| Economy - overview | Czechia is a prosperous market economy that boasts one of the highest GDP growth rates and lowest unemployment levels in the EU, but its dependence on exports makes economic growth vulnerable to contractions in external demand. Czechia’s exports comprise some 80% of GDP and largely consist of automobiles, the country’s single largest industry. Czechia acceded to the EU in 2004 but has yet to join the euro-zone. While the flexible koruna helps Czechia weather external shocks, it was one of the world’s strongest performing currencies in 2017, appreciating approximately 16% relative to the US dollar after the central bank (Czech National Bank - CNB) in early April ended its cap on the currency’s value, which it had maintained since November 2013. The CNB hiked rates in August and November 2017 - the first rate changes in nine years - to address rising inflationary pressures brought by strong economic growth and a tight labor market. After slowly recovering from a steep recession in 2009, the Czech economy again fell into recession in 2012 and 2013 because of a slump in demand within the EU and government austerity measures. Inflows of EU development funds underpinned a rebound in 2014-15, with GDP growth reaching 4.5% in 2015, followed by a slowdown in 2016 largely due to a cyclical lag in EU funding in connection with a new EU budget cycle. The Czech economy was one of the EU’s best performers in 2017, with broad-based growth of nearly 4.5% and an unemployment rate of 2.8%, one of the lowest rates in the EU. Since coming to power in 2014, the new government has undertaken some reforms to try to reduce corruption, attract investment, and improve social welfare programs, which could help increase the government’s revenues and improve living conditions for Czechs. The government introduced in December 2016 an online tax reporting system intended to reduce tax evasion and increase revenues. The government also plans to remove labor market rigidities to improve the business climate, bring procurement procedures in line with EU best practices, and boost wages. The country's low unemployment rate has led to steady increases in salaries, and the government is facing pressure from businesses to allow greater migration of qualified workers, at least from Ukraine and neighboring Central European countries. Long-term challenges include dealing with a rapidly aging population, a shortage of skilled workers, a lagging education system, funding an unsustainable pension and health care system, and diversifying away from manufacturing and toward a more high-tech, services-based, knowledge economy. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $372.6 billion (2017 est.) $360 billion (2016 est.) $350.9 billion (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $209.7 billion (2016 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2017 est.) 2.6% (2016 est.) 5.3% (2015 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $35,200 (2017 est.) $34,100 (2016 est.) $33,300 (2015 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 27.2% of GDP (2017 est.) 27.4% of GDP (2016 est.) 28.2% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 47.7% government consumption: 19.2% investment in fixed capital: 25.2% investment in inventories: 1.2% exports of goods and services: 79.1% imports of goods and services: -72.4% (2017 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2.5% industry: 37.8% services: 59.7% (2017 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 9.7% (2015 est.) |
| Labor force | 5.427 million (2017 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.8% industry: 38% services: 59.2% (2015) |
| Unemployment rate | 2.8% (2017 est.) 4% (2016 est.) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 12.6% male: 11.3% female: 14.4% (2015 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 4.1% highest 10%: 21.7% (2015 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 25 (2015) 25.1 (2014) |
| Budget | revenues: $83.62 billion expenditures: $83.93 billion (2017 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 39.9% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -0.1% of GDP (2017 est.) |
| Public debt | 35.1% of GDP (2017 est.) 36.8% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.3% (2017 est.) 0.7% (2016 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate | 0.05% (31 December 2016) 0.05% (31 December 2015) note: this is the two-week repo, the main rate CNB uses |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 3.9% (31 December 2017 est.) 3.91% (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $172.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $133.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $190 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $148.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $142.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $124.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $44.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $39.91 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $45.63 billion (31 December 2014 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
| Industries | motor vehicles, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, glass, armaments |
| Industrial production growth rate | 5.3% (2017 est.) |
| Current Account Balance | $1.192 billion (2017 est.) $2.154 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports | $157.4 billion (2017 est.) $131.1 billion (2016 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, raw materials, fuel, chemicals |
| Exports - partners | Germany 32.4%, Slovakia 8.4%, Poland 5.8%, UK 5.2%, France 5.2%, Italy 4.3%, Austria 4.2% (2016) |
| Imports | $147.4 billion (2017 est.) $120.8 billion (2016 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, raw materials and fuels, chemicals |
| Imports - partners | Germany 30.6%, Poland 9.6%, China 7.5%, Slovakia 6.3%, Netherlands 5.3%, Italy 4.1% (2016) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $161 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $85.73 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Debt - external | $145.8 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $138 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $146.5 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $139.6 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $45.79 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $43.09 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
| Exchange rates | koruny (CZK) per US dollar - 23.34 (2017 est.) 24.44 (2016 est.) 24.44 (2015 est.) 24.599 (2014 est.) 20.758 (2013 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on January 20, 2018
