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1994-05-02
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<text>
<title>
The Czech Republic: Economy
</title>
<article><hdr>The World Factbook 1993: Czech Republic
Economy</hdr><body>
<p>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, theCzech 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%. For 1993 the government of the Czech Republic
anticipates inflation of 15-20% and a rise in unemployment to
perhaps 12% as some large-scale enterprises go into bankruptcy;
GDP may drop as much as 3%, mainly because of the disruption of
trade links with Slovakia. Although the governments of the Czech
Republic and Slovakia had envisaged retaining the koruna as a
common currency, at least in the short term, the two countries
ended the currency union in February 1993.
</p>
<p>National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $75.3
billion (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>National product real growth rate: -5% (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>National product per capita: $7,300 (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.5% (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>Unemployment rate: 3.1% (1992 est.)
</p>
<p>Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital
expenditures of $NA
</p>
<list>
<l>Exports: $8.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)</l>
<l> commodities: manufactured goods, machinery and transport
equipment, chemicals, fuels, minerals, and metals</l>
<l> partners: Slovakia, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary,
Italy, France, US, UK, CIS republics</l>
<l>Imports: $8.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992)</l>
<l> commodities: machinery and transport equipment, fuels and
lubricants, manfactured goods, raw materials, chemicals,
agricultural products</l>
<l> partners: Slovakia, CIS republics, Germany Austria, Poland,
Switzerland, Hungary, UK, Italy</l>
</list>
<p>External debt: $3.8 billion hard currency indebtedness
(December 1992)
</p>
<p>Industrial production: growth rate -4% (November 1992 over
November 1991); accounts for over 60% of GDP
</p>
<p>Electricity: 16,500,000 kW capacity; 62,200 million kWh
produced, 6,030 kWh per capita (1992)
</p>
<p>Industries: fuels, ferrous metallurgy, machinery and
equipment, coal, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
</p>
<p>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
</p>
<p>Illicit drugs: the former Czechoslovakia was a transshipment
point for Southwest Asian heroin and was emerging as a
transshipment point for Latin American cocaine (1992)
</p>
<p>Economic aid: the former Czechoslovakia was a donor - $4.2
billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
countries (1954-89)
</p>
<p>Currency: 1 koruna (Kc)=100 haleru
</p>
<p>Exchange rates: koruny (Kcs) per US$1 - 28.59 (December 1992),
28.26 (1992), 29.53 (1991), 17.95 (1990), 15.05 (1989), 14.36
(1988), 13.69 (1987)
</p>
<p>Fiscal year: calendar year
</p></body></article></text>