] and the driest region is the [[Louny District]] to the northwest of [[Prague]]. Another factor is the distribution of the mountains.

At the highest peak of [[Sněžka]] ({{convert|1603|m|ft|abbr=on|0|disp=or}}), the average temperature is {{convert|-0.4|C|F|0}}, whereas in the lowlands of the [[South Moravian Region]], the average temperature is as high as {{convert|10|C|F}}. The country's capital, Prague, has a similar average temperature, although this is influenced by urban factors.

The coldest month is usually January, followed by February and December. During these months, there is [[snow]] in the mountains and sometimes in the cities and lowlands. During March, April, and May, the temperature usually increases, especially during April, when the temperature and weather tends to vary during the day. Spring is also characterized by higher water levels in the rivers, due to melting snow with occasional flooding.

The warmest month of the year is July, followed by August and June. On average, summer temperatures are about {{convert|20|-|30|C-change|F-change}} higher than during winter. Summer is also characterized by rain and storms.

Autumn generally begins in September, which is still warm and dry. During October, temperatures usually fall below {{convert|15|C|F}} or {{convert|10|C|F}} and [[deciduous]] trees begin to shed their leaves. By the end of November, temperatures usually range around the freezing point.

The coldest temperature ever measured was {{convert|-42.2|C|F}} in [[Litvínovice]] near [[České Budějovice]] in 1929, and the hottest measured was {{convert|40.4|C|F}} in [[Dobřichovice]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Czech absolute record temperature registered near Prague|url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-absolute-record-temperature-registered-near-prague/830626|work=České noviny|publisher=ČTK|access-date=20 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025034545/http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/czech-absolute-record-temperature-registered-near-prague/830626|archive-date=25 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most [[rain]] falls during the summer. Sporadic rainfall is throughout the year (in Prague, the average number of days per month experiencing at least {{convert|0.1|mm|abbr=on}} of rain varies from 12 in September and October to 16 in November) but concentrated rainfall (days with more than {{convert|10|mm|abbr=on}} per day) are more frequent in the months of May to August (average around two such days per month).<ref>R. Tolasz, ''Climate Atlas of the Czech Republic'', Czech Hydrometeorological Institute, Prague, 2007. {{ISBN|80-244-1626-3}}, graph 2.9.</ref> Severe [[thunderstorm]]s, producing damaging straight-line winds, [[hail]], and occasional [[tornado]]es occur, especially during the summer period.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Brázdil |first = Rudolf |display-authors=etal |title = Spatiotemporal variability of tornadoes in the Czech Lands, 1801–2017 |journal = Theor. Appl. Climatol. |volume = 136 |issue = 3–4 |pages = 1233–1248 |date = 2019 |doi = 10.1007/s00704-018-2553-y |bibcode = 2019ThApC.136.1233B |s2cid = 126348854  | issn = 0177-798X }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last = Antonescu |first = Bogdan |author2 = D. M. Schultz |author3 = F. Lomas |title = Tornadoes in Europe: Synthesis of the Observational Datasets |journal = Mon. Wea. Rev. |volume = 144 |issue = 7 |pages = 2445–2480 |date = 2016 |doi = 10.1175/MWR-D-15-0298.1 |bibcode = 2016MWRv..144.2445A |doi-access = free}}</ref>

=== Biodiversity and conservation ===
{{See also|Protected areas of the Czech Republic|Fauna of the Czech Republic}}
As of 2020, the Czech Republic ranks as the 21st most environmentally conscious country in the world in [[Environmental Performance Index]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epi.yale.edu/country-rankings|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202142016/http://epi.yale.edu/country-rankings|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2016|title=Country Rankings|date=2016|access-date=21 November 2016|publisher=Yale}}</ref> It had a 2018 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 1.71/10, ranking it 160th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}</ref> The Czech Republic has four National Parks ([[Šumava National Park]], [[Krkonoše National Park]], [[České Švýcarsko National Park]], [[Podyjí National Park]]) and 25 Protected Landscape Areas. The fauna of the Czech Republic includes a wide variety of [[animal]] [[species]]. Some species (especially [[Endangered species|endangered]] ones) are bred in [[Game reserve|reserves]]. Among the rare animals are, for example, eagles, ospreys, bustards, and storks.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Czech Republic - Land|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Czech-Republic|access-date=9 August 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

== Government and politics ==
{{Main|Government of the Czech Republic|Politics of the Czech Republic}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Petr Pavel (2023-02-14) (cropped).jpg
| width1            = 123
| alt1              = Petr Pavel
| caption1          = {{flagicon image|Flag of the President of the Czech Republic.svg|size=15x15px}} [[President of the Czech Republic|President]]<br /><small>[[Petr Pavel]]</small>
| image2            = Andrej Babiš 2025 (cropped).jpg
| width2            = 124
| alt2              = Andrej Babiš
| caption2          = [[File:Emblem of the Government of the Czech Republic.svg|15px]] [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]]<br /><small>[[Andrej Babiš]]</small>
}}

[[File:Slib poslanců 8. listopadu 2021.jpg|thumb|The [[Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic|Chamber of Deputies]], lower house of the [[Parliament of the Czech Republic]]]]

The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party [[parliamentary democracy|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy]]. The [[Parliament of the Czech Republic|Parliament]] (''Parlament České republiky'') is bicameral, with the [[Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic|Chamber of Deputies]] ({{langx|cs|Poslanecká sněmovna}}, 200 members) and the [[Senate of the Czech Republic|Senate]] ({{langx|cs|Senát}}, 81 members).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psp.cz/en/docs/laws/constitution.html |title=The Constitution of the Czech Republic – Article 16 |publisher=Czech Republic |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903213530/http://www.psp.cz/en/docs/laws/constitution.html |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Member of Parliament#Czech Republic|members of the Chamber of Deputies]] are elected for a four-year term by [[proportional representation]], with a 5% [[election threshold]]. There are 14 voting districts, identical to the country's administrative regions. The Chamber of Deputies, the successor to the [[Czech National Council]], has the powers and responsibilities of the now defunct federal parliament of the former Czechoslovakia. The members of the Senate are elected in single-seat [[electoral district|constituencies]] by two-round [[Two-round system|runoff voting]] for a six-year term, with one-third elected every even year in the autumn. This arrangement is modeled on the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]], but each constituency is roughly the same size and the voting system used is a two-round runoff.

The president is a formal head of state with limited and specific powers, who appoints the prime minister, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister. From 1993 until 2012, the [[President of the Czech Republic]] was selected by a joint session of the parliament for a five-year term, with no more than two consecutive terms ([[Václav Havel]] and [[Václav Klaus]] were both elected twice). Since 2013, the president has been elected directly.<ref>{{cite news|title=Klaus signs Czech direct presidential election implementing law|url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/tema/zpravy/klaus-signs-czech-direct-presidential-election-implementing-law/823441|publisher=Czech Press Agency|date=1 August 2012|access-date=7 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234425/http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/tema/zpravy/klaus-signs-czech-direct-presidential-election-implementing-law/823441|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Some commentators have argued that, with the introduction of direct election of the President, the Czech Republic has moved away from the parliamentary system and towards a [[Semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] one.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hloušek|first=Vít|date=11 March 2015|title=Is the Czech Republic on its Way to Semi-Presidentialism?|journal=Baltic Journal of Law & Politics|volume=7|issue=2|pages=95–118|doi=10.1515/bjlp-2015-0004|doi-access=free}}</ref> The [[Government of the Czech Republic|Government]]'s exercise of executive power derives from the [[Constitution of the Czech Republic|Constitution]]. The members of the government are the [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]], Deputy prime ministers and other ministers. The Government is responsible to the [[Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic|Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vlada.cz/en/vlada/ |title=Members of the Government |publisher=[[Government of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831071310/http://www.vlada.cz/en/vlada/ |archive-date=31 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]] is the head of government and wields powers such as the right to set the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy and choose government ministers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vlada.cz/en/clenove-vlady/premier/premier-en-50677/ |title=Prime Minister |publisher=[[Government of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185754/http://www.vlada.cz/en/clenove-vlady/premier/premier-en-50677/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
{{office-table}}
|[[President of the Czech Republic|President]]
|[[Petr Pavel]]
|[[Independent politician|Independent]]
|9 March 2023
|-
|[[President of the Senate of the Czech Republic|President of the Senate]]
|[[Miloš Vystrčil]]
|[[Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic)|ODS]]
|19 February 2020
|-
|[[President of the Chamber of Deputies (Czech Republic)|President of the Chamber of Deputies]]
|[[Tomio Okamura]]
|[[Freedom and Direct Democracy|SPD]]
|5 November 2025
|-
|[[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]]
|[[Andrej Babiš]]
|[[ANO 2011|ANO]]
|9 December 2025
|}

=== Law ===
{{Main|Law of the Czech Republic|Judiciary of the Czech Republic|Law enforcement in the Czech Republic}}

{{See also|Gun law in the Czech Republic|Self-defence (Czech Republic)}}
[[File:Ústavní soud, Brno Joštova 4277 sněmovna.jpg|right|thumb|Interior of the [[Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic]] in [[Brno]]]]
The Czech Republic is a [[unitary state]],<ref name="CabadaWaisová2011">{{cite book|first1=Ladislav|last1=Cabada|first2=Šárka|last2=Waisová|title=Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic in World Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PS76MzGVjSwC&pg=PR18|year=2011|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-6733-5|page=18}}</ref> with a [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law system]] based on the continental type, rooted in Germanic legal culture. The basis of the legal system is the [[Constitution of the Czech Republic]] adopted in 1993.<ref name="Kuklík2015"/> The [[Criminal code|Penal Code]] is effective from 2010. A new [[Civil code]] became effective in 2014. The court system includes district, county, and supreme courts and is divided into civil, criminal, and administrative branches. The Czech judiciary has a [[triumvirate]] of supreme courts. The [[Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic|Constitutional Court]] consists of 15 constitutional judges and oversees violations of the [[Constitution of the Czech Republic|Constitution]] by either the legislature or by the [[Government of the Czech Republic|government]].<ref name="Kuklík2015"/> The [[Supreme Court of the Czech Republic|Supreme Court]] is formed of 67 judges and is the court of highest appeal for most [[legal case]]s heard in the Czech Republic. The [[Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic|Supreme Administrative Court]] decides on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also has jurisdiction over certain political matters, such as the formation and closure of political parties, jurisdictional boundaries between government entities, and the eligibility of persons to stand for public office.<ref name="Kuklík2015"/> The Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court are both based in [[Brno]], as is the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office.<ref name="Kuklík2015">{{cite book|first=Jan|last=Kuklík|title=Czech Law in Historical Contexts|year=2015|publisher=Charles University in Prague, Karolinum Press|isbn=978-80-246-2860-8|pages=221–234}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of the Czech Republic}}

{{See also|Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic}}
[[File:Visa requirements for Czech citizens.svg|thumb|Visa-free entry countries for Czech citizens in green, EU in blue (see [[citizenship of the European Union]])]]
The Czech Republic has ranked as [[Global Peace Index|one of the safest or most peaceful countries]] for the past few decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Global Peace Index 2020 |url=https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GPI_2020_web.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.visionofhumanity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/GPI_2020_web.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |website=visionofhumanity.org |publisher=Institute for Economics and Peace}}</ref> It is a member of the United Nations, the [[European Union]], [[NATO]], [[OECD]], [[Council of Europe]] and is an observer to the [[Organization of American States]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3237.htm |title=The Czech Republic's Membership in International Organizations |publisher=[[United States State Department]] |access-date=8 August 2015}}</ref> The embassies of most countries with diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic are located in [[Prague]], while [[Consul (representative)|consulates]] are located across the country.

The Czech passport is [[Visa requirements for Czech citizens|restricted by visas]]. According to the 2018 [[Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index]], Czech citizens have visa-free access to 173 countries, which ranks them 7th along with [[Malta]] and [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HPI2018/PI%202018%20INFOGRAPHS%20GLOBAL%20180215.pdf|title=The Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2018. Data accurate as of 16 January 2018.|access-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509163258/https://www.henleyglobal.com/files/download/HPI2018/PI%202018%20INFOGRAPHS%20GLOBAL%20180215.pdf|archive-date=9 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[World Tourism Organization]] ranks the Czech passport 24th.<ref>{{cite web|title=Visa Openness Report 2016 |url=http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/2015visaopennessreportonline.pdf |publisher=World Tourism Organization |access-date=17 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123123959/http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/2015visaopennessreportonline.pdf |archive-date=23 January 2016 }}</ref> The US [[Visa Waiver Program]] applies to Czech nationals.
[[File:Czernin Palast Prag.jpg|thumb|[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] in [[Prague]]]]
The [[Prime Minister of the Czech Republic|Prime Minister]] and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] have primary roles in setting foreign policy, although the [[President of the Czech Republic|President]] also has influence and represents the country abroad. Membership in the European Union and NATO is central to the Czech Republic's foreign policy. The [[Office for Foreign Relations and Information]] (ÚZSI) serves as the [[foreign intelligence]] agency responsible for [[espionage]] and foreign policy briefings, as well as protection of Czech Republic's embassies abroad.

The Czech Republic has ties with [[Slovakia]], [[Poland]] and [[Hungary]] as a member of the [[Visegrád Group]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visegradgroup.eu/about |title=About the Visegrad Group |work=[[Visegrád Group]] |access-date=8 August 2015 |date=15 August 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717004014/http://www.visegradgroup.eu/about |archive-date=17 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as with Germany,<ref>{{cite web |title=Společné prohlášení ke strategickému dialogu mezi Ministerstvem zahraničních věcí České republiky a Ministerstvem zahraničních věcí Spolkové republiky Německo jako novém rámci pro česko-německé vztahy |trans-title=Joint statement on the strategic dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany as a new framework for Czech-German relations |url=http://www.prag.diplo.de/contentblob/4562604/Daten/5624388/download_GemeinsameErklaerung_SD_cz.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903213529/http://www.prag.diplo.de/contentblob/4562604/Daten/5624388/download_GemeinsameErklaerung_SD_cz.pdf |archive-date=3 September 2015 |access-date=8 August 2015 |publisher=German embassy in the Czech Republic |language=cs}}</ref> [[Israel]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/czech-vote-against-palestine_n_2217861.html |title=Czech Vote Against Palestine: Only European Nation At UN To Vote Against Palestinian State Was Czech Republic |newspaper=The Huffington Post |access-date=8 August 2015 |date=30 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924170943/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/30/czech-vote-against-palestine_n_2217861.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> the United States<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mzv.cz/washington/en/czech_u_s_relations/index.html |title=Czech-U.S. Relations |publisher=[[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015211407/http://www.mzv.cz/washington/en/czech_u_s_relations/index.html |archive-date=15 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[European Union]] and its [[Members of the European Union|members]]. After 2020, relations with Asian democratic states, such as [[Taiwan]], are being strengthened.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Programové prohlášení vlády |url=http://www.vlada.cz/cz/jednani-vlady/programove-prohlaseni/programove-prohlaseni-vlady-193547/ |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=Vlada.cz |language=cs}}</ref> Conversely, the Czech Republic has long had bad relations with [[Russia]]; from 2021, the Czech Republic appears on Russia's official list of enemy countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 May 2021 |title=Rusko zveřejnilo seznam nepřátelských zemí. Jsou na něm jen dvě: Česko a USA |trans-title=Russia has published a list of hostile countries. There are only two on it: the Czech Republic and the USA |url=https://zpravy.aktualne.cz/zahranici/rusko-zverejnilo-oficialne-seznam-zemi-ktere-nepovazuje-za-p/r~4fd09930b4c911eb89ccac1f6b220ee8/ |access-date=30 March 2023 |publisher=Aktuálně.cz |language=cs}}</ref> The Czech Republic also has problematic relations with [[China]].

Czech officials have supported dissenters in [[Belarus]], [[Moldova]], [[Myanmar]] and [[Cuba]].<ref name="democrats">{{Cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9725352 |title=Czechs with few mates |newspaper=The Economist |date=30 August 2007 |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925075823/http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9725352 |archive-date=25 September 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Famous Czech diplomats of the past included [[Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál]], [[Humprecht Jan Czernin]], Count [[Philip Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau]], [[Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg]], Prince [[Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg|Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg]], [[Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal]], [[Ottokar Czernin]], [[Edvard Beneš]], [[Jan Masaryk]], [[Jiří Hájek]], [[Jiří Dienstbier]], [[Michael Žantovský]], [[Petr Kolář]], [[Alexandr Vondra]], Prince [[Karel Schwarzenberg]] and [[Petr Pavel]].

=== Military ===
{{Main|Army of the Czech Republic}}

{{See also|Designated Reserves (Czech Republic)}}
[[File:Dejvice, generální štáb.jpg|thumb|right|General Staff of the [[Army of the Czech Republic]] in Prague]]
The [[Army of the Czech Republic|Czech armed forces]] consist of the [[Czech Land Forces]], the [[Czech Air Force]] and of specialized support units. The armed forces are managed by the [[Ministry of Defence (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Defence]]. The [[President of the Czech Republic]] is [[Commander-in-chief]] of the armed forces. In 2004 the army transformed itself into a fully professional organization and compulsory military service was abolished. The country has been a member of [[NATO]] since 12 March 1999. Defence spending is approximately 1.28% of the GDP (2021).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mocr.army.cz/finance-a-zakazky/resortni-rozpocet/resortni-rozpocet-5146/ |title=Resortní rozpočet |publisher=[[Ministry of Defence (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=8 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150802012046/http://www.mocr.army.cz/finance-a-zakazky/resortni-rozpocet/resortni-rozpocet-5146/ |archive-date=2 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> The armed forces are charged with protecting the Czech Republic and its allies, promoting global security interests, and contributing to NATO.

Currently, as a member of NATO, the Czech military are participating in the [[Resolute Support Mission|Resolute Support]] and [[Kosovo Force|KFOR]] operations and have soldiers in [[Afghanistan]], [[Mali]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Kosovo]], [[Egypt]], [[Israel]] and [[Operation Atalanta|Somalia]]. The Czech Air Force also served in the [[Baltic states]] and [[Iceland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=5807 |title=Foreign Operations |publisher=[[Ministry of Defence (Czech Republic)|Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic]] |access-date=25 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306204826/http://www.army.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=5807 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The main equipment of the Czech military includes [[Saab JAS 39 Gripen|JAS 39 Gripen]] multi-role fighters, [[Aero L-159 Alca]] combat aircraft, [[Bell AH-1Z Viper|AH-1Z Viper]] attack helicopters, armored vehicles ([[Pandur II]], [[BMP-2|BVP-2]]) and tanks ([[T-72M4CZ]] and [[Leopard 2A4]]).

=== Human rights ===
{{main|Human rights in the Czech Republic}}

{{see also|LGBT rights in the Czech Republic}}
Human rights in the Czech Republic are guaranteed by the [[Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms]] and [[international treaties]] on human rights. Nevertheless, there were cases of human rights violations such as discrimination against Roma children,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Komárek |first1=Michal |date=1 April 2016 |title=Diskriminace Romů v českých školách jako evropský problém |work=Literární noviny |trans-title=Discrimination against Roma in Czech schools as a European problem |url=http://literarky.cz/komentare/michal-komarek/18387-diskriminace-rom-v-eskych-kolach-jako-evropsky-problem |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401143159/http://literarky.cz/komentare/michal-komarek/18387-diskriminace-rom-v-eskych-kolach-jako-evropsky-problem |archive-date=1 April 2016 |access-date=15 November 2022 |language=cs}}</ref> for which the [[European Commission]] asked the Czech Republic to provide an explanation,<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2014 |title=Evropská komise žádá Česko o data kvůli diskriminaci Romů ve školách |trans-title=The European Commission is requesting data from the Czech Republic due to the discrimination of Roma in schools |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/eu-chce-iformace-o-udajne-diskriminaci-romu-ve-skolstvi.A140925_201335_domaci_cen |access-date=15 November 2022 |website=iDNES.cz |language=cs}}</ref> or the illegal sterilization of Roma women,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 April 2016 |title=Evropský soud tlačí vládu k odškodnění za nedobrovolné sterilizace romských žen |trans-title=The European court is pressuring the government to provide compensation for the forced sterilizations of Romani women |url=http://llp.cz/2014/03/evropsky-soud-tlaci-vladu-k-odskodneni-za-nedobrovolne-sterilizace-romskych-zen/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402194316/http://llp.cz/2014/03/evropsky-soud-tlaci-vladu-k-odskodneni-za-nedobrovolne-sterilizace-romskych-zen/ |archive-date=2 April 2016 |access-date=15 November 2022 |website=llp.cz |publisher=Liga lidských práv}}</ref> for which the government apologized.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 November 2009 |title=Vláda: Litujeme nezákonných sterilizací romských žen |trans-title=Government: We regret the illegal sterilizations of Romani women |url=https://www.lidovky.cz/domov/vlada-litujeme-nezakonnych-sterilizaci-romskych-zen.A091123_165045_ln_domov_mtr |access-date=15 November 2022 |website=Lidovky.cz |language=cs}}</ref>

People of the same sex can enter into a "[[registered partnership]]" in the Czech Republic. Conducting [[same-sex marriage]] is not legal under current Czech law.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lopatka |first1=Jan |last2=Hovet |first2=Jason |title=Czech lawmakers give first nod to same-sex marriage bill, opposition ahead |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/czech-lawmakers-give-first-nod-same-sex-marriage-bill-opposition-ahead-2023-06-29/ |website=Reuters |date=29 June 2023 |access-date=19 August 2023}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Regions of the Czech Republic|Districts of the Czech Republic|Obec}}

Since 2000, the Czech Republic has been divided into [[Regions of the Czech Republic|thirteen regions]] ([[Czech language|Czech]]: [[wikt:en:kraj#Czech|''kraje'', singular ''kraj'']]) and the capital city of [[Prague]]. Every region has its own elected regional assembly and a regional governor. In Prague, the assembly and presidential powers are executed by the city council and the mayor.

The older seventy-six [[Districts of the Czech Republic|districts]] (''okresy'', singular ''[[okres]]'') including three "statutory cities" (without Prague, which had special status) lost most of their importance in 1999 in an administrative reform; they remain as territorial divisions and seats of various branches of state administration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36046|title=The death of the districts|date=3 January 2003|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215131346/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36046|archive-date=15 February 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

The smallest administrative units are [[Obec|''obce'' (municipalities)]]. As of 2021, the Czech Republic is divided into 6,254 municipalities. Cities and towns are also municipalities. The capital city of Prague is a region and municipality at the same time.

{{multiple image
| align             = center
| total_width       = 600
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = Czech Rep. - Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia III (en).png
| caption1          = Map of the Czech Republic with traditional regions and current administrative regions|
| image2            = Okresy ČR 2007.PNG
| caption2          = Map with court districts
}}

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of the Czech Republic}}

[[File:GDP per capita development of Czechia.svg|thumb|right|Real GDP per capita in the Czech Republic from 1973 to 2018]]
[[File:Schengenzone.svg|thumb|The Czech Republic is part of the [[European Single Market]] and the [[Schengen Area]] (dark and light blue on the map above), but uses its own currency, the [[Czech koruna]].]]
The Czech Republic has a [[IMF advanced economy list|developed]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/getting-to-know-czech-republic/|title=Getting to know Czech Republic|author=Mccanndigital.cz|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719090840/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/getting-to-know-czech-republic/|archive-date=19 July 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20421402~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html#High_income |title=World Bank 2007 |publisher=Web.worldbank.org |access-date=25 April 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524215837/http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0%2C%2CcontentMDK%3A20421402~pagePK%3A64133150~piPK%3A64133175~theSitePK%3A239419%2C00.html |archive-date=24 May 2008 }}</ref> [[Trading nation|export-oriented]] [[social market economy]] based in services, manufacturing and innovation, that maintains a [[welfare state]] and the [[European social model]].<ref name="An Ideal-Typical Perspective">{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9515.2009.00654.x|title=Analysing the Welfare State in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia: An Ideal-Typical Perspective|journal=Social Policy & Administration|volume=43|issue=2|pages=170–185|year=2009|last1=Aspalter|first1=Christian|last2=Jinsoo|first2=Kim|last3=Sojeung|first3=Park|doi-access=free}}</ref> The Czech Republic participates in the [[European Single Market]] as a member of the [[European Union]] and is therefore a part of the [[economy of the European Union]], but uses its own currency, the [[Czech koruna]], instead of the [[euro]]. It has a per capita GDP rate that is 91% of the EU average<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114&plugin=1|title=GDP per capita in PPS|publisher=Eurostat|access-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524215819/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114&plugin=1|archive-date=24 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and is a member of the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development|OECD]]. [[Monetary policy]] is conducted by the [[Czech National Bank]], whose independence is guaranteed by the [[Constitution of the Czech Republic|Constitution]]. The Czech Republic ranks 12th in the [[United Nations Development Programme|UN]] [[List of countries by inequality-adjusted HDI|inequality-adjusted human development]] and 24th in [[World Bank Human Capital Index]]. It was described by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as "one of Europe's most flourishing economies".<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert|last=Tait|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/06/czech-democracy-threat-debt-crisis|title=Czech democracy 'under threat' from rising debt crisis|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=6 January 2019}}</ref>

{{as of|2023}}, the country's [[GDP per capita]] at [[purchasing power parity]] is $51,329<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=30&pr.y=7&sy=2018&ey=2018&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=935%2C961%2C436%2C136&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database April 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=4 June 2019}}</ref> and $29,856 at [[Real versus nominal value (economics)|nominal value]].<ref name="IMFWEOCZ201901">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=44&pr.y=12&sy=2016&ey=2021&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=935&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPD%2CPPPGDP%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a= |title=World Economic Outlook Database, April 2019 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |access-date=24 April 2019}}</ref> According to Allianz A.G., in 2024 the country was an MWC (mean wealth country), ranking 24th in net financial assets.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holzhausen |first1=Arne |last2=Grimm |first2=Michaela |last3=Krichene |first3=Hazem |last4=Pelayo-Romero |first4=Patricia |last5=Stoffel |first5=Kathrin |title=Allianz Global Wealth Report 2024 |url=https://www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/economic-research/publications/allianz-global-wealth-report/2024/2024-09-24-Allianz-Global-Wealth-Report.pdf |access-date=5 June 2025}}</ref> The country experienced a 4.5% [[Economic growth|GDP growth]] in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=Česká ekonomika na konci roku dál rostla, HDP loni stoupl o 4,5 procenta|url=https://ekonomika.idnes.cz/rust-hdp-cesko-2017-4-5-procenta-d1r-/ekonomika.aspx?c=A180216_092208_ekonomika_jj|work=iDNES.cz|date=16 February 2018|language=cs|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070633/https://ekonomika.idnes.cz/rust-hdp-cesko-2017-4-5-procenta-d1r-/ekonomika.aspx?c=A180216_092208_ekonomika_jj|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2016 [[unemployment]] rate was the lowest in the EU at 2.4%,<ref name="Eurostat Unemployment 2016">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Unemployment_rates,_seasonally_adjusted,_September_2016.png |title=Unemployment rates, seasonally adjusted, September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228112313/http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Unemployment_rates,_seasonally_adjusted,_September_2016.png |archive-date=28 December 2017 |website=Eurostat}}</ref> and the 2016 poverty rate was the second lowest of OECD members.<ref name="FT 19 October 2016">{{cite web |author=Frederica Cocco |url=https://www.ft.com/content/eacb2221-86f3-3be6-b3a9-075f0415367f |title=Israel and the US have the highest poverty rates in the developed world |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228171632/https://www.ft.com/content/eacb2221-86f3-3be6-b3a9-075f0415367f |archive-date=28 December 2017 |date=19 October 2016 |website=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref> 32nd in the 2025 [[Global Innovation Index]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/czech-republic |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref> 29th in the [[Global Competitiveness Report]],<ref name="GCR 2018/19">{{cite web|url=http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2018/|title=The Global Competitiveness Report 2018|access-date=17 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017082148/http://reports.weforum.org/global-competitiveness-report-2018/|archive-date=17 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and 25th in the [[Global Enabling Trade Report]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reports.weforum.org/global-enabling-trade-report-2016/enabling-trade-rankings/|title=Enabling Trade rankings|work=Global Enabling Trade Report 2016 |access-date=15 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321024142/http://reports.weforum.org/global-enabling-trade-report-2016/enabling-trade-rankings/|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Czech Republic has a diverse economy that [[List of countries by economic complexity|ranks 7th]] in the 2016 [[Economic Complexity Index]].<ref name="Atlas of Economic Complexity">[https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/rankings/country/eci/ Economic Complexity Rankings (ECI)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314191933/https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/rankings/country/eci/ |date=14 March 2018 }}. [[The Atlas of Economic Complexity]]. Access date 3 October 2017.</ref> The industrial sector accounts for 37.5% of the economy, while services account for 60% and agriculture for 2.5%.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html LABOR FORCE – BY OCCUPATION] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522214333/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2048.html |date=22 May 2014 }}. [[The World Factbook]].</ref> The largest trading partner for both export and import is [[Germany]] and the EU in general. Dividends worth CZK 270 billion were paid to the [[Foreign ownership|foreign owners]] of Czech companies in 2017, which has become a political issue.<ref>{{cite news |title=Czech foreign owned companies take second biggest dividend yield in 2017:report |url=https://www.radio.cz/en/section/business/czech-foreign-owned-companies-take-second-biggest-dividend-yield-in-2017report |work=Radio Prague |date=7 March 2018}}</ref> The country has been a member of the [[Schengen Area]] since 1 May 2004, having abolished border controls, completely opening its borders with all of its neighbors on 21 December 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Czech Republic to join Schengen|url=http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2006/12/13/czech-republic-to-join-schengen.php|publisher=The Prague Post|date=13 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225173344/http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2006/12/13/czech-republic-to-join-schengen.php|archive-date=25 February 2008|access-date=8 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Industry ===
[[File:Skoda Octavia IV RS IMG 4250.jpg|left|thumb|[[Škoda Octavia]] RS iV]]
{{as of|alt=In 2018|2018}} the [[List of companies of the Czech Republic#Largest by revenue|largest companies]] by revenue in the Czech Republic were: automobile manufacturer [[Škoda Auto]], utility company [[ČEZ Group]], conglomerate [[Agrofert]], energy trading company [[Energetický a průmyslový holding|EPH]], oil processing company [[Unipetrol]], electronics manufacturer [[Foxconn CZ]] and steel producer [[Třinec Iron and Steel Works|Moravia Steel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=100 Nejvýznamnějších |url=https://www.czechtop100.cz/cs/projekty/zebricky/100-nejvyznamnejsich |website=CZECH TOP 100 |access-date=1 July 2019 |language=cs}}</ref> Other Czech transportation companies include: [[Škoda Transportation]] (tramways, trolleybuses, metro), [[Tatra (company)|Tatra]] (heavy trucks, the second oldest car maker in the world), [[Avia Motors|Avia]] (medium trucks), [[Karosa]] and [[SOR Libchavy]] (buses), [[Aero Vodochody]] (military aircraft), [[Let Kunovice]] (civil aircraft), [[Zetor]] (tractors), [[Jawa Moto]] (motorcycles) and [[Česká zbrojovka Strakonice|Čezeta]] (electric scooters).

Škoda Transportation is the fourth largest [[tram]] producer in the world; nearly one third of all trams in the world come from Czech factories.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tramvaje firmy Pragoimex: česká klasika v novém kabátě|url=https://www.euro.cz/byznys/tramvaje-firmy-pragoimexceska-klasika-v-novem-kabate-892314|work=Euro.cz|date=16 December 2008|language=cs|access-date=13 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414010557/https://www.euro.cz/byznys/tramvaje-firmy-pragoimexceska-klasika-v-novem-kabate-892314|archive-date=14 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The Czech Republic is also the world's largest [[Phonograph record|vinyl records]] manufacturer, with [[GZ Media]] producing about 6 million pieces annually in [[Loděnice (Beroun District)|Loděnice]].<ref>{{cite news |date=11 April 2018 |title=Zlaté české ručičky. V tomhle jsme nejlepší, i když se o tom skoro neví |trans-title=Golden Czech hands. We're the best at this, even though hardly anyone knows about it |url=http://www.ctidoma.cz/firmy/2018-04-11-zlate-ceske-rucicky-v-tomhle-jsme-nejlepsi-i-kdyz-se-o-tom-skoro-nevi-39910 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413190004/http://www.ctidoma.cz/firmy/2018-04-11-zlate-ceske-rucicky-v-tomhle-jsme-nejlepsi-i-kdyz-se-o-tom-skoro-nevi-39910 |archive-date=13 April 2018 |access-date=13 April 2018 |work=ČtiDoma.cz |language=cs}}</ref> 

Defense has also been a traditionally important part of industry, with Czechoslovakia having been the world's largest exporter of arms in 1934 and 1935.<ref name="Euro platinum">{{cite magazine |last=Tramba |first=David |date=9 October 2025 |title= Zbrojením k bezpečnosti i miliardám |url= |trans-title=Through arming towards security as well as billions |magazine=Euro Platinum |language=cs |location=Prague |publisher=New Look Media |access-date=}}</ref> In 2025, the largest defense companies included the [[Czechoslovak Group]] (worth € 13,57 billion), [[STV Group (Arms Company)|STV Group]] (worth € 1,13 billion), [[Colt CZ Group]] (worth € 1,09 billion) and [[Omnipol]] (worth € 0,58 billion).<ref name="Euro platinum" />

In the [[food industry]], Czech companies include [[Agrofert]], [[Kofola]] and [[Hamé (company)|Hamé]].

=== Energy ===
{{Main|Energy in the Czech Republic}}

[[File:Nuclear.power.plant.Dukovany.jpg|thumb|[[Dukovany Nuclear Power Station]]]]
Production of Czech electricity exceeds consumption by about 10 [[Kilowatt hour|TWh]] per year, the excess being exported. [[Nuclear power]] presently provides about 30 percent of the total power needs, its share is projected to increase to 40 percent. In 2005, 65.4 percent of electricity was produced by steam and combustion power plants (mostly coal); 30 percent by nuclear plants; and 4.6 percent came from renewable sources, including hydropower. The largest Czech power resource is [[Temelín Nuclear Power Station]], with another nuclear power plant in [[Dukovany Nuclear Power Station|Dukovany]].

The Czech Republic is reducing its dependence on highly polluting low-grade [[Lignite|brown coal]] as a source of energy. Natural gas is purchased from [[Norway|Norwegian]] companies and as liquefied gas LNG from the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]]. In the past, three-quarters of gas supplies came from [[Russia]], but after the start of the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the government gradually stopped these supplies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2023 |title='V lednu ani kubík.' Dovoz plynu z Ruska do Česka klesl na nulu, uvedl Síkela |trans-title=Not even a cubic meter in January.’ Gas imports from Russia to the Czech Republic dropped to zero, said Síkela |url=https://www.irozhlas.cz/ekonomika/cesko-zasoby-plyn-rusko_2302182048_zuj |access-date=30 March 2023 |website=iROZHLAS |language=cs}}</ref> Gas consumption (approx. 100 TWh in 2003–2005) is almost double electricity consumption. South Moravia has small [[Oil and gas deposits in the Czech Republic|oil and gas deposits]].

=== Transport infrastructure ===
{{Main|Transport in the Czech Republic}}

[[File:Prague Václav Havel Airport in 2019.02.jpg|thumb|[[Václav Havel Airport Prague]]]]
{{As of|2020|post=,}} the road network in the Czech Republic is {{convert|55768.3|km|2|sp=us}} long, out of which {{cvt|1276.4|km|mi}} are motorways.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transport Yearbook 2020: 3.2.1. Road transport infrastructure|url=https://www.sydos.cz/cs/rocenka-2020/yearbook/htm_uk/uk20_321000.html|publisher=Ministry of Transport|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref> The [[Speed limits by country|speed limit]] is {{cvt|50|km/h}} within towns, {{cvt|90|km/h}} outside of towns and {{cvt|130|km/h}} on motorways.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/going_abroad/czech_republic/speed_limits_en.htm|title=Going abroad – Czech Republic|website=ec.europa.eu|access-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003221115/http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/going_abroad/czech_republic/speed_limits_en.htm|archive-date=3 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Czech Republic has one of the [[List of countries by rail transport network size|densest rail networks in the world]]. {{As of|2020|post=,}} the country has {{convert|9542|km|mi|sp=us}} of lines. Of that number, {{cvt|3236|km|mi}} is electrified, {{cvt|7503|km|mi}} are single-line tracks and {{cvt|2040|km|mi}} are double and multiple-line tracks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transport Yearbook 2020: 3.1.2. Lines|url=https://www.sydos.cz/cs/rocenka-2020/yearbook/htm_uk/uk20_312000.html|publisher=Ministry of Transport|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref> The length of tracks is {{cvt|15360|km|mi}}, out of which {{cvt|6917|km|mi}} is electrified.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transport Yearbook 2020: 3.1.1. Tracks|url=https://www.sydos.cz/cs/rocenka-2020/yearbook/htm_uk/uk20_311000.html|publisher=Ministry of Transport|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref>

[[České dráhy]] (Czech Railways) is the main railway operator in the country, with about 180&nbsp;million passengers carried annually. Maximum speed is limited to {{cvt|160|km/h}}.

[[Václav Havel Airport Prague|Václav Havel Airport]] in Prague is the main international airport in the country. In 2019, it handled 17.8 million passengers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Letiště|url=https://www.mdcr.cz/Dokumenty/Letecka-doprava/Pravni-predpisy/Letiste|publisher=Ministry of Transport|language=cs|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref> In total, the Czech Republic has [[List of airports in the Czech Republic|91 airports]], six of which provide international air services. The public international airports are in [[Brno-Tuřany Airport|Brno]], [[Karlovy Vary Airport|Karlovy Vary]], [[Mnichovo Hradiště Airport|Mnichovo Hradiště]], [[Leoš Janáček Airport Ostrava|Mošnov]] (near [[Ostrava]]), [[Pardubice Airport|Pardubice]] and Prague.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transport Yearbook 2020: 3.4. Air transport infrastructure |url=https://www.sydos.cz/cs/rocenka-2020/yearbook/htm_uk/uk20_340000.html|publisher=Ministry of Transport|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref> The non-public international airports capable of handling airliners are in [[Kunovice Airport|Kunovice]] and [[Vodochody Airport|Vodochody]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Letišť má Česko až moc, většinou jsou ztrátová|url=https://www.novinky.cz/ekonomika/clanek/letist-ma-cesko-az-moc-vetsinou-jsou-ztratova-40293826|publisher=Novinky.cz|language=cs|date=21 August 2019|access-date=24 November 2021}}</ref>

Russia (via pipelines through Ukraine) and, to a lesser extent, Norway (via pipelines through Germany) supply the Czech Republic with liquid and natural gas.<ref name="guidepost">{{cite web|url=https://www.mpo.cz/en/guidepost/for-the-media/press-releases/minister-kocourek-launches-the-gazela-gas-pipeline-linking-the-czech-republic-to-nord-stream--80040/|title=Minister Kocourek launches the Gazela gas pipeline linking the Czech Republic to Nord Stream|last=Vlček|first=Pavel|date=14 November 2010|publisher=Ministry of Industry and Trade|access-date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

=== Communications and IT ===
{{Main|Internet in the Czech Republic}}

[[File:Eduard Kučera, Milada Kučerová, Jarmila Baudišová, Pavel Baudiš, foto Milan Bureš.jpg|thumb|Founders and owners of the antivirus group [[Avast]]]]
On 1 July 2006, Český Telecom was acquired by globalized company (Spain-owned) Telefónica group and adopted the new name [[Telefónica O2 Czech Republic]]. {{as of|2017}}, VDSL and ADSL2+ are offered in variants, with download speeds of up to 50&nbsp;Mbit/s and upload speeds of up to 5&nbsp;Mbit/s. Cable internet is gaining more popularity with its higher download speeds ranging from 50&nbsp;Mbit/s to 1&nbsp;Gbit/s.

Two [[computer security]] companies, [[Avast]] and [[AVG Technologies|AVG]], were founded in the Czech Republic. In 2016, Avast led by [[Pavel Baudiš]] bought rival AVG for [[United States dollar|US$]]1.3&nbsp;billion, together at the time, these companies had a user base of about 400 million people and 40% of the consumer market outside of China.<ref>{{cite news|title=Antivirus giant Avast is acquiring rival AVG for $1.3b|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/07/07/antivirus-giant-avast-acquiring-rival-avg-1-3b/|publisher=TNW|date=7 July 2016|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612184524/https://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/07/07/antivirus-giant-avast-acquiring-rival-avg-1-3b/|archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Avast not done with deal-making after AVG buy, but no rush|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-avast-avg-tech-ceo-idUSKCN1201R2?type=companyNews|work=Reuters|date=30 September 2016|access-date=2 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016123038/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-avast-avg-tech-ceo-idUSKCN1201R2?type=companyNews|archive-date=16 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Avast is the leading provider of antivirus software, with a 20.5% market share.<ref>{{cite news|title=Avast Buys Piriform, the Company Behind CCleaner and Recuva|url=https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/business/avast-buys-piriform-the-company-behind-ccleaner-and-recuva/|work=BleepingComputer|access-date=5 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720002226/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/business/avast-buys-piriform-the-company-behind-ccleaner-and-recuva/|archive-date=20 July 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
{{Main|Tourism in the Czech Republic}}

[[File:Burg Karlstein - Karlštejn - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Medieval castle [[Karlštejn]]]]
[[Prague]] is the fifth most visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome.<ref name="Bremner 2015">{{cite web|url=http://blog.euromonitor.com/2015/01/top-100-city-destinations-ranking.html|title=Top 100 City Destinations Ranking|publisher=Euromonitor International|first=Caroline|last=Bremner|year=2015|access-date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628204803/http://blog.euromonitor.com/2015/01/top-100-city-destinations-ranking.html|archive-date=28 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, the total earnings from tourism reached 118&nbsp;billion [[Czech koruna|CZK]], making up 5.5% of the country's [[Measures of national income and output|GNP]] and 9% of its overall export earnings. The industry employs more than 110,000 people – over 1% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czechtourism.com/index.php?show=001006&lang=3|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070328141615/http://www.czechtourism.com/index.php?show=001006&lang=3|archive-date=28 March 2007|title=Promotion Strategy of the Czech Republic in 2004–2010|access-date=19 December 2006|publisher=Czech Tourism}}</ref>
Guidebooks and tourists reporting overcharging by taxi drivers and pickpocketing problems talk mainly about Prague, though the situation has improved recently.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/106877 |title=Prague sees significant dip in tourist numbers |publisher=Radio.cz |date=21 April 2010 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090403080652/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/106877 |archive-date=3 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="indy">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/prague-mayor-goes-undercover-to-expose-the-great-taxi-ripoff-486682.html|title=Prague mayor goes undercover to expose the great taxi rip-off|work=The Independent|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905001434/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/prague-mayor-goes-undercover-to-expose-the-great-taxi-ripoff-486682.html|archive-date=5 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2005, Prague's mayor, [[Pavel Bém]], has worked to improve this reputation by cracking down on petty crime<ref name="indy" /> and, aside from these problems, Prague is a "safe" city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myczechrepublic.com/prague/safety.html|title=Tips on Staying Safe in Prague|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923074842/http://www.myczechrepublic.com/prague/safety.html|archive-date=23 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> The Czech Republic's crime rate is described by the United States State department as "low".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1099.html#crime |title=Czech Republic – Country Specific Information |access-date=13 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217101224/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1099.html |archive-date=17 December 2013}}</ref>

The Czech Republic boasts [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic|17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites]], 3 of them being transnational. {{as of|2024}}, further 13 sites are on the tentative list.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tentative Lists|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/?action=listtentative&state=cz&order=states|website=UNESCO|access-date=13 March 2024}}</ref>
[[File:Český Krumlov, historické jádro.jpg|left|thumb|[[Český Krumlov]]]]

Architectural heritage is an object of interest to visitors – it includes [[List of castles in the Czech Republic|castles and châteaux]] from different historical epochs, namely [[Karlštejn]] Castle, [[Český Krumlov]] and the [[Lednice–Valtice Cultural Landscape]]. There are 12 [[List of cathedrals in the Czech Republic|cathedrals]] and 15 churches elevated to the rank of [[Minor basilica|basilica]] by the Pope, as well as many monasteries.

Away from the towns, areas such as [[Bohemian Paradise]], [[Bohemian Forest]] and the [[Giant Mountains]] attract visitors seeking outdoor pursuits.

The country is also known for its various [[List of museums in the Czech Republic|museums]], [[puppeteer|puppetry]] and [[marionette]] exhibitions that take part within larger puppet [[theatre festival|festivals]], and [[beer festival]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelguidepro.com/czech-republic/|title=Czech Republic Travel Guide – Tourist Information and Guide to Czech Republic|website=www.travelguidepro.com|access-date=10 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823183212/http://travelguidepro.com/czech-republic/|archive-date=23 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Aquapalace Prague]] in [[Čestlice]] is the largest [[water park]] in the country.

=== Science ===
<!-- {{Main|Science of the Czech Republic}} -->
[[File:Heyrovsky Jaroslav.jpg|thumb|234x234px|Chemist [[Jaroslav Heyrovský]], Nobel Prize winner]]
The Czech lands have a long and well-documented history of scientific innovation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Czech Science: Past, Present, and Future |url=http://connect.ceitec.cz/science-and-society/czech-science-past-present-and-future/ |publisher=Ceitec Connect |website=connect.ceitec.cz/ |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Czech Footprint: Inventions and Inventors |url=https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/heritage/czech-footprint-inventions-and-inventors/ |date=16 November 2018 |newspaper=Škoda Storyboard |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> Today, the Czech Republic has a highly sophisticated, developed, high-performing, innovation-oriented scientific community supported by the government,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mpo.cz/assets/en/guidepost/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/5/NAIS_eng_web.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.mpo.cz/assets/en/guidepost/for-the-media/press-releases/2019/5/NAIS_eng_web.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live|title=National Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Czech Republic |publisher=Ministry of Industry and Trade |website=www.mpo.cz |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> industry,<ref>{{cite web |title=Research and Development in the Czech Republic |url=http://www.czech-research.com/ |publisher=Czech Invest |website=www.czechinvest.org/en |access-date=1 June 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214113/http://www.czech-research.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and leading [[Czech Universities|universities]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Best Global Universities in the Czech Republic|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/czech-republic|publisher=U.S. News & World Report|website=www.usnews.com |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> Czech scientists are embedded members of the global scientific community.<ref>{{cite web|title=Research News|url=https://gacr.cz/en/news|access-date=1 June 2021|website=gacr.cz/en |publisher=Grantová agentura České republiky}}</ref> They contribute annually to multiple international academic journals and collaborate with their colleagues across boundaries and fields.<ref>{{cite web|title=Exhibition traces Czech contribution to finding Amazon River source|url=https://english.radio.cz/exhibition-traces-czech-contribution-finding-amazon-river-source-8718816|access-date=1 June 2021|publisher=Radio Prague International|date=28 May 2021|website=www.czech.radio}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Czech Republic, home of robotics|url=https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/czech-republic-home-robotics|access-date=1 June 2021|date=19 June 2012|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=World success of Czech scientists: A breakthrough method can help in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease or cancer|url=https://imtm.cz/world-success-czech-scientists-breakthrough-method-can-help-treatment-alzheimers-disease-or-cancer|access-date=1 June 2021|publisher=Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine|website=imtm.cz|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602220026/https://imtm.cz/world-success-czech-scientists-breakthrough-method-can-help-treatment-alzheimers-disease-or-cancer|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Czech and Slovak Freedom Lecture: The Role of Czech and International Scientists in the Fight Against the Pandemic|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/czech-and-slovak-freedom-lecture-role-czech-and-international-scientists-fight-against|access-date=1 June 2021|publisher=The Wilson Center|website=www.wilsoncenter.org|date=18 November 2020 }}</ref> The Czech Republic was ranked 24th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2020 and 2021, up from 26th in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2021  |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2021/|work=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|publisher=[[United Nations]]|access-date=5 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Release of the Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation?|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2020/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021|website=wipo.int}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2 September 2021|website=wipo.int}}</ref>

Historically, the Czech lands, especially [[Prague]], have been the seat of scientific discovery going back to early modern times, including [[Tycho Brahe]], [[Nicolaus Copernicus]], and [[Johannes Kepler]]. In 1784 the scientific community was first formally organized under the charter of the [[Royal Czech Society of Sciences]]. Currently, this organization is known as the [[Czech Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Czech Academy of Sciences |url=https://www.avcr.cz/en |publisher=The Czech Academy of Sciences |website=www.avcr.cz |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> Similarly, the Czech lands have a well-established history of scientists,<ref>{{cite web |title=Czech Made |url=https://english.radio.cz/czech-made-8705902 |publisher=Radio Prague International |date=19 January 2021 |website=www.czech.radio |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences |url=https://www.svu2000.org|website=svu2000.org|publisher=Společnost pro vědy a umění|access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref> including Nobel laureates biochemists [[Gerty Cori|Gerty]] and [[Carl Ferdinand Cori]], chemists [[Jaroslav Heyrovský]] (inventor of [[polarography]], [[Analytical chemistry|electroanalytical chemistry]] and recipient of the Nobel Prize) and [[Otto Wichterle]] ([[chemist]]s responsible for the invention of the modern [[contact lens]] and silon-[[synthetic fiber]]), physicists [[Ernst Mach]] (physicist and critic of Newton's theories of space and time, foreshadowing Einstein's theory of relativity) and [[Peter Grünberg]], physiologist [[Jan Evangelista Purkyně]] and chemist [[Antonín Holý]] (scientist and chemist, in 2009 was involved in creation of the most effective drug in the treatment of AIDS),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-presidency/presidency-faces/faces-of-the-presidency-3642/ |title=Faces of the Presidency |accessdate=8 January 2009 |work=eu2009.cz |date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119103222/http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-presidency/presidency-faces/faces-of-the-presidency-3642/ |archive-date=19 January 2009 |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=All Nobel Prizes|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes|access-date=2 June 2021|website=NobelPrize.org}}</ref> [[Sigmund Freud]], the founder of [[psychoanalysis]], was born in [[Příbor]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sigmund Freud {{!}} Biography, Theories, Works, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sigmund-Freud|access-date=2 June 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref> [[Gregor Mendel]], the founder of [[genetics]], was born in [[Hynčice (Vražné)|Hynčice]] and spent most of his life in [[Brno]],<ref>{{Cite book |title=Solitude of a Humble Genius-- Gregor Johann Mendel. Volume 1, Formative years |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-35254-6 |editor-last=Klein |editor-first=Paul |location=Berlin |oclc=857364787}}</ref> logician and mathematician [[Kurt Gödel]] was born in Brno.
[[File:ELI Beamlines building in Dolní Břežany.jpg|thumb|Eli Beamlines Science Center with the most powerful laser in the world in [[Dolní Břežany]]]]

Other famous Czech scientists include: [[Stanislav Brebera]] (inventor of the [[plastic explosive]] [[Semtex]]),<ref>{{cite web | title=Velikáni české vědy | url=http://www.velikani-ceske-vedy.estranky.cz/clanky/biografie/stanislav-brebera |accessdate=1 November 2010}}</ref> [[Václav Prokop Diviš]] (inventor of the first grounded [[lightning rod]]), [[Jakub Husník]] (improved the process of [[photolithography]]), [[Jan Janský]] (serologist and neurologist, discovered the [[ABO blood groups]]), [[Karel Klíč]] (painter and photographer, inventor of the [[photogravure]]), [[František Křižík]] (electrical engineer, inventor of the [[arc lamp]]), [[Jan Marek Marci]] (mathematician, physicist and imperial physician, one of the founders of [[spectroscopy]]),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burns|first1=Thorburn|editor1-last=Burgess|editor1-first=C.|editor2-last=Mielenz|editor2-first=K. D.|title=Advances in Standards and Methodology in Spectrophotometry|date=1987|publisher=Elsevier Science|location=Burlington|isbn=978-0-444-59905-6|page=1|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Rg7AAAAQBAJ&dq=Marci&pg=PA1|chapter=Aspects of the development of colorimetric analysis and quantitative molecular spectroscopy in the ultraviolet-visible region}}</ref> [[Vladimír Remek]] (the first person outside of the Soviet Union and the United States to go into space), [[Jakub Kryštof Rad]] (inventor of [[sugar]] cubes), [[Josef Ressel]] (inventor of the [[propeller|screw propeller]] and [[Protractor compass|modern compass]]).<ref name="science1">{{cite journal|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/economy-business-science/science/ingenious-inventions?i=1 |title=Ingenious inventions |journal=Physics World |volume=31 |issue=9 |pages=45 |access-date=24 March 2009 |url-status=deviated |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324033030/http://www.czech.cz/en/economy-business-science/science/ingenious-inventions?i=1 |archivedate=24 March 2009  |bibcode=2018PhyW...31i..45C |last1=Commissariat |first1=Tushna |year=2018 |doi=10.1088/2058-7058/31/9/35 |url-access=subscription }}. Czech.cz</ref>

Historically, most scientific research was recorded in Latin, but from the 18th century onwards increasingly in German and Czech, archived in libraries supported and managed by religious groups and other denominations, as evidenced by historical locations of international renown and heritage such as the [[Strahov Monastery]] and the [[Clementinum]] in [[Prague]]. Increasingly, Czech scientists publish their work and that of their history in English.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Psychology in the Czech lands: Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic |journal=International Journal of Psychology |year=2020 |pmid=31304980 |last1=Klicperová-Baker |first1=M. |last2=Hoskovcová |first2=S. |last3=Heller |first3=D. |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=133–143 |doi=10.1002/ijop.12607 |s2cid=196613980 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Research and Innovation Ranking |url=https://www.scimagoir.com/rankings.php?country=CZE |publisher=Scimago Institutions Rankings |website=www.scimagoir.com |access-date=1 June 2021}}</ref>

Current important scientific institutions include the already mentioned [[Czech Academy of Sciences|Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic]], the [[Central European Institute of Technology|CEITEC]] Institute in [[Brno]] and the {{ill|HiLASE|cs}} and {{ill|Eli Beamlines|cs}} centers with the most powerful laser in the world in [[Dolní Břežany]]. Prague is the seat of the administrative center of the GSA Agency operating the European navigation system [[Galileo (satellite navigation)|Galileo]] and the [[European Union Agency for the Space Programme]].

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of the Czech Republic}}

{{see also|List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic}}

The [[total fertility rate]] (TFR) in 2020 was estimated at 1.71 children per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/ari/population-change-4-quarter-of-2015|title=Population change – year 2015|website=Population change – year 2015}}</ref> The Czech Republic's population has an average age of 43.3 years.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/czechia/|title=  Czechia|date=18 November 2021|work=[[The World Factbook]]}}</ref> The life expectancy in 2021 was estimated to be 79.5 years (76.55 years male, 82.61 years female).<ref name="cia.gov">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Czechia|access-date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> About 77,000 people immigrate to the Czech Republic annually.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20130217021757/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scotch-irish/message/50884 Press: Number of foreigners in ČR up ten times since 1989]". Prague Monitor. 11 November 2009.</ref> [[Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic|Vietnamese]] immigrants began settling in the country during the Communist period, when they were invited as [[guest workers]] by the Czechoslovak government.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Coilin|last=O'Connor|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/91826|title=Is the Czech Republic's Vietnamese community finally starting to feel at home?|work=Czech Radio|date=29 May 2007|access-date=1 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113225626/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/91826|archive-date=13 January 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, there were about 70,000 Vietnamese in the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/world/europe/05iht-viet.html|title=Crisis Strands Vietnamese Workers in a Czech Limbo|work=The New York Times |date=6 June 2009 |access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325032042/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/world/europe/05iht-viet.html|archive-date=25 March 2014|url-status=live|last1=Bilefsky |first1=Dan }}</ref> Most have decided to stay in the country permanently.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/current-affairs/work-and-study/foreigners-working-in-the-czech-republic|title=Foreigners working in the Czech Republic|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs|date=July 2006|access-date=3 June 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090603021134/http://www.czech.cz/en/current-affairs/work-and-study/foreigners-working-in-the-czech-republic|archive-date=3 June 2009}}</ref>

According to results of the 2021 census, the majority of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic are [[Czechs]] (57.3%), followed by [[Moravians (ethnic group)|Moravians]] (3.4%), [[Slovaks]] (0.9%), [[Ukrainians]] (0.7%), [[Vietnamese people|Viets]] (0.3%), [[Polish people|Poles]] (0.3%), [[Russians]] (0.2%), [[Silesians]] (0.1%) and [[Germans]] (0.1%). Another 4.0% declared a combination of two nationalities (3.6% combination of Czech and other nationality). As the 'nationality' was an optional item, a number of people left this field blank (31.6%).<ref name="census2021"/> According to some estimates, there are about 250,000 [[Romani people]] in the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://romove.radio.cz/en/article/18158 |title=The History and Origin of the Roma |publisher=Romove.radio.cz |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425230018/http://romove.radio.cz/en/article/18158 |archive-date=25 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Peter S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/05/world/british-immigration-aides-accused-of-bias-by-gypsys.html |title=British Immigration Aides Accused of Bias by Gypsies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 August 2001 |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111163549/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/05/world/british-immigration-aides-accused-of-bias-by-gypsys.html |archive-date=11 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Polish minority in the Czech Republic|Polish minority]] resides mainly in the [[Trans-Olza]] region.<ref>"[http://media.efhr.eu/2014/09/03/jaroslaw-jot-druzycki-poles-living-in-zaolzie-identify-themselves-better-with-czechs-2/ Jarosław Jot-Drużycki: Poles living in Zaolzie identify themselves better with Czechs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426080011/http://media.efhr.eu/2014/09/03/jaroslaw-jot-druzycki-poles-living-in-zaolzie-identify-themselves-better-with-czechs-2/ |date=26 April 2018}}". ''European Foundation of Human Rights.'' 3 September 2014.</ref>

There were 658,564 foreigners residing in the country in 2021,<ref>{{cite news |title=R01 Cizinci v ČR v letech 2004 – 2021 (stav k 31. 12.) |url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27320905/c01R01_2021.pdf/3684c8ef-fc19-493e-8498-416697170c0a?version=1.0 |access-date=21 March 2023 |agency=Czech Statistical Office |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120222357/https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27320905/c01R01_2021.pdf/3684c8ef-fc19-493e-8498-416697170c0a?version=1.0 |url-status=dead }}</ref> according to the [[Czech Statistical Office]], with the largest groups being [[Ukrainians in the Czech Republic|Ukrainian]] (22%), [[Slovaks in the Czech Republic|Slovak]] (22%), [[Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic|Vietnamese]] (12%), [[Russians|Russian]] (7%) and [[Germans in the Czech Republic|German]] (4%). Most of the foreign population lives in Prague (37.3%) and Central Bohemia Region (13.2%).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Foreigners in the Czech Republic – 2017|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|year=2017|isbn=978-80-250-2781-3|location=Prague}}</ref>

The [[History of the Jews in the Czech Republic|Jewish]] population of Bohemia and Moravia, 118,000 according to the 1930 census, was nearly annihilated by the Nazi Germans during [[the Holocaust]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007323 |title=The Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia |publisher=Ushmm.org |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805153601/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007323 |archive-date=5 August 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> There were approximately 3,900 Jews in the Czech Republic in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html|title=The Virtual Jewish Library|access-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621102211/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/jewpop.html|archive-date=21 June 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The former Czech prime minister, [[Jan Fischer (politician)|Jan Fischer]], is of Jewish faith.<ref>[http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118537 PM Fischer visits Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725075412/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/118537 |date=25 July 2009 }}". Radio Prague. 22 July 2009.</ref>

Nationality of residents, who answered the question in the Census 2021:<ref>{{cite web |title=První výsledky Sčítání 2021 |url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176460729/csu_sldb_2021.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176460729/csu_sldb_2021.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |publisher=Czech Statistical Office |access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Všechny tabulky - sldb2021_pv_tabulky.xlsx |url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176236044/sldb2021_pv_tabulky.xlsx |publisher=Czech Statistical Office |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227110737/https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176236044/sldb2021_pv_tabulky.xlsx |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Nationality
!Share
|-
|Czech
|83.76%
|-
|Moravian
|4.99%
|-
|Czech and Moravian
|2.50%
|-
|Slovak
|1.33%
|-
|Ukrainian
|1.08%
|-
|Czech and Slovak
|0.82%
|-
|Vietnamese
|0.44%
|-
|Polish
|0.37%
|-
|Russian
|0.35%
|-
|''Other''
|4.36%
|}

=== Largest cities ===
{{Largest cities of the Czech Republic}}

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in the Czech Republic|Religion in the European Union}}

{{bar box
|title=Religion in the Czech Republic (2011)<ref name="Czech Statistical Office">{{cite web|url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/$File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf|title=Population by religious belief and by municipality size groups|access-date=23 April 2012|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221184947/http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/%24File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref>
|titlebar=
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|Undeclared|Gray|44.7}}
{{bar percent|Irreligion|Black|34.5}}
{{bar percent|Catholicism|DarkOrchid|10.5}}
{{bar percent|Believers, not members of other religions|Chartreuse|6.8}}
{{bar percent|Other Christian churches|Turquoise|1.1}}
{{bar percent|Protestantism|DodgerBlue|1}}
{{bar percent|Believers, members of other religions|Crimson|0.7}}
{{bar percent|Other religions / Unknown|HotPink|0.7}}
}}

About 75%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wingia.com/web/files/richeditor/filemanager/Czech_Republic_Tables_V3_a.pdf |title=End of year 2014 – Czech Republic |website=Wingia.com |access-date=5 January 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309123931/http://www.wingia.com/web/files/richeditor/filemanager/Czech_Republic_Tables_V3_a.pdf |archive-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> to 79%<ref name="Czech Statistical Office 27 February 2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/20551795/17022014.pdf/c533e33c-79c4-4a1b-8494-e45e41c5da18?version=1.0|title=NÁBOŽENSKÁ VÍRA OBYVATEL PODLE VÝSLEDKŮ SČÍTÁNÍ LIDU|access-date=27 December 2017|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|date=27 February 2014|quote=Chapter 1. "Změny struktury obyvatel podle náboženské víry v letech 1991, 2001 a 2011"; table "Struktura obyvatel podle náboženské víry (náboženského vyznání) v letech 1991 – 2011": believers 20,8%; non-believers 34,5%; no declared religion 44,7%|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513040154/https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/20551795/17022014.pdf/c533e33c-79c4-4a1b-8494-e45e41c5da18?version=1.0|archive-date=13 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> of residents of the Czech Republic do not declare having any religion or faith in surveys, and the proportion of convinced [[Atheism|atheists]] (30%) is the third highest in the world behind those of [[China]] (47%) and [[Japan]] (31%).<ref name="Global Index of Religion and Atheism">[https://secularpolicyinstitute.net/survey/global-index-of-religion-and-atheism/ Global Index of Religion and Atheism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226074016/https://secularpolicyinstitute.net/survey/global-index-of-religion-and-atheism/ |date=26 December 2017 }} [http://www.wingia.com/web/files/news/14/file/14.pdf Press Release] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021065544/http://www.wingia.com/web/files/news/14/file/14.pdf |date=21 October 2013 }}. 2012. secularpolicyinstitute.net</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2024}} The [[Czech people]] have been historically characterized as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion".<ref>Richard Felix Staar, ''Communist regimes in Eastern Europe'', Issue 269, p. 90</ref> The religious identity of the country has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of [[Czechs]] were Christians.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Spousta|first=Jan|title=Changes in Religious Values in the Czech Republic|journal=Czech Sociological Review|volume=38|number=3|pages=345–363|year=2002|doi=10.13060/00380288.2002.38.3.06|url=http://sreview.soc.cas.cz/uploads/db130c52c8dced9b7b41951573d5c9e4c2eb9a33_120_spousta9.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101115817/http://sreview.soc.cas.cz/pdfs/csr/2002/03/06.pdf|archive-date=1 November 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Emma Czeska i Św. Wacław.JPG|thumb|[[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslaus]] (left), patron saint of the Czech lands]]
Christianization in the 9th and 10th centuries introduced [[Christianity]]. After the [[Bohemian Reformation]], most Czechs became [[Hussites|followers]] of [[Jan Hus]], [[Petr Chelčický]] and other regional [[Protestant Reformers]]. [[Taborites]] and [[Utraquists]] were [[Hussite]] groups. Towards the end of the [[Hussite Wars]], the Utraquists changed sides and allied with the Roman Catholic Church. Following the joint Utraquist—Roman Catholic victory, Utraquism was accepted as a distinct form of Christianity to be practiced in [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] by the Roman Catholic Church while all remaining Hussite groups were prohibited. After the [[Reformation]], some Bohemians went with the [[Lutheranism|teachings of Martin Luther]], especially [[Sudeten Germans]]. In the wake of the Reformation, Utraquist Hussites took a renewed increasingly [[anti-Catholic]] stance, while some of the defeated Hussite factions were revived. After the [[Habsburgs]] regained control of Bohemia, the whole population was forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism—even the Utraquist Hussites. Going forward, Czechs have become more wary and pessimistic of religion as such. A history of resistance to the Roman Catholic Church followed. It suffered a schism with the neo-Hussite [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]] in 1920, lost the bulk of its adherents during the Communist era and continues to lose in the modern, ongoing [[secularization]]. Protestantism never recovered after the [[Counter-Reformation]] was introduced by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian Habsburgs]] in 1620. Prior to the Holocaust, the Czech Republic had a sizable Jewish community of around 100,000. There are many historically important and culturally relevant Synagogues in the Czech Republic such as Europe's oldest active Synagogue, [[Old New Synagogue|The Old New Synagogue]] and the second largest Synagogue in Europe, the [[Great Synagogue (Plzeň)]]. The Holocaust decimated Czech Jewry and the Jewish population as of 2021 is 3,900.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/CZ |title=Czechia |publisher=World Jewish Congress |access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref>

According to the 2011 census, 34% of the population stated they had no religion, 10.3% were Roman Catholic, 0.8% were [[Protestant]] (0.5% [[Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren|Czech Brethren]] and 0.4% [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church|Hussite]]),<ref>The [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]] contains mixed Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and national elements. Classifying it as either one is disputable. For more details and dispute about this, see [[Czechoslovak Hussite Church]].</ref> and 9% followed other forms of religion both denominational or not (of which 863 people answered they are [[Neopaganism|Pagan]]). 45% of the population did not answer the question about religion.<ref name="Czech Statistical Office" /> From 1991 to 2001 and further to 2011 the adherence to Roman Catholicism decreased from 39% to 27% and then to 10%; Protestantism similarly declined from 3.7% to 2% and then to 0.8%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czso.cz/csu/2008edicniplan.nsf/engt/24003E05ED/$File/4032080119.pdf|title=Population by denomination and sex: as measured by 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991 and 2001 censuses|language=cs, en|access-date=9 March 2010|publisher=Czech Statistical Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221195344/http://www.czso.cz/csu/2008edicniplan.nsf/engt/24003E05ED/$File/4032080119.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> The Muslim population is estimated to be 20,000 representing 0.2% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Europe's Growing Muslim Population |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/29/europes-growing-muslim-population/ |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |date=29 November 2017 |access-date=16 May 2022}}</ref>

The proportion of religious believers varies significantly across the country, from 55% in [[Zlín Region]] to 16% in [[Ústí nad Labem Region]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Data za poměrové ukazatele – sldb2021 |url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176236044/sldb2021_pv_pomer_ukazatele.xlsx |publisher=Czech Statistical Office |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-date=24 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124161229/https://www.czso.cz/documents/142154812/176236044/sldb2021_pv_pomer_ukazatele.xlsx |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Education and health care ===
{{Main|Education in the Czech Republic|Healthcare in the Czech Republic|Healthcare in the Czech Republic = }}

[[File:Praha Karolinum výklenek 1.jpg|left|thumb|278x278px|The oldest part of [[Charles University]], founded in 1348]]
Education in the Czech Republic is compulsory for nine years and citizens have access to a [[Free education|free-tuition]] [[Tertiary education in the Czech Republic|university education]], while the average number of years of education is 13.1.<ref name="Sign In">{{Cite journal|title=Expansion of schooling and educational inequality in Europe: the educational Kuznets curve revisited|date=10 December 2013|url=https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-abstract/66/3/660/2364602/Expansion-of-schooling-and-educational-inequality?redirectedFrom=fulltext|doi=10.1093/oep/gpt036|journal=Oxford Economic Papers|first1=Elena |last1=Meschi |first2=Francesco|last2=Scervini|volume=66|issue=3|pages=660–680|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124101304/https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-abstract/66/3/660/2364602/Expansion-of-schooling-and-educational-inequality?redirectedFrom=fulltext|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Additionally, the Czech Republic has a "relatively equal" educational system in comparison with other countries in Europe.<ref name="Sign In" /> Founded in 1348, [[Charles University]] was the first university in [[Central Europe]]. Other major universities in the country are [[Masaryk University]], [[Czech Technical University in Prague|Czech Technical University]], [[Palacký University, Olomouc|Palacký University]], [[Academy of Performing Arts in Prague|Academy of Performing Arts]] and [[University of Economics, Prague|University of Economics]].

The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]], coordinated by the [[OECD]], currently ranks the Czech education system as the 15th most successful in the world, higher than the OECD average.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |title=Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale |work=OECD.org |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229020307/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |archive-date=29 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The UN [[Education Index]] ranks the Czech Republic 10th {{as of|2013|lc=y}} (positioned behind [[Denmark]] and ahead of [[South Korea]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/education-index|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104212133/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/education-index|url-status=dead|title=Education index &#124; Human Development Reports|archivedate=4 January 2018|website=hdr.undp.org}}</ref>

Health care in the Czech Republic is similar in quality to that of other developed nations. The Czech [[universal health care]] system is based on a [[Health insurance mandate|compulsory insurance model]], with [[fee-for-service]] care funded by mandatory employment-related insurance plans.<ref name=primary>{{cite journal| pmc=1534002 | pmid=16902697 | volume=1 | title=Primary health care in the Czech Republic: brief history and current issues | journal=Int J Integr Care | page=e06 | last1=Holcik | first1=J | last2=Koupilova | first2=I | year=2000 | doi=10.5334/ijic.8 | doi-access=free }}</ref> According to the 2016 [[Euro health consumer index]], a comparison of [[healthcare in Europe]], the Czech healthcare is 13th, ranked behind [[Sweden]] and two positions ahead of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="EHCI 2016">{{cite web| url=http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/files/EHCI_2016/EHCI_2016_report.pdf| title=Euro Health Consumer Index 2016| publisher=Health Consumer Powerhouse| access-date=8 April 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014090901/https://healthpowerhouse.com/files/EHCI_2016/EHCI_2016_report.pdf| archive-date=14 October 2017| url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of the Czech Republic}}

{{more citations needed section|date=May 2023}}

=== Art ===
{{main|Czech art}}

{{multiple image
| footer            = ''Spring'', ''Summer'', ''Autumn'' and ''Winter'' (1896) by [[Art Nouveau]] artist [[Alphonse Mucha]]
| width             = 90
| image1            = Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Spring.jpg
| alt1              = Painting of a woman
| image2            = Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Summer.jpg
| alt2              = Painting of a woman
| image3            = Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Autumn.jpg
| alt3              = Painting of a woman
| image4            = Alfons Mucha - 1896 - Winter.jpg
| alt4              = Painting of a woman
}}

[[Venus of Dolní Věstonice]] is an important example of prehistoric art unearthed in the Czech Republic. [[Theodoric of Prague]] was a painter in the Gothic era who decorated the castle [[Karlštejn]]. In the Baroque era, there were painters [[Wenceslaus Hollar]], [[Jan Kupecký]], [[Karel Škréta]], [[Anton Raphael Mengs]] and [[Petr Brandl]] and sculptors [[Matthias Braun]] and [[Ferdinand Brokoff]].

In the first half of the 19th century, [[Josef Mánes]] joined the romantic movement. In the second half the so-called "National Theatre generation" rose to prominence: sculptor [[Josef Václav Myslbek]] and painters [[Mikoláš Aleš]], [[Václav Brožík]], [[Vojtěch Hynais]] and [[Julius Mařák]]. At the end of the century came [[Art Nouveau]], with [[Alphonse Mucha|Alfons Mucha]] becoming its main representative. He is known for his Art Nouveau posters and a cycle of 20 large canvases named [[the Slav Epic]], which depicts the history of Czechs and other [[Slavs]]. {{As of|2012}}, it can be seen in the Veletržní Palace of the [[National Gallery in Prague]], which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic. [[Max Švabinský]] was another Art Nouveau painter.

The 20th century brought an [[avant-garde]] revolution, represented in the Czech lands mainly by expressionists and cubists: [[Josef Čapek]], [[Emil Filla]], [[Bohumil Kubišta]] or [[Jan Zrzavý]]. Surrealism emerged particularly through the work of [[Toyen]], [[Josef Šíma]] and [[Karel Teige]]. In the world, however, the most well-known Czech avant-garde artist might be [[František Kupka]], a pioneer of abstract painting. Illustrators and cartoonists to gain fame in the first half of the 20th century include [[Josef Lada]], [[Zdeněk Burian]] or [[Emil Orlík]]. Art photography became a new field represented by [[František Drtikol]], [[Josef Sudek]], later [[Jan Saudek]] and [[Josef Koudelka]].

The Czech Republic is also known for its individually made, mouth-blown, and decorated [[Bohemian glass]].

=== Architecture ===
{{Main|Czech architecture}}

[[File:Prague 07-2016 View from Old Town Hall Tower img3.jpg|thumb|[[Old Town (Prague)|Historic center of Prague]]]]
The earliest preserved stone buildings in Bohemia and Moravia date back to the time of the [[Christianization]] in the 9th and 10th centuries. Since the Middle Ages, the Czech lands have been using the same architectural styles as most of [[Western Europe|Western]] and Central Europe. The oldest still standing churches were built in the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque style]]. During the 13th century, it was replaced by the [[Czech Gothic architecture|Gothic style]]. In the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV invited architects from France and Germany, [[Matthias of Arras]] and [[Peter Parler]], to his court in Prague. During the Middle Ages, some fortified castles were built by the king and aristocracy, as well as some monasteries.

The [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance style]] penetrated the Bohemian Crown in the late 15th century when the older Gothic style started to be mixed with Renaissance elements. An example of pure Renaissance architecture in Bohemia is the [[Queen Anne's Summer Palace]], which was situated in the garden of [[Prague Castle]]. Evidence of the general reception of the Renaissance in Bohemia, involving an influx of Italian architects, can be found in spacious chateaus with arcade courtyards and geometrically arranged gardens.<ref name=architecture>{{cite web|title=History of Czech Architecture|url=http://eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/architecture-and-design/history/history-of-czech-architecture-2461/|website=eu2009.cz|publisher=Czech Presidency of the European Union|access-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015211407/http://eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/architecture-and-design/history/history-of-czech-architecture-2461/|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Emphasis was placed on comfort, and buildings that were built for entertainment purposes also appeared.<ref name=czecharchitecture>{{cite web|title=The History of Architecture|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/66608-the-history-of-architecture|website=www.czech.cz|access-date=18 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923212429/http://www.czech.cz/en/66608-the-history-of-architecture|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 17th century, the Baroque style spread throughout the Crown of Bohemia.<ref name=kotalik>{{cite book|last=Kotalík|first=Jiří|title=Architektura barokní|year=2002|publisher=Správa Pražského hradu a DaDa|location=Prague|isbn=978-80-86161-38-9|page=13|edition=Deset století architektury|language=cs}}</ref>

In the 18th century, Bohemia produced an architectural peculiarity – the ''Baroque Gothic style'', a synthesis of the Gothic and Baroque styles.<ref name=architecture />

[[File:Prag Kubismus Schwarze Madonna 1.jpg|thumb|left|Czech artists developed a [[Czech Cubism|distinct cubist style]] in architecture and applied arts. It later evolved into national Czechoslovak style, ''[[rondocubism]]''.]]

During the 19th century stands the [[Revival architecture|revival architectural styles]]. Some churches were restored to their presumed medieval appearance and there were constructed buildings in the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Neo-Romanesque]], [[Gothic Revival architecture|Neo-Gothic]] and [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Neo-Renaissance]] styles. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the new art style appeared in the Czech lands – [[Art Nouveau]].

Bohemia contributed an unusual style to the world's architectural heritage when Czech architects attempted to transpose the [[Cubism]] of painting and sculpture into architecture.

Between World Wars I and II, [[Functionalism (architecture)|Functionalism]], with its sober, progressive forms, took over as the main architectural style.<ref name=architecture />

After World War II and the Communist coup in 1948, art in Czechoslovakia became Soviet-influenced. The Czechoslovak avant-garde artistic movement is known as the ''[[Brussels style]] came up'' in the time of political liberalization of Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. [[Brutalism]] dominated in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Czech Republic is not shying away from the more modern trends of international architecture, an example is the [[Tančící dům|Dancing House (Tančící dům)]] in Prague, [[Golden Angel]] in Prague or Congress Centre in Zlín.<ref name=architecture />

=== Literature ===
{{Main|Czech literature}}

[[File:Kafka.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Franz Kafka]]]]
The literature from the area of today's Czech Republic was mostly written in Czech, but also in [[Latin]] and German or even [[Old Church Slavonic]]. [[Franz Kafka]], although a competent user of Czech, wrote in his mother tongue, German.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hawes|first=James|author-link=James Hawes (author)|title=Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life|url=https://archive.org/details/whyyoushouldread0000hawe|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=St. Martin's Press|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-37651-2 |page=29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sayer|first=Derek|title=The Language of Nationality and the Nationality of Language: Prague 1780–1920|url=https://wslide.com/the-language-of-nationality-and-the-nationality-of-language-prague-1780-1920|year=1996|journal=Past and Present|location=Oxford|doi=10.1093/past/153.1.164|oclc=394557|issue=153|pages=164–210|access-date=25 January 2021|archive-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407115003/https://wslide.com/the-language-of-nationality-and-the-nationality-of-language-prague-1780-1920|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}</ref> His works include ''[[The Trial]]'' and ''[[The Castle (novel)|The Castle]]''.

In the second half of the 13th century, the royal court in Prague became one of the centers of German [[Minnesang]] and courtly literature. The Czech German-language literature can be seen in the first half of the 20th century.

[[Bible translations into Czech|Bible translations]] played a role in the development of Czech literature. The oldest Czech translation of the [[Psalms]] originated in the late 13th century and the first complete Czech translation of the Bible was finished around 1360. The first complete printed Czech Bible was published in 1488. The first complete Czech Bible translation from the original languages was published between 1579 and 1593. The [[Codex Gigas]] from the 12th century is the largest extant medieval manuscript in the world.<ref>{{cite web|date=19 October 2005|title=Codex Gigas: The Devil's Bible|url=https://www.praguepost.com/culture/codex-gigas|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Prague Post}}</ref>
[[File:Jaroslav Seifert 1981 foto Hana Hamplová crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jaroslav Seifert]], winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature]]
Czech-language literature can be divided into several periods: the Middle Ages; the Hussite period; the [[Renaissance humanism]]; the Baroque period; the Enlightenment and Czech reawakening in the first half of the 19th century, modern literature in the second half of the 19th century; the avant-garde of the interwar period; the years under Communism; and the Czech Republic.

The antiwar comedy novel ''[[The Good Soldier Švejk]]'' is the most translated Czech book in history.

The international literary award the [[Franz Kafka Prize]] is awarded in the Czech Republic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.franzkafka-soc.cz/cena-franze-kafky/|title=Společnost Franze Kafky – Cena Franze Kafky|website=www.franzkafka-soc.cz|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113073540/http://www.franzkafka-soc.cz/cena-franze-kafky|archive-date=13 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Czech Republic has the densest network of libraries in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.praguemorning.cz/the-czech-republic-has-the-densest-library-network-in-the-world/|title=The Czech Republic Has The Densest Library Network In The World|first=Dave|last=Patterson|work=Videos & News |date=21 July 2016|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211161305/http://www.praguemorning.cz/the-czech-republic-has-the-densest-library-network-in-the-world/|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Czech literature and culture played a role on at least two occasions when Czechs lived under oppression and political activity was suppressed. On both of these occasions, in the early 19th century and then again in the 1960s, the Czechs used their cultural and literary effort to strive for political freedom, establishing a confident, politically aware nation.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqNKzuQ1N70C&q=Czech+culture+and+literature+in+political+activity&pg=PP9|title=The Struggle for the Soul of the Nation: Czech Culture and the Rise of Communism|last=Abrams|first=Bradley F.|date=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-3024-9}}</ref>

=== Music ===
{{Main|Music of the Czech Lands|Moravian traditional music}}

[[File:Dvorak.jpg|thumb|left|180px|[[Antonín Dvořák]]]]
The musical tradition of the Czech lands arose from the first church hymns, whose first evidence is suggested at the break of the 10th and 11th centuries. Some pieces of Czech music include two chorales, which in their time performed the function of anthems: "[[Hospodine pomiluj ny|Lord, Have Mercy on Us]]" and the [[hymn]] "Saint Wenceslaus" or "[[Saint Wenceslas Chorale|Saint Wenceslaus Chorale]]".<ref>The chronicles of Beneš Krabice of Veitmil – the hymn "Svatý Václave" mentioned there as old and well-known at the end of the 13th century [http://www.clavmon.cz/clavis/FRRB/chronica/CRONICA%20ECCLESIAE%20PRAGENSIS.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305061942/http://www.clavmon.cz/clavis/FRRB/chronica/CRONICA%20ECCLESIAE%20PRAGENSIS.htm|date=5 March 2012}}</ref> The authorship of the anthem "Lord, Have Mercy on Us" is ascribed by some historians to [[Saint Adalbert of Prague]] (sv.Vojtěch), bishop of [[Prague]], living between 956 and 997.<ref>Dějiny české hudby v obrazech (History of Czech music in pictures); in Czech</ref>

The wealth of musical culture lies in the classical music tradition during all historical periods, especially in the [[Baroque music|Baroque]], [[Classical period (music)|Classicism]], Romantic, [[Modernism (music)|modern classical]] music and in the [[traditional music|traditional]] folk music of Bohemia, Moravia and [[Silesia]]. Since the early era of artificial music, Czech musicians and composers have been influenced the folk music of the region and dance.

Czech music can be considered to have been contributed strongly to the development of music in both the European and worldwide contexts, having several times co-determined or even determined a newly arriving era in musical art,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-culture/czech-music-history/|title=Czech Music|date=27 June 2007|access-date=3 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102152951/http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-culture/czech-music-history/|archive-date=2 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> above all of the [[Classical period (music)|Classical]] era, as well as by original attitudes in [[Baroque (music)|Baroque]], [[Romantic (music)|Romantic]] and [[modern classical]] music. Czech music burst onto the world stage in the romantic era beginning with the works of [[Bedřich Smetana]] who is often considered the 'father of Czech music'. Some Czech musical works are ''[[The Bartered Bride]]'' (Smetana), ''[[New World Symphony]]'' (Dvořák), and ''[[Sinfonietta (Janáček)|Sinfonietta]]'' and ''[[Jenůfa]]'' by [[Leoš Janáček|Janáček]].

A music festival in the country is [[Prague Spring International Music Festival]] of classical music, a permanent showcase for performing artists, symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles of the world.

=== Theatre ===
{{Main|Theatre of the Czech Republic}}

{{multiple image
| align             = right
| footer            = The [[National Theatre (Prague)|National Theatre]] (left) and the [[Estates Theatre]] (right)
| width1            = 223
| image1            = Narodni Divadlo, National Theater, Prague - 8798.jpg
| alt1              = Portrait
| width2            = 100
| image2            = Narodni Divadlo, Estates Theater, Prague - 8604.jpg
| alt2              = Portrait
}}

The roots of Czech theatre can be found in the Middle Ages, especially in the cultural life of the [[Gothic period]]. In the 19th century, the theatre played a role in the national awakening movement and later, in the 20th century, it became a part of modern European theatre art. The original Czech cultural phenomenon came into being at the end of the 1950s. This project called [[Laterna magika]], resulting in productions that combined theater, dance, and film in a poetic manner, considered the first [[multimedia art]] project in an international context.

One drama is [[Karel Čapek]]'s play ''[[R.U.R.]]'', which introduced the word "[[robot]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=The Origin Of The Word 'Robot'|url=https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/the-origin-of-the-word-robot/|access-date=5 January 2021|website=Science Friday}}</ref>

The country has a tradition of [[Puppetry|puppet theater]]. In 2016, [[Puppetry#Czech Republic and Slovakia|Czech and Slovak Puppetry]] was included on the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Puppetry in Slovakia and Czechia|url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/puppetry-in-slovakia-and-czechia-01202 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=29 November 2021}}</ref>

=== Film ===
{{Main|Cinema of the Czech Republic}}

[[File:Filmový uzel Zlín, Hermína Týrlová (1).jpg|thumb|[[Hermína Týrlová]], animator and film director]]
The tradition of Czech cinematography started in the second half of the 1890s. Peaks of the production in the era of silent movies include the historical drama ''The Builder of the Temple'' and the social and erotic drama ''Erotikon'' directed by [[Gustav Machatý]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.openculture.com/2015/06/gustav-machatys-erotikon-1929-ekstase-1933-cinemas-earliest-explorations-of-womens-sensuality.html|title=Gustav Machatý's Erotikon (1929) & Ekstase (1933): Cinema's Earliest Explorations of Women's Sensuality|work=Open Culture|access-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125180430/http://www.openculture.com/2015/06/gustav-machatys-erotikon-1929-ekstase-1933-cinemas-earliest-explorations-of-womens-sensuality.html|archive-date=25 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The early Czech [[sound film]] era was productive, above all in mainstream genres, with the comedies of [[Martin Frič]] or [[Karel Lamač]]. There were dramatic movies sought internationally.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}}

[[Hermína Týrlová]] was a prominent Czech animator, screenwriter, and film director. She was often called the mother of Czech animation. Over the course of her career, she produced over 60 animated children's short films using puppets and the technique of stop motion animation.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Before the German occupation, in 1933, filmmaker and animator {{ill|Irena Dodalová|cs}} established the first Czech animation studio "IRE Film" with her husband Karel Dodal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://namu.cz/the-dodals|title=The Dodals|access-date=3 August 2025|work=Nakladatelství Akademie múzických umění}}</ref>

After the period of Nazi occupation and early communist official dramaturgy of socialist realism in movies at the turn of the 1940s and 1950s with fewer exceptions such as ''[[Krakatit]]'' or ''Men without wings'' (awarded by {{Lang|fr|[[Palme d'Or]]|italic=no}} in 1946), an era of the Czech film began with animated films, performed in anglophone countries under the name "The Fabulous World of Jules Verne" from 1958, which combined acted drama with animation, and [[Jiří Trnka]], the founder of the modern puppet film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/About-CZ/Facts-about-the-Czech-Republic/History-of-Czech-cinematography|title=History of Czech cinematography|access-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128180327/http://www.czech.cz/en/About-CZ/Facts-about-the-Czech-Republic/History-of-Czech-cinematography|archive-date=28 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> This began a tradition of animated films (''[[Mole (Zdeněk Miler character)|Mole]]'' etc.).

[[File:Milos Forman.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Oscar-winning director [[Miloš Forman]]]]

In the 1960s, the hallmark of [[Czechoslovak New Wave]]'s films were improvised [[dialogue]]s, [[Black comedy|black]] and [[absurdity|absurd]] humor and the occupation of non-actors. Directors are trying to preserve natural atmosphere without refinement and artificial arrangement of scenes. A personality of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s with original manuscript and psychological impact is [[František Vláčil]]. Another international author is [[Jan Švankmajer]], a filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled [[surrealism|surrealist]] known for animations and features.<ref>{{cite news|title= Brooding Cartoons From Jan Svankmajer|newspaper= LA Times|date= 19 July 1991|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-19-ca-2291-story.html|access-date= 24 August 2010|first= Charles|last= Solomon|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120715025024/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-19/entertainment/ca-2291_1_political-cartoon|archive-date= 15 July 2012|url-status=live|df= dmy-all}}</ref>

The [[Barrandov Studios]] in Prague are the largest film studios with film locations in the country.<ref>{{cite web|title=KFTV|url=http://www.kftv.com/country/Czech_Republic/guide/general|publisher=Wilmington Publishing and Information Ltd|access-date=26 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234358/http://www.kftv.com/country/Czech_Republic/guide/general|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Filmmakers have come to [[Prague]] to shoot scenery no longer found in Berlin, Paris and Vienna. The city of [[Karlovy Vary]] was used as a location for the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale.<ref>{{cite web|title=Czech Film Commission – Karlovy Vary |url=http://www.filmcommission.cz/news/detail/id/85 |publisher=Czech Film Commission |access-date=26 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234400/http://www.filmcommission.cz/news/detail/id/85 |archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref>

The [[Czech Lion]] is the highest Czech award for film achievement. [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]] is one of the film festivals that have been given competitive status by the [[FIAPF]]. Other film festivals held in the country include [[Febiofest]], [[Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival]], [[One World Film Festival]], [[Zlín Film Festival]] and [[Fresh Film Festival]].

=== Media ===
[[File:Kavčí hory areál ČT 4.jpg|thumb|Headquarters of [[Czech Television]]]]

Czech journalists and media enjoy a degree of [[Freedom of the press|freedom]]. There are restrictions against writing in support of [[Nazism]], racism or violating [[Czech law]]. The Czech press was ranked as the 40th most free press in the World Press Freedom Index by [[Reporters Without Borders]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=2021 World Press Freedom Index|url=https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2021|publisher=[[Reporters Without Borders]]|access-date=30 November 2021}}</ref> [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] has its headquarters in Prague.

[[Czech Television]] is the country's national public television broadcaster. It operates a number of channels, including [[ČT1]], [[ČT2]], and the 24-hour news channel [[ČT24]], as well as the news website [https://ct24.ceskatelevize.cz/ ct24.cz]. As of 2020, it is the most watched broadcaster, followed by the private [[TV Nova (Czech Republic)|TV Nova]] and [[Prima televize|Prima TV]]. However, TV Nova features the most watched main [[news program]] and [[prime time]] program.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 January 2021 |title=Pro ČT byl rok 2020 rokem rekordů, Nova kralovala sledovanosti |trans-title=For Czech Television, 2020 was a year of records, while Nova ruled the viewership ratings |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/mediahub/sledovanost-2020-ceska-televize-nova.A210105_104955_mediahub_jpl |access-date=30 November 2021 |publisher=iDnes |language=cs}}</ref> Other public media services include the [[Czech Radio]] and the [[Czech News Agency]].

The best-selling daily national newspapers in 2020/21 are [[Blesk]] (average 703,000 daily readers), [[Mladá fronta DNES]] (average 461,000 daily readers), [[Právo]] (average 182,000 daily readers), [[Lidové noviny]] (average 163,000 daily readers) and [[Hospodářské noviny]] (average 162,000 daily readers).<ref>{{cite web |date=2 July 2021 |title=Kdo vlastní v Česku noviny? Babiš, Křetinský, Bakala a další |trans-title=Who owns newspapers in the Czech Republic? Babiš, Křetinský, Bakala, and others |url=https://www.finance.cz/523825-vlastnici-novin/ |access-date=30 November 2021 |publisher=Finance.cz |language=cs}}</ref>

Most Czechs (87%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Digital News Report: Češi získávají zprávy z internetu a TV, věří ČT a ČRo |trans-title=Digital News Report: Czechs get their news from the internet and TV, and they trust Czech Television and Czech Radio |url=https://www.mediaguru.cz/clanky/2021/06/digital-news-report-cesi-ziskavaji-zpravy-z-internetu-a-tv-veri-ct-a-cro/ |access-date=15 January 2022 |website=MediaGuru.cz |language=cs}}</ref>) read their news online,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digital News Report 2021|url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2021|access-date=15 January 2022|website=Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |date=23 June 2021 }}</ref> with [[Seznam.cz]], [[iDNES.cz]], [[Novinky.cz]], [[Prima televize|iPrima.cz]] and [[Seznam Zprávy|Seznam Zprávy.cz]] being the most visited as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Online data (OLA) {{!}} SPIR|url=https://www.netmonitor.cz/en/node/376|access-date=15 January 2022|website=netmonitor.cz}}</ref>

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Czech cuisine}}

{{more citations needed section|date=July 2023}}
[[File:Pilsner urquell mug.jpg|thumb|A mug of [[Pilsner Urquell]], the first [[pilsner]] type of [[pale lager]] beer, brewed since 1842]]

Czech cuisine is marked by an emphasis on meat dishes with pork, beef, and chicken. Goose, duck, rabbit, and venison are served. Fish is less common, with the occasional exception of fresh [[trout]] and [[carp]], which is served at Christmas.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Purkrábek |first1=Jan |title=Why do Czechs eat carp for Christmas? |url=https://www.expats.cz/czech-news/article/why-do-czechs-eat-carp-for-christmas |website=Expats.cz |date=24 December 2020 |publisher=Howlings s.r.o. |access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Czech Food and Drink |url=http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_cuisine.html |website=myCzechRepublic |publisher=Local Lingo s.r.o. |access-date=25 February 2023 |archive-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330232333/http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech_culture/czech_cuisine.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> One popular Czech menu item is ''smažený vepřový řízek'' (fried breaded pork filet), served with boiled potatoes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Andrew |title="řízek." From Good King Wenceslaus to the Good Soldier Švejk: A Dictionary of Czech Popular Culture. |publisher=Central European University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-4237-3585-4 |location=Budapest, Hungary |publication-date=2005 |pages=143 |language=English |jstor=}}</ref>

There is a variety of local sausages, wurst, pâtés, and smoked and cured meats. Czech desserts include a variety of whipped cream, chocolate, and fruit pastries and tarts, crêpes, creme desserts and cheese, poppy-seed-filled and other types of traditional cakes such as ''[[Buchteln|buchty]]'', ''[[Kolach (cake)|koláče]]'' and [[Apple strudel|''štrúdl'']].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Čiháková |first1=Jana |title=Hledá se skutečně český dezert. Uhádnete, který to je? |trans-title=A truly Czech dessert is being sought. Can you guess which one it is? |url=https://www.cz-test.cz/clanek/hleda-se-skutecne-cesky-dezert-uhadnete-ktery-to-je |access-date=25 February 2023 |website=CZ TEST |publisher=Granville}}</ref>

[[Beer in the Czech Republic|Czech beer]] has a history extending more than a millennium; the earliest known brewery existed in 993. Today, the Czech Republic has the highest [[List of countries by beer consumption per capita|beer consumption per capita]] in the world. The [[pilsner]] style beer (pils) originated in [[Plzeň]], where the world's first blond lager [[Pilsner Urquell]] is still produced. It has served as the inspiration for more than two-thirds of the beer produced in the world today. The city of [[České Budějovice]] has similarly lent its name to its beer, known as [[Budweiser Budvar]].

The South Moravian region has been producing [[Czech wine|wine]] since the Middle Ages; about 94% of [[vineyard]]s in the Czech Republic are Moravian. Aside from beer, [[slivovitz]] and wine, the Czech Republic also produces two [[liquor]]s, [[Fernet Stock]] and [[Becherovka]]. [[Kofola]] is a non-alcoholic domestic [[cola]] soft drink which competes with [[Coca-Cola]] and [[Pepsi]].

=== Sport ===
{{Main|Sport in the Czech Republic}}

[[File:JaromirJagr2010WinterOlympics.jpg|thumb|right|Hockey player [[Jaromír Jágr]] has the second-most [[Point (ice hockey)|points]] in NHL history, after [[Wayne Gretzky]].<ref>{{cite web|title=NHL Statistics, All-Time Career Points|url=http://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=season&seasonFrom=19171918&seasonTo=20202021&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=points&page=0&pageSize=50|website=NHL.com|access-date=24 May 2015}}</ref>]]
The most watched and most attended sport in the Czech Republic are [[Association football|football]] and [[ice hockey]].<ref>{{cite news |date=9 August 2023 |title=V televizi u Čechů vede fotbal a hokej, sledovanost zvedá atraktivita zápasu |trans-title=On television, football and hockey lead among Czechs; viewership increases with the attractiveness of the match |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/mediahub/sledovanost-sportovni-prenosy-o2-tv-telly.A230808_103342_mediahub_jpl |access-date=8 August 2024 |work=iDNES.cz |language=cs}}</ref> The most watched sporting events are the [[Ice hockey at the Olympic Games]] and the [[Ice Hockey World Championships]].<ref>{{cite news |title=ČT sport vysílá deset let, nejsledovanější byl hokej |trans-title=ČT Sport has been broadcasting for ten years; the most-watched was ice hockey |url=https://www.mediaguru.cz/clanky/2016/02/ct-sport-vysila-deset-let-nejsledovanejsi-byl-hokej/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507003526/https://www.mediaguru.cz/clanky/2016/02/ct-sport-vysila-deset-let-nejsledovanejsi-byl-hokej/ |archive-date=7 May 2018 |access-date=6 May 2018 |work=MediaGuru.cz |language=cs}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=21 October 2011|title=Prague's Most Popular Sports|url=http://www.prague.fm/11845/pragues-most-popular-sports/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413131643/http://www.prague.fm/11845/pragues-most-popular-sports/|archive-date=13 April 2014|access-date=14 May 2014|publisher=Prague.fm}}</ref> The most popular sports in the Czech Republic according to the size of the membership base of sports clubs are: football, [[tennis]], ice hockey, [[volleyball]], [[floorball]], [[golf]], [[ball hockey]], [[Sport of athletics|athletics]], [[basketball]] and [[skiing]].<ref>{{cite news |date=11 October 2009 |title=Golf, florbal a hokejbal pronikly mezi nejoblíbenější české sporty |trans-title=Golf, floorball, and ball hockey have made it among the most popular Czech sports |url=https://www.idnes.cz/sport/ostatni/golf-florbal-a-hokejbal-pronikly-mezi-nejoblibenejsi-ceske-sporty.A091011_125801_sporty_par |work=iDNES.cz}}</ref>

The country has won 15 gold medals in the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]] and nine in the [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Games]]. (See [[All-time Olympic Games medal table|Olympic history]].) The [[Czech Republic men's national ice hockey team|Czech ice hockey team]] won the gold medal at the [[1998 Winter Olympics]] and has won (along with the [[Czechoslovakia men's national ice hockey team|Czechoslovak]] team) thirteen gold medals at the [[IHWC|World Championships]], including three straight from [[1999 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|1999]] to [[2001 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships|2001]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History, Český hokej |url=http://www.czehockey.cz/history |website=Czehockey.cz |access-date=8 August 2024 |archive-date=8 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808122053/http://www.czehockey.cz/history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Škoda Motorsport]] is engaged in [[Motorsport|competition racing]] since 1901 and has gained a number of titles with various vehicles around the world. [[MTX (automobile)|MTX]] automobile company was formerly engaged in the manufacture of [[Auto racing|racing]] and [[Formula racing|formula]] cars since 1969.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of MTX |url=https://www.mtx.cz/en/history-of-mtx-metalex/ |website=METALEX – MTX |access-date=8 August 2024 |language=cs}}</ref>

[[Hiking]] is a popular sport. The word for 'tourist' in Czech, ''turista'', also means 'trekker' or 'hiker'. For hikers, thanks to the more than 120-year-old tradition, there is the [[Czech Hiking Markers System]] of [[trail blazing]], that has been adopted by countries worldwide. There is a network of around 40,000&nbsp;km of marked short- and long-distance trails crossing the whole country and all the Czech mountains.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-tourism/hiking-in-the-czech-republic/p1|title=Hiking in the Czech Republic|publisher=Expats|date=16 June 2011|access-date=23 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023203911/http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-tourism/hiking-in-the-czech-republic/p1|archive-date=23 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kct.cz/cms/turisticke-znaceni-kct|title=Turistické značení KČT|publisher=KČT|access-date=23 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215161119/http://www.kct.cz/cms/turisticke-znaceni-kct|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Czech Republic|European Union}}
* [[List of Czech Republic-related topics]]
* [[Outline of the Czech Republic]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}} 
* {{Cite book|author-last=Angi|author-first=János|editor1-last=Pósán|editor1-first=László|editor2-last=Papp|editor2-first=Imre|editor3-last=Bárány|editor3-first=Attila|editor4-last=Orosz|editor4-first=István|editor5-last=Angi|editor5-first=János|title=Európa a korai középkorban|trans-title=Europe in the Early Middle Ages|publisher=Multiplex Media – Debrecen University Press|year=1997|pages=358–365|chapter=A nyugati szláv államok|trans-chapter=Western Slavic states|language=hu|isbn=978-963-04-9196-9 |ref=none}}
* Bryant, Chad (2021). ''[https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674048652 Prague: Belonging and the Modern City]''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|9780674048652}}.
* Hochman, Jiří (1998). [https://books.google.com/books?id=dx4LnRC8hSQC ''Historical Ddictionary of the Czech State'']. Lanham, Md. and London: The Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0810833387}}.
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.vlada.cz/en/ Governmental website]
* [https://www.hrad.cz/en Presidential website]
* [https://www.senat.cz/index-eng.php Senate]
* [https://portal.gov.cz/ Portal of the Public Administration]
* [https://www.visitczechia.com/en-US #VisitCzechia] – official tourist portal of the Czech Republic
* {{Wikiatlas|the Czech Republic}}
* {{Osmrelation-inline|51684}}

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