Economy of the Czech Republic

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Economy of Czech Republic

Business district in Prague
Currency	Czech koruna (CZK)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	EU, WTO (via EU membership) and OECD
Country group	Advanced economy[1] High-income economy[2] Diversified European (EU) economy[3]
Statistics
Population	10,900,555 (31 December 2023)[4]
GDP	$326 billion (nominal, 2024)[5] $552 billion (PPP, 2024)[5]
GDP rank	45th (nominal, 2024) 47th (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth	2.3% (2022) 0.2% (2023) 0.7% (2024)[5]
GDP per capita	$29,801 (nominal, 2024)[5] $50,475 (PPP, 2024)[5]
GDP per capita rank	38th (nominal, 2024) 38th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 2.3% industry: 36.9% services: 60.8% (2017)[3]
Inflation (CPI)	2% (2024)[5]
Base borrowing rate	2.25% (since 6 February 2020)[6]
Population below poverty line	9.5% (2023)[7] 19% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (2023)[8]
Gini coefficient	24.0 low (2019)[9]
Human Development Index	0.895 very high (2022)[10] (32nd) 0.848 very high IHDI (18th) (2022)[10]
Labour force	5,378,192 (2020)[11] 79.9% employment rate (2018)[12]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture 2.8% industry 38% services 59.2% (2015)[13]
Unemployment	2.6% (September 2021)[14] 8.9% youth unemployment (15 to 24 year-olds; July 2020)[15]
Average gross salary	CZK 43,967 / €1,747 monthly (2024)[16]
Average net salary	CZK 34,836 / €1,384 monthly (2024)[17]
Main industries	Engineering electronics motor vehicles metallurgy machinery chemicals pharmaceuticals
External
Exports	$161.2 billion (2016)[18]
Export goods	Machinery precision engineering equipment transport equipment electronics pharmaceuticals medical equipment
Main export partners	EU 84.1% (2016)[19]  Germany 32.4%  Slovakia 8.4%  Poland 5.8%  France 5.2%  United Kingdom 5.2%  Italy 4.2%  Austria 4.1% (2016)[20]
Imports	$140.3 billion (2016)[18]
Import goods	Machinery components raw materials and fuels chemicals
Main import partners	EU 77.2%[21]  Germany 30.6%  Poland 9.6%  China 7.5%  Slovakia 6.3%  Netherlands 5.3%  Italy 4.1% (2016)[22]
FDI stock	$185.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[23] 35th Abroad: $54.39 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[23]
Current account	-$678 million (2019 est.) 130th[23]
Gross external debt	$191.9 billion (2019 est.)[23] 44th
Net international investment position	−17 % of GDP (2020)[24]
Public finances
Government debt	30.8% of GDP (2019)[25] CZK 1.739 trillion (2019)[25]
Budget balance	CZK 15.4 billion surplus (2019)[25] +0.3% of GDP (2019)[25]
Revenues	42.1% of GDP (2019)[25]
Expenses	41.9% of GDP (2019)[25]
Economic aid	€26.7 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2007–2013)[26] €24.2 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2014–2020)[27]
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[28] AA (Domestic) AA- (Foreign) AA+ (T&C Assessment) Scope:[29] AA-
Foreign reserves	$151.69  billion (January 2018 est.; 17th)[30]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of the Czech Republic is a developed export-oriented social market economy based in services, manufacturing, and innovation that maintains a high-income welfare state and the European social model.^[31] The Czech Republic participates in the European Single Market as a member of the European Union, and is therefore a part of the economy of the European Union. It uses its own currency, the Czech koruna, instead of the euro. It is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Czech Republic ranks 16th in inequality-adjusted human development and 24th in World Bank Human Capital Index, ahead of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom or France. It was described by The Guardian as "one of Europe's most flourishing economies".^[32]

The industry sector accounts for 37% of the economy, while services account for 61% and agriculture for 2%. The principal industries are high tech engineering, electronics and machine-building,^[33] steel production, transportation equipment (automotive, rail and aerospace industry), chemicals, advanced materials and pharmaceuticals. The major services are research and development, ICT and software development, nanotechnology and life sciences.^[33] Its main agricultural products are cereals, vegetable oils and hops.

As of 2023,^[update] the Czech GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is $50,961 and 698,706 Czech crowns ($31,368) at nominal value.^[5] As of September 2021,^[update] the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic was the lowest in the EU at 2.6%,^[34] and the poverty rate is the second lowest of OECD members, following Denmark.^[35] The Czech Republic ranks 21st in the Index of Economic Freedom (ranked behind Chile),^[36] 30th in the Global Innovation Index (ranked behind UAE),^[37] 32nd in the Global Competitiveness Report,^[38] 41st in the ease of doing business index and 25th in the Global Enabling Trade Report (ranked behind Canada).^[39] The largest trading partner for both export and import is Germany, followed by other members of the EU. The Czech Republic has a highly diverse economy that ranks 7th in the 2019 Economic Complexity Index.^[40]