Demographics of the Czech Republic

This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.

Demographics of Czech Republic
Czech Republic population pyramid in 2020
Population 10,693,939 (1 January 2020)[1]
Growth rate0.004% (2020)[2]
Birth rate8.9 births/1,000 population (2020)[2]
Death rate10.7 deaths/1,000 population (2020)[2]
Life expectancy79.3 years (2020)[2]
 • male76.3 years (2020)[2]
 • female82.4 years (2020)[2]
Fertility rate1.48 children born/woman (2020)[2]
Infant mortality rate2.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2020)[2]
Net migration rate2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2020)[2]
Sex ratio
Total0.97 male(s)/female (2018)[3]
Nationality
Nationality
  • noun: Czech(s)
  • adjective: Czech
Major ethnicCzech 64.3% (2011)[2]
Minor ethnic
  • Moravian 5%
  • Slovak 1.4%
  • other 1.8%
  • unspecified 27.5%
  • (2011)[2]
Language
OfficialCzech
Spoken
  • Czech (official) 95.4%
  • Slovak 1.6%
  • other 3%
  • (2011 census)[2]
Population density in the Czech Republic by district.
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1790 4,444,000—    
1800 4,659,000+4.8%
1810 4,870,000+4.5%
1820 5,272,791+8.3%
1830 5,996,778+13.7%
1840 6,378,071+6.4%
1850 6,826,465+7.0%
1860 7,277,801+6.6%
1870 7,698,830+5.8%
1880 8,196,719+6.5%
1890 8,703,318+6.2%
1900 9,333,853+7.2%
1910 10,035,575+7.5%
1921 10,002,030−0.3%
1930 10,648,057+6.5%
1950 8,925,122−16.2%
1961 9,588,016+7.4%
1970 9,805,157+2.3%
1980 10,326,792+5.3%
1991 10,308,682−0.2%
2001 10,224,192−0.8%
2011 10,496,672+2.7%
2020 10,694,364+1.9%
Source: Czech Statistical Office

Population

With an estimated population of 10,665,677 as of 2018, compared to 9.3 million at the beginning of the 20th century, the population growth of the Czech Republic has been limited, due to low fertility rates and loss of population in and around World Wars I and II. Population loss during World War I was approximately 350,000. At the beginning of World War II the population of the Czech Republic reached its maximum (11.2 million). Due to the expulsion of the German residents after World War II, the Czech Republic lost about 3 million inhabitants and in 1947 the population was only 8.8 million. Population growth resumed, and in 1994 the population was 10.33 million.

From 1994 to 2003 natural growth was slightly negative (-0.15% per year) and the population decreased to 10.2 million. Since 2005, natural growth has been positive, but in recent times the most important influence on the population of the Czech Republic has been immigration: approximately 300,000 during the 2010s.

Population censuses
Czech national costumes from Western Bohemia (Chodsko Region)
Czech national costumes from Eastern Moravia (Slovácko Region)
Population of Czechia
Census datePopulation
31 Dec 1857 7,016,531
31 Dec 1869 7,617,230
31 Dec 1880 8,222,013
31 Dec 1890 8,665,421
31 Dec 1900 9,372,214
31 Dec 1910 10,078,637
15 Feb 1921 10,009,587
1 Dec 1930 10,674,386
1 Mar 1950 8,896,133
1 Mar 1961 9,571,531
1 Dec 1970 9,807,697
1 Nov 1980 10,291,927
3 Mar 1991 10,302,215
1 Mar 2001 10,230,060
25 Mar 2011 10,486,731

Vital statistics

Births and deaths

Source: Czech Demographic Handbook 2007[4]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total fertility rates[5] Migration change[6]
1900 9,334,000 330,662 227,920 102,742 35.4 24.4 11.0 4.85
1901 9,405,000 325,514 221,052 104,462 34.6 23.5 11.1 4.76
1902 9,475,000 333,619 222,457 111,162 35.2 23.5 11.7 4.68
1903 9,545,000 318,275 218,448 99,827 33.3 22.9 10.5 4.6
1904 9,615,000 319,433 222,276 97,157 33.2 23.1 10.1 4.52
1905 9,685,000 300,414 232,999 67,415 31.0 24.1 7.0 4.44
1906 9,754,000 313,449 203,182 110,267 32.1 20.8 11.3 4.36
1907 9,825,000 306,356 210,721 95,635 31.2 21.4 9.7 4.27
1908 9,895,000 308,504 210,101 98,403 31.2 21.2 9.9 4.19
1909 9,965,000 305,426 210,047 95,379 30.6 21.1 9.6 4.11
1910 10,036,000 295,617 196,728 98,889 29.5 19.6 9.9 4.03
1911 10,099,000 289,058 206,266 82,792 28.6 20.4 8.2 3.92
1912 10,157,000 280,368 203,324 77,044 27.6 20.0 7.6 3.82
1913 10,221,000 275,060 190,475 84,585 26.9 18.6 8.3 3.71
1914 10,283,000 269,142 188,838 80,304 26.2 18.4 7.8 3.6
1915 10,286,000 197,542 201,280 -3,738 19.2 19.6 -0.4 3.5
1916 10,222,000 140,211 186,381 -46,170 13.7 18.2 -4.5 3.39
1917 10,128,000 126,916 188,649 -61,733 12.5 18.6 -6.1 3.28
1918 10,004,000 120,579 236,035 -115,456 12.1 23.6 -11.5 3.18
1919 9,922,000 189,675 177,428 12,247 19.1 17.9 1.2 3.07
1920 9,978,000 244,668 176,562 68,106 24.5 17.7 6.8 2.964
1921 10,002,000 257,281 161,321 95,960 25.7 16.1 9.6 3.035
1922 10,113,000 248,728 163,366 85,362 24.6 16.2 8.4 2.882
1923 10,198,000 241,230 142,335 98,895 23.7 14.0 9.7 2.768
1924 10,278,000 228,894 146,098 82,796 22.3 14.2 8.1 2.590
1925 10,370,000 225,555 146,450 79,105 21.8 14.1 7.6 2.484
1926 10,443,000 219,802 148,298 71,504 21.0 14.2 6.8 2.392
1927 10,496,000 208,711 155,479 53,232 19.9 14.8 5.1 2.237
1928 10,549,000 208,942 147,064 61,878 19.8 13.9 5.9 2.209
1929 10,598,000 203,064 155,493 47,571 19.2 14.7 4.5 2.124
1930 10,648,000 207,224 142,159 65,065 19.5 13.4 6.1 2.149
1931 10,702,000 196,214 144,534 51,680 18.3 13.5 4.8 2.026
1932 10,750,000 190,397 142,997 47,400 17.7 13.3 4.4 1.966
1933 10,791,000 176,201 140,906 35,295 16.3 13.1 3.3 1.826
1934 10,826,000 171,042 135,914 35,128 15.8 12.6 3.2 1.774
1935 10,853,000 161,748 140,878 20,870 14.9 13.0 1.9 1.678
1936 10,873,000 157,992 139,093 18,899 14.5 12.8 1.7 1.664
1937 10,889,000 155,996 139,558 16,438 14.3 12.8 1.5 1.690
1938 10,877,000 163,525 143,115 20,410 15.0 13.2 1.9 1.847
1939 11,106,000 192,344 146,976 45,368 17.3 13.2 4.1 1.916
1940 11,160,000 218,043 153,499 64,544 19.5 13.8 5.8 2.195
1941 11,129,000 208,913 152,048 56,865 18.8 13.7 5.1 2.279
1942 11,054,000 199,259 153,096 46,163 18.0 13.8 4.2 2.422
1943 11,035,000 225,379 153,349 72,030 20.4 13.9 6.5 2.784
1944 11,109,000 230,183 161,457 68,726 20.7 14.5 6.2 2.796
1945 10,693,000 194,182 184,944 9,238 18.2 17.3 0.9 2.673
1946 9,523,000 210,454 134,568 75,886 22.1 14.1 8.0 3.254
1947 8,765,000 206,745 105,277 101,468 23.6 12.0 11.6 3.050
1948 8,893,000 197,837 101,501 96,336 22.2 11.4 10.8 2.886
1949 8,893,000 185,484 104,632 80,852 20.9 11.8 9.1 2.728
1950 8,930,000 188,341 103,203 85,138 21.1 11.6 9.5 2.801
1951 9,000,000 185,570 102,658 82,912 20.6 11.4 9.2 2.763
1952 9,075,000 180,143 97,726 82,417 19.9 10.8 9.1 2.701
1953 9,140,000 172,547 98,837 73,710 18.9 10.8 8.1 2.611
1954 9,200,000 168,402 99,636 68,766 18.3 10.8 7.5 2.581
1955 9,270,000 165,874 93,300 72,574 17.9 10.1 7.8 2.578
1956 9,330,000 162,509 93,526 68,983 17.4 10.0 7.4 2.568
1957 9,390,000 155,429 98,687 56,742 16.6 10.5 6.0 2.495
1958 9,435,000 141,762 93,697 48,065 15.0 9.9 5.1 2.305
1959 9,465,000 128,982 97,159 31,823 13.6 10.3 3.4 2.121
1960 9,490,000 128,879 93,863 35,016 13.6 9.9 3.7 2.113
1961 9,587,000 131,019 94,973 36,046 13.7 9.9 3.8 2.133
1962 9,625,000 133,557 104,318 29,239 13.9 10.8 3.0 2.140
1963 9,671,000 148,840 100,129 48,711 15.4 10.4 5.0 2.332
1964 9,728,000 154,420 101,984 52,436 15.9 10.5 5.4 2.356
1965 9,779,000 147,438 105,108 42,330 15.1 10.7 4.3 2.178
1966 9,821,000 141,162 105,784 35,378 14.4 10.8 3.6 2.008
1967 9,853,000 138,448 108,967 29,481 14.1 11.1 3.0 1.897
1968 9,876,000 137,437 115,195 22,242 13.9 11.7 2.3 1.827
1969 9,897,000 143,165 120,653 22,512 14.5 12.2 2.3 1.859
1970 9,800,000 147,865 123,327 24,538 15.1 12.6 2.5 1.913
1971 9,827,000 154,180 122,375 31,805 15.7 12.5 3.2 1.978
1972 9,868,000 163,661 119,205 44,456 16.6 12.1 4.5 2.074
1973 9,922,000 181,750 124,437 57,313 18.3 12.5 5.8 2.286
1974 9,988,000 194,215 126,809 67,406 19.4 12.7 6.7 2.431
1975 10,059,000 191,776 124,314 67,462 19.1 12.4 6.7 2.402
1976 10,126,000 187,378 125,232 62,146 18.5 12.4 6.1 2.362
1977 10,187,000 181,763 126,214 55,549 17.8 12.4 5.5 2.319
1978 10,242,000 178,901 127,136 51,765 17.5 12.4 5.1 2.324
1979 10,292,000 172,112 127,949 44,163 16.7 12.4 4.3 2.286
1980 10,283,000 153,801 135,537 18,264 15.0 13.2 1.8 2.096
1981 10,301,000 144,438 130,407 14,031 14.0 12.7 1.4 2.016
1982 10,315,000 141,738 130,765 10,973 13.7 12.7 1.1 2.007
1983 10,324,000 137,431 134,474 2,957 13.3 13.0 0.3 1.963
1984 10,330,000 136,941 132,188 4,753 13.3 12.8 0.5 1.966
1985 10,337,000 135,881 131,641 4,240 13.1 12.7 0.4 1.962
1986 10,341,000 133,356 132,585 771 12.9 12.8 0.1 1.935
1987 10,349,000 130,921 127,244 3,677 12.7 12.3 0.4 1.909
1988 10,356,000 132,667 125,694 6,973 12.8 12.1 0.7 1.940
1989 10,362,000 128,356 127,747 609 12.4 12.3 0.1 1.873
1990 10,363,000 130,564 129,166 1,398 12.6 12.5 0.1 1.893
1991 10,309,000 129,354 124,290 5,064 12.5 12.1 0.5 1.860
1992 10,318,000 121,705 120,337 1,368 11.8 11.7 0.1 1.714
1993 10,331,000 121,025 118,185 2,840 11.7 11.4 0.3 1.665
1994 10,336,000 106,579 117,373 -10,794 10.3 11.4 -1.0 1.438
1995 10,331,000 96,097 117,913 -21,816 9.3 11.4 -2.1 1.277
1996 10,315,000 90,446 112,782 -22,336 8.8 10.9 -2.2 1.185
1997 10,304,000 90,657 112,744 -22,087 8.8 10.9 -2.1 1.172
1998 10,295,000 90,535 109,527 -18,992 8.8 10.6 -1.8 1.156
1999 10,283,000 89,471 109,768 -20,297 8.7 10.7 -2.0 1.132
2000 10,273,000 90,910 109,001 -18,091 8.8 10.6 -1.8 1.143
2001 10,224,000 90,715 107,755 -17,040 8.9 10.5 -1.7 1.145
2002 10,201,000 92,786 108,243 -15,457 9.1 10.6 -1.5 1.171 12,290
2003 10,207,000 93,685 111,288 -17,603 9.2 10.9 -1.7 1.178 25,789
2004 10,216,000 97,664 107,177 -9,513 9.6 10.5 -0.9 1.226 18,635
2005 10,236,000 102,211 107,938 -5,727 10.0 10.5 -0.6 1.281 36,229
2006 10,269,000 105,831 104,441 1,390 10.3 10.2 0.1 1.327 34,720
2007 10,334,000 114,632 104,636 9,996 11.1 10.1 1.0 1.438 83,945
2008 10,425,000 119,570 104,948 14,622 11.5 10.1 1.4 1.497 71,790
2009 10,488,000 118,348 107,421 10,927 11.3 10.2 1.0 1.492 28,344
2010 10,517,000 117,153 106,844 10,309 11.1 10.2 0.9 1.493 15,648
2011 10,514,000 108,673 106,848 1,825 10.4 10.2 0.2 1.427 16,889
2012 10,516,100 108,576 108,189 387 10.3 10.3 0.0 1.452 10,293
2013 10,512,400 106,751 109,160 -2,409 10.2 10.4 -0.2 1.456 -1,297
2014 10,538,300 109,860 105,665 4,195 10.4 10.0 0.4 1.527 21,661
2015 10,553,800 110,764 111,173 -409 10.5 10.5 0.0 1.570 15,977
2016 10,578,800 112,663 107,750 4,913 10.7 10.2 0.5 1.630 20,064
2017 10,610,000 114,405 111,443 2,962 10.8 10.5 0.3 1.687 28,273
2018 10,649,800 114,036 112,920 1,116 10.7 10.6 0.1 1.708 38,629
2019 10,693,939 112,231 112,362 -131 10.5 10.5 -0.0 1.709 44,270

Current vital statistics
  • Births January–September 2019 = 85,890
  • Births January–September 2020 = 83,298
  • Deaths January–September 2019 = 83,934
  • Deaths January–September 2020 = 84,971
  • Natural increase January–September 2019 = 1,956
  • Natural increase January–September 2020 = -1,673[7]

List of 20 largest cities (2019)
Prague
Brno
Ostrava
Name Population[8] Area (km2) Region
Prague (Praha)1 308 632496Prague
Brno380 681230South Moravian Region
Ostrava289 128214Moravian-Silesian Region
Plzeň172 441138Plzeň Region
Liberec104 445106Liberec Region
Olomouc100 523103Olomouc Region
České Budějovice94 01456South Bohemian Region
Ústí nad Labem92 95294Ústí nad Labem Region
Hradec Králové92 742106Hradec Králové Region
Pardubice90 68878Pardubice Region
Zlín74 997119Zlín Region
Havířov71 90332Moravian-Silesian Region
Kladno69 05437Central Bohemian Region
Most66 18687Ústí nad Labem Region
Opava56 63891Moravian-Silesian Region
Frýdek-Místek55 93152Moravian-Silesian Region
Karviná52 82457Moravian-Silesian Region
Jihlava50 84579Vysočina Region
Teplice49 57524Ústí nad Labem Region
Děčín48 809118Ústí nad Labem Region

Other demographics statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.[9]

At the turn of the century, the Czech Republic had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. While the fertility rate has moved towards European average, it is still well below replacement value and the growth is primarily driven by immigration. The country is currently growing at a very small 0.1% a year.[9]

  • One birth every 5 minutes
  • One death every 5 minutes
  • One net migrant every 44 minutes
  • Net gain of one person every 131 minutes

Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[10]

Population
10,686,269 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure
Further information: Youth in the Czech Republic
Population pyramid of the Czech Republic in 1980
Population pyramid of the Czech Republic in 2017

2018
0–14 years: 15.21% (male 834,800 /female 790,128)
15-24 years: 9.34% (male 514,728 /female 483,546)
25-54 years: 43.79% (male 2,404,724 /female 2,275,309)
55-64 years: 12.24% (male 638,130 /female 669,959)
65 years and over: 19.42% (male 865,455 /female 1,209,490)

2017
0–14 years: 15.2% (male 821,275 ; female 778,267 )
15–64 years: 65.7% (male ; female )
65 years and over: 19.1% (male 845,112 ; female 1,174,704 )

2010
0–14 years: 14.2% (male ; female )
15–64 years: 70.6% (male ; female )
65 years and over: 15.2% (male ; female )

2007
0–14 years: 14.2% (male 758,305; female 718,619)
15–64 years: 71.2% (male 3,726,148; female 3,665,225)
65 years and over: 14.6% (male 598,481; female 914,353)

2006
0–14 years: 14.4% (male 760,065; female 719,449)
15–64 years: 71.2% (male 3,683,215; female 3,642,023)
65 years and over: 14.4% (male 582,904; female 899,533)

2005
0–14 years: 14.7% (male 773,028; female 731,833)
15–64 years: 71.1% (male 3,651,018; female 3,627,006)
65 years and over: 14.2% (male 565,374; female 892,879)

2004
0–14 years: 14.9% (male 784,186; female 742,760)
15–64 years: 71.0% (male 3,638,782; female 3,620,219)
65 years and over: 14.0% (male 557,945; female 876,685)

2003
0–14 years: 15.2% (male 797,847; female 756,628)
15–64 years: 70.8% (male 3,625,092; female 3,608,696)
65 years and over: 13.9% (male 551,801; female 871,391)

Median age
  • total: 42.5 years. Country comparison to the world: 29th
  • male: 41.2 years
  • female: 43.8 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate
9.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 203rd

Death rate
10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 27th

Total fertility rate
1.46 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 203rd

Net migration rate
2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 45th

Mother's mean age at first birth
28.1 years (2014 est.)

Urbanization
urban population: 73.8% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 0.21% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Czech Republic total fertility rate by region (2014)[11]
  1.9 - 2.1
  1.7 - 1.9
  1.5 - 1.7
  1.4 - 1.5
  1.3 - 1.4
  < 1.3

Sex ratio


at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Year Rate
2006 3.3
2007 3.1
2008 2.8
2009 2.9
2010 2.7
2014 2.4

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 78.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 57th
male: 76 years
female: 82.1 years (2018 est.)

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.[12]

Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 66.86
1955–1960 69.59
1960–1965 70.35
1965–1970 69.99
1970–1975 70.04
1975–1980 70.64
1980–1985 70.78
1985–1990 71.46
1990–1995 72.50
1995–2000 74.23
2000–2005 75.54
2005–2010 76.98
2010–2015 78.17

Literacy

definition: NA (2011 est.)

total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 17 years
male: 16 years
female: 18 years (2016)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 7.9%. Country comparison to the world: 143rd
male: 7.4%
female: 8.7% (2017 est.)

Ethnic groups

The majority of the 10.7 million inhabitants of the Czech Republic are ethnically and linguistically Czech (95%). They are descendants of Slavic people from the Black Sea-Carpathian region who settled in Bohemia, Moravia and parts of present-day Austria in the 6th century AD. Other ethnic groups include Germans, Romani people, Poles, and Hungarians. Historical minorities like Germans and Poles are declining due to assimilation. While there is also a growing community from Vietnam community. Other ethnic communities like Greeks, Turks, Italians, and Yugoslavs are found in Praha. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Slovaks living in the Czech Republic have comprised roughly 3% of the population.

There are different groups of national and ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic. The so-called "old minorities" live mostly in specific areas (e.g. Poles in the Zaolzie region, Germans in the Hultschiner region) while the "new minorities" are scattered among the majority population (generally in the larger towns). While some of the minorities have the whole social structure of Czech society (Poles, Slovaks, Greeks), other represent only some of the social groups (i.e. Russian newcomers of middle class, and Ukrainians and Romani people who generally represent the underclass).[13]

1880-1910
Population of Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia by language[14]
Language1880189019001910
Czech62.5%62.4%62.4%62.9%
German35.8%35.6%35.1%34.6%
Polish1.0%1.2%1.6%1.6%
Other0.7%0.8%0.9%0.9%
Total population8,222,0138,665,4219,372,14010,078,637

After World War I
Population of the Czech Republic according to ethnic group 1921–2011
Ethnic
group		 census 1921 1 census 1930 census 1950 census 1961 census 1970 census 1980 census 1991 census 2001 census 2011[15]
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Czechs 6,758,983 67.5 7,304,588 68.3 8,343,558 93.9 9,023,501 94.2 9,270,617 94.4 9,733,925 94.6 8,363,768 81.2 9,249,777 90.5 6,732,104 63.7
Moravians 1,362,313 13.2 380,474 3.7 522,474 4.9
Silesians 44,446 0.4 10,878 0.1 12,231 0.1
Slovaks 15,732 0.2 44,451 0.4 258,025 2.9 275,997 2.9 320,998 3.3 359,370 3.5 314,877 3.1 193,190 1.9 149,140 1.4
Poles 103,521 1.0 92,689 0.9 70,816 0.8 66,540 0.7 64,074 0.7 66,123 0.6 59,383 0.6 51,968 0.5 39,269 0.4
Germans 3,061,369 30.6 3,149,820 29.5 159,938 1.8 134,143 1.4 80,903 0.8 58,211 0.6 48,556 0.5 39,106 0.4 18,772 0.3
Ukrainians 13,343 0.1 22,657 0.2 19,384 0.2 19,549 0.2 9,794 0.1 10,271 0.1 8,220 0.1 22,112 0.2 53,603 0.5
Rusyns 1,926 0.0 1,106 0.0 739 0.0
Russians 6,619 0.1 5,051 0.0 5,062 0.0 12,369 0.1 18,021 0.2
Vietnamese 421 0.0 17,462 0.2 29,825 0.3
Hungarians 7,049 0.1 11,427 0.1 13,201 0.1 15,152 0.2 18,472 0.2 19,676 0.2 19,932 0.2 14,672 0.1 9,049 0.1
Romani people[16] 227 0.0 19,770 0.2 19,392 0.2 32,903 0.3 11,746 0.1 5,199 0.0
Jews 35,699 0.4 37,093 0.4 218 0.0 521 0.0
Yugoslavs 4,749 0.0 3,957 0.0 3,386 0.0
Romanians 966 0.0 3,205 0.0 1,034 0.0 1,238 0.0 1,921 0.0
Others/undeclared 10,038 0.1 5,719 0.1 11,441 0.1 10,095 0.1 36,220 0.4 39,300 0.4 39,129 0.4 220,660 2.6 2,739,4881 26.0
Total 10,005,734 10,674,386 8,896,133 9,571,531 9,807,697 10,291,927 10,302,215 10,230,060 10,562,214
1 On the territory of the census date.

1 In 2011 a large part of the population did not claim any ethnicity, before the census it was widely mediatized that the question is not mandatory. Vast majority of those who did so are presumed to be ethnic Czechs, number of whom dropped by roughly the same amount that the number of undeclared people rose, circa 2.5 million.

  • Czechs in 1991
  • Czechs in 2001
  • Czechs in 2011

The legal position of the minorities is defined foremost in the Act No. 273/2001 Coll. (The Rights of the Minorities Act) which implements the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms, Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and Recommendation of the Council of Europe No. 1201. There is a number of other enactments which to lesser extent deal with the minorities.

A special situation applies in the case of Moravians and Silesians, who are frequently allocated within the group of Czechs when it comes to the statistical data.

Officially recognized minorities
Main articles: Bulgarians in Czechoslovakia, Croats in the Czech Republic, Germans in the Czech Republic, Greeks in the Czech Republic, Polish minority in the Czech Republic, Roma in the Czech Republic, Ukrainians in the Czech Republic, and Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic

Minorities, which "traditionally and on a long term basis live within the territory of the Czech Republic" enjoy some privileges. As of 2013 there are 14 such officially recognized minorities, which are (alphabetically): Belarusians, Bulgarians, Croatians, Germans, Greeks, Hungarians, Poles, Romani people, Russians, Rusyns, Serbians, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Vietnamese.[17]

Citizens belonging to the officially recognized minorities enjoy the right to "use their language in communication with authorities and in courts of law". Article 25 of the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms provides the right of the national and ethnic minorities to education and communication with authorities in their own language. Act No. 500/2004 Coll. (The Administrative Rule) in its paragraph 16 (4) (Procedural Language) provides that a citizen of the Czech Republic who belongs to a national or an ethnic minority, which traditionally and on a long-term basis lives within the territory of the Czech Republic, has the right to address an administrative agency and proceed before it in the language of the minority. In the case that the administrative agency does not have an employee with knowledge of the language, the agency is bound to obtain a translator at the agency's own expense. According to Act No. 273/2001 (About The Rights of Members of Minorities) paragraph 9 (The right to use language of a national minority in dealing with authorities and in the courts of law) the same also applies to members of national minorities in the courts of law.

Bulgarians
Main article: Bulgarians in Czechoslovakia

The economic migration of Bulgarians to the Czech Republic began in the 1990s. 4,363 citizens claimed to have Bulgarian nationality in the 2001 census. They mostly live in the large cities and towns, such as Praha, Brno, Ostrava, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Děčín, and Havířov. Nowadays the newcomers from Bulgaria aim for these areas in particular, where they can join an already established community. Many of these economic immigrants have dual citizenship of both the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. However most of the recent immigrants still only have Bulgarian citizenship.

The Bulgarian Cultural Organisation publishes the magazine Roden Glas, while a folklore organisation Kytka promotes traditional Bulgarian dances. Among other organisations are Pirin, Zaedno, Vazraždane and Hyshove.[18]

As an officially recognized minority the Bulgarian citizens of the Czech Republic enjoy the right to use their language in communication with authorities and in the courts of law. They also enjoy a number of other rights connected to the status of recognized minority, e.g. the right to education in their own language: the first Bulgarian school in the current Czech Republic was established in 1946 in Prague.

Germans
Main article: Germans in the Czech Republic
Czech districts with 50% or more ethnic German population[19] in 1935

The German minority of the Czech Republic, historically the largest minority of the country, was almost entirely removed when 3 million were forcibly expelled in 1945–6 on the basis of the Potsdam agreement. The constitution guarantees rights for minority languages, however there are 13 municipalities with German minority constituting 10% of population, which qualifies for such provisions.[20] There is no bilingual education system in Western and Northern Bohemia, where the German minority is mostly concentrated. However, this is in large part due to the absence of German-speaking youth, a heritage of the post-war policy of the Communist government.

According to the 2001 census there remain 13 municipalities and settlements in the Czech Republic with more than 10% Germans.[20]

Many representatives of expellees' organizations support the erection of bilingual signs in all formerly German-speaking territory as a visible sign of the bilingual linguistic and cultural heritage of the region, but their efforts are not supported by some of the current inhabitants, as the vast majority of the current population is not of German descent.

The German-Czech Declaration of 21 January 1997 covered the two most critical issues—the role of some Sudeten Germans in the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and their expulsion after World War II.[21]

Greeks
Main article: Greeks in the Czech Republic

Another influential minority are Greeks. Large numbers of Greeks arrived in Czechoslovakia during the end of the Greek Civil War. The first transports of Greek children arrived in 1948 and 1949. Later, more transports, also including adults, arrived.[22] They were partly leftists, communists and guerillas with their relatives, hence the willingness of Czechoslovak government to allow the immigration.[23] This was viewed rather as a temporary solution. After the defeat of DSE and other left-wing guerillas, the Greeks stayed in Czechoslovakia. In total more than 12,000 Greeks immigrated to Czechoslovakia between 1948 and 1950.[23] Today, there are about 7000 Greeks in the country (3219 according to 2001 census data),[23] mostly in the 3 biggest towns – Prague, Brno, Ostrava – and also in Bohumín, Havířov, Jeseník, Karviná, Krnov, Šumperk, Třinec, Vrbno pod Pradědem and Žamberk (apart from the last one these towns are in Silesia).[24]

Poles
Main article: Polish minority in the Czech Republic

The most concentrated linguistic minority in the Czech Republic are ethnic Poles, historically the plurality, today constituting about 10% of the population of Karviná and Frýdek-Místek districts. Poles have the right to use their language in official dealings; the public media (Czech TV and Czech Radio) regularly broadcast in Polish; and there are many Polish primary and secondary schools in the area. The Polish minority has been decreasing substantially since World War II as education in Polish was difficult to obtain, while Czech authorities did not permit bilingual signs to maintain Polish awareness among the population.

The erection of bilingual signs has technically been permitted since 2001, if a minority constitutes 10% of the population of a municipality. The requirement that a petition be signed by the members of minority was cancelled, thus simplifying the whole process.[25] Still, only a couple of villages with large Polish minorities have bilingual signs (Vendryně/Wędrynia for instance).

Romanis
Main article: Roma in the Czech Republic

Another minority is the Roma, who nonetheless have very little influence on Czech policy. Around 90% of the Roma that lived in the Czech Republic prior to World War II were exterminated by the Nazi Porajmos. The Roma there now are 80% post-war immigrants from Slovakia or Hungary, or the descendants thereof. In total, the Roma in the CR now number around 200,000.[26] There is Romani press in the CR, written in both Czech and Romani, but Romani radio is broadcast in Czech and there is no Romani television. Romani is also absent from legislative, judiciary, and other political texts but it has recently entered some university and elementary school courses. Life expectancy, literacy, median wage, school enrolment, and other socio-economic markers remain low while, according to Říčan (1998), Roma compose the majority of prison and habitual offender populations despite accounting for only a fraction of a percent of Czech population.

Immigration
Foreign population in the Czech Republic in 2018.

According to the Czech Statistical Office as of December 31, 2018 there were 564,345 legal foreign residents in the Czech Republic (5.1% of the total population).[27] Residents from Ukraine are the largest group (131,302), followed by residents of Slovakia (116,817). There are also Asian immigrant communities in the Czech Republic. The largest is the Vietnamese one (61,097) followed by the Mongolians (9,075) and the Chinese (7,485). During the communist era the governments of Czechoslovakia and Vietnam had a deal concerning the education of Vietnamese people in Czechoslovakia. Vietnamese people came to Czechoslovakia for the first time in 1956 and then the number of new migrants grew until the fall of communism. First generation Vietnamese work mostly as small-scale businessmen in markets. Still, many Vietnamese are without Czech citizenship. One of the towns with the largest Vietnamese communities is Cheb. Other large immigrant groups come from Russia (38,033), Poland (21,279), Germany (21,267), Bulgaria (15,593) and Romania (14,684).

Countries with at least 1,000 persons, immigrating each year.[28][29]
Country201620172018
Ukraine 5,778 10,340 16,747
Slovakia 6,706 6,328 6,671
Russia 2,404 2,891 3,388
Vietnam 1,752 2,196 2,264
Romania 1,648 1,829 2,184
Bulgaria 1,331 1,620 1,977
Mongolia 709 1,165 1,498
Hungary 911 1,238 1,330
India 751 1,001 1,158
Belarus 421 657 1,145
China 551 823 1,123
United States 1,063 1,073 1,101
Serbia 230 414 1,041
Total37,50345,95758,148

Foreign-born population
Largest groups of foreign residents[30]
Nationality Population (2019)
 Ukraine 145,153
 Slovakia 121,278
 Vietnam 61,910
 Russian Federation 38,010
 Poland 21,767
 Germany 21,478
 Bulgaria 17,183
 Romania 16,824
 Mongolia 9,844
 United Kingdom 8,332
 Hungary 7,675
 China 7,673
 United States 7,245
 Belarus 6,920
 Kazakhstan 5,940
 Moldova 5,880
 Italy 5,682
 Serbia 5,593
 India 4,923
 France 4,409
See also

Languages
The most commonly known foreign languages in the Czech Republic in 2005. According to Eurostat[31]

The Czech language (divided into three dialects in Bohemia, four dialects in Moravia, and two dialects in Czech Silesia) is the official language of the state. There is also the transitional Cieszyn Silesian dialect as well as the Polish language in Cieszyn Silesia, both spoken in Czech Silesia. Various Sudeten German dialects are currently practically extinct: present Czech Germans speak mainly Czech or Standard German. Czech Sign Language is the language of most of the deaf community.

For other languages spoken in the Czech Republic, see the above section on officially recognised minorities.

Religion
Main article: Religion in the Czech Republic
Religious structure in 1991, 2001 and 2011.
Religious affiliations in the Czech Republic, census 1991–2011[32][33][34][35]
1991 2001 2011
number%number%number%
Roman Catholic Church4,021,38539.02,740,78026.81,083,89910.3
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren203,9962.0117,2121.151,9160.5
Czechoslovak Hussite Church178,0361.799,1031.039,2760.4
Believers identified with another specific religion120,3171.7330,9933.2292,3472.7
Believers not identified with any specific religion707,6496.7
No religion4,112,86439.96,039,99159.03,612,80434.2
No response, unknown1,665,61716.2901,9818.84,774,32345.2
Total population10,302,21510,230,06010,562,214

Almost half (45.2%) of the Czech population prefer not to respond to religious questions in the Census. Others claim to have no religion or that they are without religious affiliation (34.2%). In comparison, one in every five claims to have some personal belief (20.6%).

The largest denominations are Roman Catholicism, estimated at 10.3% of the population, Protestant (0.5%), Hussites (0.4%). Other organized religions, including non-organized believers, totalled about (9.4%) (as of Census 2011).

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,[36] 19% of Czech citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 50% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 30% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force"; the percentage of believers is thus the lowest of EU countries after Estonia with 16%.[37]

See also

References
  1. "Population - CZSO". Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  2. "EUROPE :: CZECHIA". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  3. "Zaostřeno na ženy a muže - 2019". CZSO.cz. Czech Statistical Office.
  4. "Czech Demographic Handbook 2007". Czech Statistical Office.
  5. Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation
  6. "Czech Statistical Office - Population". Czech Statistical Office.
  7. "Population change - 1st - 3rd quarter of 2020". Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  8. "Obsah nenalezen | ČSÚ". www.czso.cz.
  9. "Czech Republic Population 2019", World Population Review
  10. "The World FactBook - Czechia", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018
  11. "Total fertility rate by NUTS 3 region". Eurostat.
  12. "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  13. "Postavení národnostních menšin" (in Czech). Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  14. Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Tab. 614a Obyvatelstvo podle věku, národnosti a pohlaví" (in Czech). Statistics of Czechia. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  16. In census people can leave the "nationality" field empty and they can also write down any nationality or ethnicity they want. Most Romani people fill in the Czech nationality. Thus, the real number of Romani people in the country is estimated to be around 220,000. Petr Lhotka: Romové v České republice po roce 1989 Archived 2007-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
  17. See Government Council for National Minorities, Belorussian and Vietnamese since 4 July 2013, see Česko má nové oficiální národnostní menšiny. Vietnamce a Bělorusy
  18. "Bulharská národnostní menšina" (in Czech). Vlada.cz. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
  19. Statistický lexikon obcí v Republice československé I. Země česká. Prague. 1934.
    Statistický lexikon obcí v Republice československé II. Země moravskoslezská. Prague. 1935.
  20. Peter Josika: Mehrsprachig: Ein Faktor der Versöhnung at Prager Zeitung, 21 August 2007.
  21. Wolff, Stefan (2000). German minorities in Europe: ethnic identity and cultural belonging. Berghahn Books. p. 200. ISBN 978-1-57181-504-0.
  22. "Greeks in Czech Country". Dialogos-kpr.cz. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  23. Archived February 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  24. Vangelis Liolios. "Podkladové materiály pro Radu vlády pro národnostní menšiny o situaci řecké menšiny v České republice" (PDF) (in Czech). Dialogs-kpr.cz. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  25. "Aktualności". www.polonica.cz. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  26. "European Commission - Languages eac". Ec.europa.eu. 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  27. "R01Foreigners in the CR in the years 2004–2018 (as at 31 December)" (in Czech).
  28. "Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic - 2018" CZSO
  29. "Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic - 2019" CZSO
  30. https://www.czso.cz/documents/11292/27320905/c01R04_2019.xlsx/3bc309de-78d4-4ac9-8081-6f6866f86788?version=1.0
  31. "Europeans and their Languages" (PDF). Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  32. "Population by denomination and sex: as measured by 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991 and 2001 censuses" (PDF) (in Czech and English). Czech Statistical Office. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  33. "Scitani lidu, domu a bytu 2001". Czso.cz. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  34. "Tab 7.1 Population by religious belief and by municipality size groups" (PDF) (in Czech). Czso.cz. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  35. "Tab 7.2 Population by religious belief and by regions" (PDF) (in Czech). Czso.cz. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
  36. "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 - page 11" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
  37. "Social values, Science and Technology" (PDF). Eurobarometer. June 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-05-24. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
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