Czech Republic

Yearbooks

Czech Health Statistics Yearbook 2011 Opravný lístek knižního vydání Zdravotnické ročenky ČR 2011	view
Czech Health Statistics Yearbook 2010	view
Czech Health Statistics Yearbook 2009	view
Czech Health Statistics Yearbook 2008	view
Czech Health Statistics Yearbook 2007	view

Kardex

Health Care and Health Services in the Czech Republic 2011	view
Health Care and Health Services in the Czech Republic 2010	view
Health Care and Health services in the Czech Republic 2009	view
Health Care and Health services in the Czech Republic 2008	view

Basic information

The Czech Republic (Czechia) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders on Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Slovakia in the east and Poland in the north. The territory of the Czech Republic consists of three historical lands: Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia.

Map

Political system

The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy. The Parliament has two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Chamber Deputies has 200 members elected every four years under the principles of proportional representation. Each of the 81 Senators is elected for a term of six years. One third of the Senators are elected every two years under the principles of the majority system. The Government is the supreme body of executive power; the Government issues Decrees, introduces Bills and is accountable to the Chamber of Deputies. President of the Republic is the Head of State, elected by the Parliament for a term of five years. President of the Republic, e.g., appoints Justices of the Constitutional Court, who must be approved by the Senate, on certain conditions he dissolves the Chamber of Deputies, he may return to the Parliament an enacted law (with the exception of Constitutional Acts). President of the Republic also appoints the Prime Minister and other members of the Government proposed by the Prime Minister, accepts the resignation of the Prime Minister and through him submitted resignations of other members of Government.

Administrative division

The Czech Republic is divided into 14 self-governing territorial regions (NUTS3) since 2000. Execution of State administration is performed by the Regional office and its Director, the self-government is represented by the elected Regional Governor, except for region Prague City whose head is the Mayor of Prague. Districts exist as smaller territorial and statistical units (NUTS4), although district authorities were dissolved as of 1 January 2003. Some offices, e.g., district courts, still possess district competence. As far as general state administration is concerned, regions are divided into administrative territories of municipalities with extended competence (sometimes called "small districts" or "type III municipalities"). Among such municipalities are all the 77 former district capitals, but there are many more (altogether 205 municipalities). These territorial units are somewhere subdivided into territories of municipalities with commissioned local authority that exert certain competence over neighbouring municipalities. For statistical purposes some regions are aggregated into larger (NUTS2) units that should have comparable populations in order to become partners in regional projects of the European Union. Thus Plzeňský and Jihočeský regions constitute the unit Southwest, Karlovarský and Ústecký constitute the unit Northwest, Liberecký, Královéhradecký and Pardubický regions constitute the unit Northeast, regions Vysočina and Jihomoravský constitute the unit Southeast, Olomoucký and Zlínský constitute the unit Central Moravia. Units Praha, Central Bohemia and Moravian Silesia consist of single corresponding regions.

Establishment of the CR

• 1. 1. 1993 by division of the former Czechoslovakia
• Accession to NATO: 12. 3. 1999
• Accession to EU: 1. 5. 2004