Population: 10.5 million

Land area: 78,866 sq km (30,450 sq mi)

European Union member: Yes

Euro currency in use: No

Capital: Prague; population 1.2 million

Official language: Czech

Geographical location: Central Europe

Neighboring countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland

Government: Parliamentary democracy with president as the head of state and prime minister as the head of government

Currency: Czech Crown (CZK)

Time zone: GMT+1, Daylight Savings Time observed

Religion: Atheist/Agnostic 59%, Roman Catholic 27%, Protestant 2%, Other 12%

Climate: Temperate. Cool to warm May - September (showers and thunderstorms common), mostly chilly October, March and April (rain or snow possible), cold, cloudy and wet with snow and freezing temperatures November - February; skiing December - March; average monthly temperatures

Background:

At the close of World War I, the Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, having rejected a federal system, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). On the eve of World War II, the Czech part of the country was forcibly annexed to the Third Reich, and the Slovaks declared independence as a fascist ally of Nazi Germany. After the war, a reunited but truncated Czechoslovakia (less Ruthenia) fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist Party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression known as "normalization." With the collapse of Soviet-backed authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004.