Czech Update

Over a third of Czechs consider themselves poor

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 11:02:28 +0000

Although two thirds of Czechs have a problem making ends meet on their monthly earnings, only a third consider themselves poor. read more »

Czech Republic experiencing biggest Baby Boom in 25 years

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:10:10 +0000

More than 10,000 more people were born in the Czech Republic than died which is the most since 1983. The 114 thousand newly borns take the total number of inhabitants to 10 million 381 thouthsand. This upward trend has been going on for the last 5 years. read more »

Czechs no longer shrink shy

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:41:51 +0000

According to new stats, the number of Czechs seeking the services of a shrink has grown by almost a third since 2000. Experts claim that one of the reasons for that is more information about psych treatments. Supposedly almost half a million Czechs ended up on the couch in 2006 including 17500 hospitalisations due to mental illness. read more »

Czech real estate more popular with foreigners

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 19:40:18 +0000

More and more properties are being snapped up by foreigners residing in the Czech Republic. What exactly that means for the economy and culture is not clear yet. More readers for this blog perhaps.

More foreigners now keen on buying Czech real estate - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz read more »

Czech inventor of the 'drunk tank' dies aged 91

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:07:26 +0000

Záchytka is a wonderful Czech word that stands for the institution for the collection of drunken (and possibly disorderly) individual wondering city streets occasionally referred to in English as 'drunk tank' or ' read more »

Czech taxes 113th in the world

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:15:01 +0000

In a strange imaginary league table of worldwide taxation, Czech Republic came in the 113th place. That is not good! read more »

Příkopy - Prague street in Top 20 most expensive in the world

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:20:39 +0000

The Prague street that joins into the bottom of Wenceslas square came 20th in the world ranking of the most expensive streets in the world (down from 18th a year ago). Rents there reach 2000 EUR per square meter a year. Paradoxically, the Czech name translates literally as "on the ditches". read more »

Czechs bought 350 000 bicycles in 2006 for Sport not Commute

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:43:00 +0000

Lots of cycling stories in the Czech press this last week. Czechs seem to be buying lots of cycles but don't like to think of them as a commuting device but rather one for getting some exercise in. Prague is becoming a bit more cycle-commute friendly but it's still more the exception than the rule. read more »

Fewer claim asylum in Czech Republic

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:08:27 +0100

Czech Republic is one of the less popular countries in the EU in the number of Asylum Claims with only about 0.3 claims per 1000 inhabitants compared to 1.6 of neighboring Austria or 2.7 of Sweden (Cyprus leads the chart with 6). In total 3016 people claimed asylum in the Czech Republic last year which is almost 25% down on the 4000 claims in 2003. read more »

Czech views on smoking ban

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 11:00:59 +0100

The latest survey shows that 57% of Czechs are in favor of a ban on smoking in public spaces. Women oppose smoking more than men (67%). Even more (60% - most often smokers) believe that a ban would be good for public health and 37% think it would be a case of discrimination. read more »

EU causes Czech pig crisis

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:18:24 +0100

I don't know what's more interesting about the story: that there is a crisis in pork production in the CR or that there is a publication called PigProgress.net? read more »

The 10 best Czech breweries - And travelling outside Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:02:39 +0100

The 10 best Czech breweries -Life & Style - Travel - Destinations - Europe - TimesOnline Prague's status as a destination for beer lovers is undisputed: the Czech Republic is home to the original Pilsner, the original Budweiser and boasts the world's highest beer consumption, 160 litres per person each year. In Prague, great pubs are found on every corner, and it is not uncommon to see people drinking one or more of the country's outstanding lagers with breakfast. Ounce for ounce, beer is cheaper than water here, and often appears to be consumed more widely. However, if you really want to sample Czech brewing, you need to leave the capital. This is far easier and less expensive than in many neighbouring countries, with excellent public transportation to nearly every Czech brewpub and regional brewery within a few hours.

Two wonderful pieces of advice. How to get to some great lesser known beers (remember you each pub only has one or at most two brands of beer) and how to travel outside of Prague to get more enjoyment out of Czech lands. read more »

Czech population highest in 10 years, foreigners help

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:43:50 +0100

Čechů je nejvíce za posledních deset let - www.lidovky.cz
Česko mělo na konci letošního prvního čtvrtletí nejvíc obyvatel za posledních deset let. V zemi žilo 10,306.700 lidí. Za první čtvrtletí se jejich počet zvedl o 19.500, a to hlavně díky příchodu cizinců.

The commonly bemoaned decrease in population growth has been, at least termporarily, halted. There seem to more newly-borns than the sadly-departed and the minor influx of foreigners is also a positive factor. read more »

Czech university students use sex as a source of income

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 11:16:56 +0000

Sex jako výnosnější brigáda - www.lidovky.cz PRAHA 17. února 2007 | 10:59 Až čtvrtina studentek vysokých škol si podle odhadů minimálně jednou během studia vydělá komerčním sexem a točením či focením porna.
read more »

Prague has two hotels World Top 10

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 09:43:57 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Pražský hotel Riverside je osmý nejluxusnější na celém světě. Na osmé místo se dostal v prestižní anketě portálu Tripadvisor, který každý rok oceňuje nejlepší hotely z celého světa.
Two hotels in Prague made it to the top 10 in a survey of hotel visitors from around the world conducted by Tripadvisor. Riverside is 8th (4th in Europe) and Le Palais 10th. It should be of note that neither of these hotels has a Czech or even Czech sounding name and that one read more »

Czechs don't see change in politicians' honesty

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:34:03 +0000

Czech Unconvinced About Their Politicians: Angus Reid Global Monitor Many adults in the Czech Republic are disappointed with their current public servants, according to a poll by STEM. 72 per cent of respondents believe today’s politicians are not more honest than those from the communist era.
Of course, in most countries people don't have particularly high expectations of politicians' honesty. It might be dispiriting, though, that Czechs don't think theirs are any better now than when they were representing a totalitarian regime. But, on the other hand, there's a good chance that public representatives then were no more mendacious and self-serving as people and dismissive of their electorate then they are likely to be anywhere. Only, they were operating in a totalitarian context. read more »

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:45:00 +0000

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF Czech children do not suffer from poverty and they have good health care and education as compared to children from some two tens of developed countries, but they have more problems in relations with parents and peers, according to a study that UNICEF released today.
Czech Republic came 11th in the overall score beating USA, France and UK (all three often featured as role models in socio-economic areas). Czechs were 11th, 10th and 9th in financial position, health and education respectively and it's infant mortality rates are one of the lowest but their overall ranking was brought down by "assessment of relations between children and their peers, and children and their parents." where CR scored 19th (ahead only of UK and US). Here are some other quotes from the article about the report. read more »

Fewer Czechs take longer sick leave

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:52:20 +0000

Average sick leave length in Czech Republic increased in 2006 - Prague Daily Monitor The average sick leave length of Czech employees increased to 36.5 days by about three days last year, compared to 2005, but the total number of people on sick leave has dropped, according to the Czech Social Authority (CSSZ).
And the most common illness was respiratory problems (the cough?). These numbers come from the agency administering the compulsory sick-leave and social security insurance whose budget is app read more »

Is vepřoknedlozélo in danger?

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 14:23:26 +0000

Pig Progress | News | Page content | Pig breeding down in Czech Republic Pig breeders are annually winding down activities in the Czech Republic. In the last five years, pig stocks have decreased by 600,000 to 2,840,000, says the Czech Statistical Office (CSU). read more »

Czechs practice unsafe sex

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 00:31:40 +0000

Czechs practice unsafe sex - Prague Daily Monitor Young Czechs practice unsafe sex, according to a Mladá fronta Dnes survey. Out of 139 young people questioned, 60 percent indicated that they don't use condoms. Most of them indicated that they are not afraid of contracting HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. There are currently 920 registered HIV cases in the country, but medical experts say that number could be five times higher. They say HIV cases continue to rise each year. There were 93 new cases last year.
read more »

More Czechs support gay adoptions

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:57:24 +0000

Přibývá Čechů, kteří by dovolili homosexuálům adopci - iDNES.cz Počet Čechů, kteří by homosexuálním párům umožnili adoptovat děti, vzrostl. Vyplynulo to z průzkumu společnosti RCA Research. Pro umožnění adopcí se vyslovilo 39 procent respondentů. V roce 2005 s ní souhlasilo o dvanáct procent méně.
The rate of Czechs supporting gay adoptions has almost doubled since 2005 from 27% to 39%. Against it are mostly men and people over 50. Only 35% of women are against read more »

Most Czechs won't trade base for visas

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 16:44:57 +0000

Češi zrušení víz za radar nevymění, ukázal průzkum - iDNES.cz Čechům nestojí zrušení víz do USA za to, aby souhlasili s umístěním amerického radaru v Brdech. Podle průzkumu RCA Research má takový názor 48,6 % lidí. Výměnu za víza by bralo 31,4 %. Radar nejčastěji odmítají Jihočeši a lidé bez maturity.
Two of the most significant sticking points in Czech American relations are the continued requirement for visas for Czechs visiting the US and now also the suggested military base with a Star Wars-like radar. read more »

Czech tax freedom day stays on 22 June in 2007

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 09:53:20 +0000

Patria: Češi budou na stát dělat do 22. června - iDNES.cz Češi budou letos pracovat na stát do 22. června, tedy stejně jako loni. Den daňové svobody připadne podle propočtů Patria Finance na 173. den v roce. Od onoho okamžiku si pomyslně budou Češi moci nechat svůj příjem pro sebe, do té doby jej budou odevzdávat státu.
Another example of American perspectives being imposed on Czech affairs. Czech newspapers now use the Tax Freedom Day concept to describe the Czech taxation system. But it makes it easier to compare the tax burden: read more »

Prague sixth most visited place in Europe, first most crowded

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:13:19 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Praha je šestým nejnavštěvovanějším místem v Evropě. „Ale když se podíváme na počet obyvatel, tak z první desítky turisticky atraktivních destinací je Praha suverénně nejmenší, proto je v centru několikanásobně vyšší koncentrace lidí než v jiných metropolích,“ vysvětluje Tomio Okamura z Asociace cestovních kanceláří a agentur.
Prague is the sixth most visited place in Europe, it seems (behind places like Paris, Rome, London, probably, the article doesn't say). But it is the smallest of the top ten most visited places and as a result most crowded. The one million three hundred thousand inhabitants are joined by another four million visitors every year who mostly come to visit the historic center which has one of the narrowest streets of the popular destinations. Part of the problem is the fact that the outskirts of Prague are not particularly appealing, ringed as it is by bland-looking apartment housing blocks (Note: which I personally find beautiful on many levels) so the tourists have no other outlets. (Note: this is not strictly speaking true there many places off the beaten track in Prague worth visiting but the concentrated beauty of the architectural Disneyland of the historic center makes them not as attractive.) read more »

Perceptions of bribery

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:42:34 +0000

Czech clerks take bribes from big firms -politicians, managers Prague- Clerks at Czech ministries and other central state offices take bribes most frequently, and primarily large Czech companies corrupt them, politicians and managers said in a poll released today. ... Politicians and businesspeople said in the poll that in their opinion corruption in the Czech Republic has not increased since 2001. According to them, the situation is slightly worse in Prague over a higher concentration of state offices in the capital. read more »