Investment and Business Development Agency

About the Czech Republic

About the Czech Republic

The influential intellectual heavyweight and former president, Vaclav Havel, may be the first person who springs to mind on mentioning the Czech Republic, while others may associate the country with legendary world-class ice-hockey player Jaromir Jagr or other sports successes.

The international business community’s perception of the Czech Republic, however, may slightly differ. Granted, the same attributes that influence the above-mentioned perceptions, like commitment, competence and competitiveness, are prevalent, but manifest themselves differently.

Increasingly, the Czech Republic, which joined the European Union in 2004, is recognized as the optimal business environment from which to better serve international customers. This is a result of several factors, the most notable being the sustained enhancements to the business environment implemented by the Czech government and the ability of the country’s pre-eminent natural resource, intellectual capital, to respond to the needs of knowledge-based and innovation-driven businesses.

The Czech Republic was the first CEE country to be admitted into the OECD. The country is a member of NATO and is fully integrated into other international organisations such as the WTO, IMF and EBRD.

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Key information about the Czech Republic  
Area 78,870 km²
Population 10.6 million
Workforce 5.4 million
Capital Prague
Language Czech
Currency Czech crown (CZK)
Time zone GMT +1, daylight saving time GMT +2
Source: Czech Statistical Office, 2018
Main Economic Indicators 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018* 2019*
GDP growth (constant prices,%) -0.8 -0.5 2.7 5.3 2.5 4.3 3.0 2.9
General government debt (% GDP) 44.5 44.9 42.2 40.0 36.8 34.7 33.0 31.9
Long-term interest rates (YTM of 10Y government bonds) 2.73 2.19 1.41 0.63 0.40 1.03 2.1 2.6
Average inflation rate (%) 3.3 1.4 0.4 0.3 0.7 2.5 2.2 2.3
Labour productivity (increase in %) -1.2 -0.8 2.2 3.8 0.8 2.7 1.6 2.7
Unemployment rate (avg., %) 7.0 7.0 6.1 5.1 4.0 2.9 2.3 2.3
Average nominal gross wage (increase in %) 2.5 -0.1 2.9 3.2 4.4 6.2 8.2 8.1
Average nominal monthly gross wage ( CZK ) 25,067 25,035 25,768 26,591 27,764 29,496 31,900 34,500
Average nominal monthly gross wage ( USD ) 1,280 1,280 1,242 1,081 1,136 1,261 1,484 1,627
Average nominal monthly gross wage ( EUR ) 997 964 936 975 1,027 1,120 1,251 1,386
Exchange rate - CZK/USD (avg.) 19.58 19.56 20.75 24.6 24.43 23.39 21.5 21.2
Exchange rate - CZK/EUR (avg.) 25.14 25.97 27.53 27.28 27.03 26.33 25.5 24.9
Source: Macroeconomic Forecast of Ministry of Finance, November 2018
Note: *Forecast

The Czech Republic is divided into 14 regions (Higher Territorial Self-governing Units), which came into being on 1 January 2000. The Basic Territorial Self-governing Unit is the municipality.

Most European destinations can be reached from Prague within a two-hour flight

Most European destinations can be reached from Prague within a two-hour flight Source: CzechInvest, 2018
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