Economy - overview:
One of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states, the Czech Republic has been recovering from recession since mid-1999. Growth in 2000-02 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a near doubling of foreign direct investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. High current account deficits - averaging around 5% of GDP in the last several years - could be a persistent problem. Inflation is under control. The EU put the Czech Republic just behind Poland and Hungary in preparations for accession, which will give further impetus and direction to structural reform. Moves to complete banking, telecommunications, and energy privatization will encourage additional foreign investment, while intensified restructuring among large enterprises and banks and improvements in the financial sector should strengthen output growth.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $155.9 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 41%
services: 55.2% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.3%
highest 10%: 22.4% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
25.4 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.6% (2002)
Labor force:
5.203 million (1999 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 5%, industry 35%, services 60% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9.8% (2002)
Budget:
revenues: $16.7 billion
expenditures: $18 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Industries:
metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Industrial production growth rate:
3.5% (2002)
Electricity - production:
70.04 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 76.1%
hydro: 2.9%
other: 1% (2001)
nuclear: 20%
Electricity - consumption:
55.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
18.92 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
9.38 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
7,419 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
175,700 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
26,670 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
192,300 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
17.25 million bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
3.057 billion cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Exports:
$40.8 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 44%, intermediate manufactures 25%, chemicals 7%, raw materials and fuel 7% (2000)
Exports - partners:
Germany 35.4%, Slovakia 7.3%, UK 5.5%, Austria 5.3%, Poland 5.2%, (2001)
Imports:
$43.2 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment 40%, intermediate manufactures 21%, raw materials and fuels 13%, chemicals 11% (2000)
Imports - partners:
Germany 32.9%, Slovakia 6.4%, Russia 6.0%, Italy 5.8%, Austria 4.6% (2001)
Debt - external:
$23.8 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient:
$108 million; EU structural adjustment funds (2002)
Currency:
Czech koruna (CZK)
Currency code:
CZK
Exchange rates:
koruny per US dollar - 32.739 (2002), 38.0353 (2001), 38.5984 (2000), 34.5692 (1999), 32.2812 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
NOTE: The information regarding Czech Republic on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Czech Republic Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
