Overview: The dissolution of Czechoslovakia into two independent nation states - the Czech Republic and Slovakia - on 1 January 1993 has complicated the task of moving toward a more open and decentralized economy. The old Czechoslovakia, even though highly industrialized by East European standards, suffered from an aging capital plant, lagging technology, and a deficiency in energy and many raw materials. In January 1991, approximately one year after the end of communist control of Eastern Europe, the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic launched a sweeping program to convert its almost entirely state-owned and controlled economy to a market system. In 1991-92 these measures resulted in privatization of some medium- and small-scale economic activity and the setting of more than 90% of prices by the market - but at a cost in inflation, unemployment, and lower output. For Czechoslovakia as a whole inflation in 1991 was roughly 50% and output fell 15%. In 1992, in the Czech lands, inflation dropped to an estimated 12.5% and GDP was down a more moderate 5%. In 1993, Czech aggregate output remained unchanged, prices rose about 19%, and unemployment hovered above 3%; exports to Slovakia fell roughly 30%. An estimated 40% of the economy was privately owned. In 1994, Prague expects 2% to 3% growth in GDP, roughly 9% inflation, and 5% unemployment. Economic growth in 1994 is less important than continued economic restructuring; a mere 1% growth would be noteworthy if restructuring is accompanied by rising unemployment and enterprise bankruptcies.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $75 billion (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate: 0% (1993 est.)

National product per capita: $7,200 (1993 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 19% (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.3% (1993 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $11.9 billion
expenditures: $11.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Exports: $12.6 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, minerals, and metals
partners: Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, US, UK, CIS republics

Imports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, fuels and lubricants, manfactured goods, raw materials, chemicals, agricultural products
partners: Slovakia, CIS republics, Germany, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Hungary, UK, Italy

External debt: $8.6 billion (October 1993)

Industrial production: growth rate -5.5% (December 1993 over December 1992)

Electricity:
capacity: 16,500,000 kW
production: 62.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 6,030 kWh (1992)

Industries: fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and equipment, coal, motor vehicles, glass, armaments

Agriculture: largely self-sufficient in food production; diversified crop and livestock production, including grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit, hogs, cattle, and poultry; exporter of forest products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe

Economic aid:
donor: the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1954-89)

Currency: 1 koruna (Kc) = 100 haleru
Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 30.122 (January 1994), 29.153 (1993), 28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991), 17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989)
note: values before 1993 reflect Czechoslovak exchange rates

Fiscal year: calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Czech Republic on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Czech Republic Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Czech Republic Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.