- Country name
- conventional long form: Czech Republic
conventional short form: Czechia
local long form: Ceska republika
local short form: Cesko
etymology: name derives from the Czechs, a West Slavic tribe who rose to prominence in the late 9th century A.D.; the tribal name is said to come from an ancestral chief - Government type
- parliamentary republic
- Capital
- name: Prague
geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
etymology:
the name may derive from the old Slavic word "praga" or "prah," meaning "threshold;" it could also be related to the same Slavic root word as the modern Czech "pražiti," a term for woodland cleared by burning - Administrative divisions
- 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky (South Bohemia), Jihomoravsky (South Moravia), Karlovarsky (Karlovy Vary), Kralovehradecky (Hradec Kralove), Liberecky (Liberec), Moravskoslezsky (Moravia-Silesia), Olomoucky (Olomouc), Pardubicky (Pardubice), Plzensky (Pilsen), Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky (Central Bohemia), Ustecky (Usti), Vysocina (Highlands), Zlinsky (Zlin)
- Legal system
- new civil code enacted in 2014, replacing civil code of 1964 based on former Austro-Hungarian civil codes and socialist theory
- Constitution
- history: previous 1960; latest ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993
amendment process: passage requires at least three-fifths concurrence of members present in both houses of Parliament - International law organization participation
- has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- Citizenship
- citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Czechia
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years - Suffrage
- 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch
- chief of state: President Petr PAVEL (since 9 March 2023)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrej BABIS (since 9 December 2025)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
election/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); prime minister appointed by the president for a 4-year term
most recent election date: 13-14 January 2023, with a second round on 27-28 January 2023
election results:
2023: Petr PAVEL elected in the second round; percent of vote in the first round - Petr PAVEL (independent) 35.4%, Andrej BABIS (ANO) 35%, Danuse NERUDOVA (Mayors and Independents) 13.9%, Pavel FISCHER (independent) 6.8%; percent of vote in the second round - Petr PAVEL 58.3%, Andrej BABIS 41.6%
2018: Milos ZEMAN reelected president in the second round; percent of vote - Milos ZEMAN (SPO) 51.4%, Jiri DRAHOS (independent) 48.6%
expected date of next election: by January 2028 - Legislative branch
- legislature name: Parliament (Parlament)
legislative structure: bicameral - Legislative branch - lower chamber
- chamber name: Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka Snemovna)
number of seats: 200 (all directly elected)
electoral system: proportional representation
scope of elections: full renewal
term in office: 4 years
most recent election date: 10/3/2025 to 10/4/2025
parties elected and seats per party: ANO (80); SPOLU (52); Mayors and independents (STAN) (22); Czech Pirate Party (18); Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) (15); Motoristé sobě (AUTO) (13)
percentage of women in chamber: 33.5%
expected date of next election: October 2029 - Legislative branch - upper chamber
- chamber name: Senate (Senat)
number of seats: 81 (all directly elected)
electoral system: plurality/majority
scope of elections: partial renewal
term in office: 6 years
most recent election date: 9/20/2024 to 9/28/2024
parties elected and seats per party: Civic Democratic Party (ODS) (8); Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU - CSL) (7); TOP 09 (3); ANO 2011 (3); Independents (2); Other (4)
percentage of women in chamber: 21.3%
expected date of next election: September 2026 - Judicial branch
- highest court(s):
Supreme Court (organized into Civil Law and Commercial Division, and Criminal Division each with a court chief justice, vice justice, and several judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 15 justices); Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 36 judges, including the court president and vice president, and organized into 6-, 7-, and 9-member chambers)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court judges proposed by the Chamber of Deputies and appointed by the president; judges appointed for life; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate; judges appointed for 10-year, renewable terms; Supreme Administrative Court judges selected by the president of the Court; unlimited terms
subordinate courts: High Court; regional and district courts - Political parties
- Action of Dissatisfied Citizens or ANO (Akce nespokojených občanů)
Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-ČSL
Civic Democratic Party or ODS
Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSČM
Czech Pirate Party or Piráti
ForMOST or ProMOST
Freedom and Direct Democracy or SPD
Independents or NEZ
Mayors and Independents or STAN
Mayors for the Liberec Region or SLK
Přísaha
Senator 21 or SEN 21
Social Democracy SOCDEM
Svobodni
Tradition Responsibility Prosperity 09 or TOP 09
Tábor 2020 or T2020
United Democrats - Association of Independents or SD-SN - Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Miloslav STAŠEK (since 16 September 2022)
chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008-3803
telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100
FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540
email address and website:
washington@embassy.mzv.cz
https://www.mzv.cz/washington/
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York - Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission: Ambassador Nicholas MERRICK (since 23 October 2025)
embassy: Trziste 15, 118 01 Praha 1 - Mala Strana
mailing address: 5630 Prague Place, Washington DC 20521-5630
telephone: [420] 257-022-000
FAX: [420] 257-022-809
email address and website:
ACSPrg@state.gov
https://cz.usembassy.gov/ - International organization participation
- Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
- Independence
- 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia)
note: although 1 January is the day the Czech Republic came into being, the Czechs commemorate 28 October 1918, the day the former Czechoslovakia declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as their independence day - National holiday
- Czechoslovak Founding Day, 28 October (1918)
- Flag
- description: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the left side
note: combines the white and red of Bohemia with blue from the arms of Moravia; identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia - National symbol(s)
- silver (or white) double-tailed rampant lion
- National color(s)
- white, red, blue
- National anthem(s)
- title: "Kde domov muj?" (Where is My Home?)
lyrics/music: Josef Kajetan TYL/Frantisek Jan SKROUP
history:
adopted 1993; the anthem was originally written as incidental music for the play "Fidlovacka" (1834), but it soon became popular as an unofficial anthem of the Czech nation; its first verse served as the official Czechoslovak anthem beginning in 1918, and the second verse (Slovak) was dropped after Czechoslovakia was dissolved in 1993 - National heritage
- total World Heritage Sites: 17 (16 cultural, 1 natural)
selected World Heritage Site locales:
Historic Prague (c); Historic Telč (c); Historic Český Krumlov (c); Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape (c); Historic Kutná Hora (c); Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc (c); Karlovy Vary Spa (c); Zatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops; Žatec and the Landscape of Saaz Hops (n)