Federal Assembly—last held 23 and 24 May 1986 (next to be held 8 June 1990; will be a free election); results—KSC was the only party; seats—(350 total) KSC 350
Communists: 1.71 million party members (April 1988) and falling
Other political groups: Czechoslovak Socialist Party, Czechoslovak
People's Party, Slovak Freedom Party, Slovak Revival Party, Christian
Democratic Party; more than 40 political groups are expected to field
candidates for the 8 June 1990 election
Member of: CCC, CEMA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, ICAO, ICO, ILO, ILZSG,
IMO, IPU, ISO, ITC, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, Warsaw Pact, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Rita KLIMOVA;
Chancery at 3900 Linnean Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
363-6315 or 6316;
US—Ambassador Shirley Temple BLACK; Embassy at Trziste 15-12548,
Prague (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [42] (2) 53 6641
through 6649
Flag: two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side
- Economy Overview: Czechoslovakia is highly industrialized and has a well-educated and skilled labor force. Its industry, transport, energy sources, banking, and most other means of production are state owned. The country is deficient, however, in energy and many raw materials. Moreover, its aging capital plant lags well behind West European standards. Industry contributes over 50% to GNP and construction 10%. About 95% of agricultural land is in collectives or state farms. The centrally planned economy has been tightly linked in trade (80%) to the USSR and Eastern Europe. Growth has been sluggish, averaging less than 2% in the period 1982-89. GNP per capita ranks next to the GDR as the highest in the Communist countries. As in the rest of Eastern Europe, the sweeping political changes of 1989 have been disrupting normal channels of supply and compounding the government's economic problems. Czechoslovakia is beginning the difficult transition from a command to a market economy.
GNP: $123.2 billion, per capita $7,878; real growth rate 1.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 0.9% (1987)