Basic information about the Czechia
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- Official name: the Czech Republic, short name: Czechia
- Country´s total area of 78 000 square km (115th in the World)
- Fourteen regions (NUTS 3) located in three main areas: Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia
- Czech Crown (CZK) as a national currecy and Czech as a national language
- A working population of about 5.6 million
- The overall population of 10.8 million people
- Since 2004, a member of the EU
- Since 1999, a member of the NATO
- Since 2007, a member of the Schengen space
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Exceptional quality of life
- 11th in Quality of Life Index 2023
- 11th in Safety and Security Index 2024
- 12th in World Happiness Report
- 12th in Global Peace Index 2023
- 13th in Prosperity Index 2022
- 18th globally and 1st within the CEE region in IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2023
- 31st in Global Innovation Index 2023
Highly skilled and affordable workforce
- Overall six technical universities and nine general universitites with technical faculties
- Almost 60,000 graduates in 2022 of which 22,000 graduates in Prague itself
- Approximately 40 % of the population speaks English and 35 % speaks German
- Average monthly salary around CZK 42 000 (EUR 1 700) across the country and all sectors. The average monthly salary in Prague around CZK 53 000 (EUR 2 200)
- Unemployment rate around 4 %, the lowest in the EU
Thriving startup ecosystem
- Czechia is a country with a strong industrial sector whose economy has been advancing by leaps and bounds since 2008
- In recent years the central government has been making an effort to encourage businesses in new technologies and has begun to value the generations of excellent and reputable young Czechs who wish to join the labour market
- Entrepreneurs and startups can utilize a network of investors and business angels which can provide the necessary development framework for new startups.
- There are also technology giants operating in the Czechia which are involved in most start-up initiatives
Leader in several tech sectors
- With 1.3 million vehicles produced annually, Czechia is the largest producer in Central and Eastern Europe
- Prague is home to the headquarters of the European Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency
- Czechia is home to world-class mechanical engineers
- Czechia represents one of Europe’s top locations for ICT investments, outsourcing and offshoring IT-related services
- Viread, a successful antiviral drug for the treatment of HIV/ AIDS was developed in the Czechia
- Czechia is a world leader in nanofiber research and production
Investment incentives
- Covering up to 40% of cost associated with investment projects. Czechia offers this to both new and existing investors. Aid is provided mainly from the national investment incentives scheme
- Job-creation grants Tax incentives is the financial support for creation of new jobs EUR 8 000 – 12 000 per new job
- Financial support for training and retraining of new employees (up to 50% of eligible training costs)
- Full corporate tax relief for up to ten years for new companies, partial for existing ones
Centre of innovation and cyber security
- During the period 2007-2013, Czechia built eight large infrastructure facilities in the category of European Centres of Excellence and forty regional R&D centres
- 48 Research and Development Parks including 8 Centres of Excellence
- Many big companies have their research centres here: Siemens, Bosh, GE Aviation, Microsoft
- ICT is one of the Czech Government’s designated priority sectors and substantial investments in ICT infrastructure are anticipated
- Several of the leading sub-sectors are security and cybersecurity areas. As an example of companies, that are world leaders, we can name GEN (formerly AVAST) and AVG antivirus companies