Living in Czech Republic guide for expats

As a member of the European Union, the Czech Republic is a key destination for expatriates looking for new opportunities. Thanks to its developed and prosperous economy, along with its great cultural heritage, it has been attracting many foreign professionals, investors, as well as students over the years. European nationals, in particular, can benefit from several advantages on moving there.

Geography and demography

The Czech Republic is surrounded by Poland, Germany, Austria and Slovakia. Far from the ocean, it enjoys a local temperate climate with warm summers and cloudy, humid and cold winters. The country obtained its independence in 1993. It became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and of the European Union on May 1st, 2004.

Divided into two major zones, the west side is known as the Bohemia while the east is known as the Moravia. Prague, the capital city, consists of 14 administrative areas known as kraje as well as 6,254 municipalities.

In administrative terms, the country also comprises several districts serving as basic territorial units for several offices, namely courts, decentralized State services, police organizational units, as well as other public institutions.

In 2015, the Czech population consisted of more than 10.5 million inhabitants.

Languages

Czech is not only the official language but also the mother tongue of almost half of the population. However, English and German are taught as second languages at school. Russian, for its part, is less spoken than these two languages despite its origins and immigration. Slovakian is also slowly fading away.

Economy

The Czech Republic is deemed to be one of Central Europe's emerging countries thanks to its highly developed and industrialized economy. Various political and economic decisions and some major upheavals have led to the dismantling of a planned and spectacularly rigid economy followed by the transition to a market economy. Today, the Czech Republic is repairing its economy as well as its laws.

The Czech economy mainly relies on the electrical, mechanical, construction and automotive industries along with services. These two sectors have employed 39.6 and 55.5 % of the population respectively.

Useful links:

Expat.com ' Czech Republic
Official Portal of the Czech Republic www.czech.cz
European Union Portal ' Czech Republic europa.eu