Population of the Czech Republic: overview

Ethnic Czechs speaking the Czech language, belonging to the Western Slavic group, constitute the absolute majority of the country's population - about 95% of the total. Other ethnic groups permanently residing on the territory of the Czech Republic include Poles, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Ukrainians and Gypsies. After the division of Czechoslovakia, about 2% of the population are Slovaks.

The population of the Czech Republic reached the postwar maximum in 1991 and amounted to 10 million 302 thousand people. Later, there was a slow decline until 2003, and the only period in which negative population growth was recorded was 1994-2005. Since 2006, there has been an increase in the population, including by increasing the number of migrants from the countries of the former USSR, Poland, the countries of the former Yugoslavia and Asia. According to the latest census, the population of the Czech Republic is 10 million 505 thousand people.

Population density

The density of the Czech population is on average 133 people per square kilometer. Km., Which makes the Czech Republic quite a densely populated country. The population is distributed evenly throughout the country. The densely populated area is characteristic of large urban formations, such as Prague, Plzen, Brno and Ostrava. The maximum density was fixed at the level of 250 people per square kilometer. The least populated (level of 37 inhabitants / sq. Km.) Area of Prachatice and Cesky Krumlov. In the Czech Republic there are 5,500 settlements.

The Czech Republic is one of the most urbanized countries in Europe: the population in the Czech Republic mainly lives in cities and large settlements (about 70%), while the percentage of the rural population is constantly decreasing and currently more than 50% already live in settlements with a population of more than 20 thousand . human. The capital of the country - Prague - is the only city that can be called a metropolis. Here live 1 million 243 thousand people. In the Czech Republic, only five cities have a population of more than 100 thousand people - Prague, Olomouc, Brno, Pilsen and Ostrava. There are 17 cities with a population of more than 50 thousand people, and 44 cities and towns have a population of more than 20 thousand people.

Demographics and fertility

At the productive age of 15 to 65 years is the largest part of the population of the Czech Republic (about 72%) and the number of citizens younger than 15 and older than 65 years is practically the same - 14.4% and 14.5%, respectively. The number of men in the productive age is slightly higher than the female population, but in the post-productive there are significantly more women (almost two women per man). The average age in the Czech Republic is 39.3 years - for women 41.1 years, and for men 37.5 years. The population of the Czech Republic as of 2006 had an average life expectancy of 72.9 years for men and 79.7 years for women.

Despite the fact that the proportion of the adult population is large enough, the number of single people is also relatively large: one in eight women and one in five in the Czech Republic live outside the marriage. The average age of marriage is close to European statistics and for men is 28 years, for women 26 years. The appearance of the first child occurs most often in the first year of marriage.

However, for the full reproduction of the population, the level of female fertility is not sufficient (one woman in the reproductive age has only 1.2 children). The Czech Republic is among the countries with a minimum infant mortality rate, which is less than 4 people / 1000 newborns. In the country there is a constant decrease in the number of abortions and artificial abortions of pregnancy.

Employment

More than half of the total population is economically active. Especially we note the high employment of women in the Czech Republic in comparison with other countries. The economically active population of the Czech Republic is almost 48% female. Most of them work in trade, public catering, health care, education and other services. The high level of female employment is due to the economic need to maintain the level of family life, which is much lower than in other Euro-Union countries.

Education

The level of education in the Czech Republic meets the highest European standards. Every tenth citizen studies in a higher educational institution or has a completed higher education, and a full secondary education is present for every third economically active resident. High qualification of employees (almost all graduated from vocational schools) is one of the notable economic advantages of the Czech Republic. Lagging from European countries in terms of the number of people with higher and secondary education is still present, but the gap is rapidly declining.

Worship

The population of the Czech Republic in the majority refers to atheists (almost 59%) or those who find it difficult to answer about religion - about 9%. Among the Czech believers, Catholics predominate - 27% of the population, Czech Evangelists and Hussites - 1%. Other religions (Christian churches and sects, Buddhism, Islam etc.) are distributed exclusively among the ethnic groups of immigrants.