Location | Central Europe, between Germany, Poland, Slovakia, and Austria |
Geographic coordinates | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
Map references | Europe |
Area | total: 78,867 sq km land: 77,247 sq km water: 1,620 sq km |
Area - comparative | about two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania; slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Land boundaries | total: 2,143 km border countries (4): Austria 402 km, Germany 704 km, Poland 796 km, Slovakia 241 km |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
Terrain | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country |
Elevation extremes | mean elevation: 433 m elevation extremes: lowest point: Labe (Elbe) River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
Natural resources | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber, arable land |
Land use | agricultural land: 54.8% arable land 41%; permanent crops 1%; permanent pasture 12.8% forest: 34.4% other: 10.8% (2011 est.) |
Irrigated land | 320 sq km (2012) |
Population distribution | a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, but the northern and eastern regions tend to have larger urban concentrations |
Natural hazards | flooding |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on January 20, 2018