PEOPLE

Population growth, birth rate, mortality rate, ethnic groups, religion, eductaion and employment.

• According to a 1993 census, the Czech Republic has a population of 10.5 million. Females make up 5.3 million of this total.
• The population density was 131 inhabitants per sq. km.
• The total growth in population in the Czech Republic was 0.8 persons per 1,000 inhabitants.

Population Growth

• The Czech Republic has recorded a steady rise in population according to successive population censuses, with the exception of two post-war censuses (in 1921 and in 1950).

Birth Rate

1993 saw the lowest number of births in the Czech Republic since the end of World War I (121,705). The number of births per 1,000 inhabitants is comparatively low (11.8).

Mortality Rate

The number of deaths per 1,000 inhabitants alternates between 11-12 exceeding the average mortality rate in Western Europe by an average of 2-3 persons.

• The most common cause of death:

Ethnic Groups

The majority of the inhabitants in the Czech Republic are of Czech nationality. However, the situation in individual regions differs according to whether they are considered Czech or Moravian regions. The only region where a large number of people claim Moravian nationality is in the southern areas of Moravia.

The long-term development of the population's ethnic structure indicates that between 1950 and 1991 no significant changes in the ethnic structure of the population occurred.

Religion

After forty years of official frowning on religion, a question concerning religious faith was again included in the most recent census. The results show that more than 50% of the population call themselves atheists; in Northern Bohemia this group makes up three quarters of the people living in that region.

Percentage of population who call themselves "religious": 43.9%

Education

• The degree of education completion at the elementary, secondary and university levels is very high in the Czech Republic, when compared to world standards.
• All children in the Czech Republic must attend elementary school up to the age of 15.
• Upon finishing elementary school 52% of children continue their education in vocational schools and 48% move on to secondary schools.
• 7.2 % of Czechs complete a university education.
• Over the period 1980-1991, an increase in the amount of people completing each level of education can be observed. The proportion of people who only completed a primary education has sharply dropped (index 76.8%), while the number of people with a higher education has grown. The highest increase can be observed for university education (index 148.1%), and for post graduate education (index 139.0%).

Employment

• Central planning biased the structure of employment by placing a grossly disproportionate emphasis on industry, to the detriment of the service sector. But economic transformation is correcting this imbalance, with employment rising in services and declining in industry. In 1989 a relatively small percentage of the population worked in agriculture and the number is still dropping.
• Employment in the Czech Republic by Sector (%):

• The participation rate was more than 50 percent in 1989. The number of people who are willing to work has slightly declined since 1989.

- The total number of people employed in the national economy:

• Unemployment

- The Czech Republic has a lower unemployment rate than any other country in the former Eastern bloc.

- The number of job applicants has increased in 1991, gradually decreased in 1992, but slightly increased again in 1993.

- The unemployment rate was 3.1% as of June 30, 1994, a slight decrease as compared to the rate for the period ending December 31, 1991 (4.13%).