Ethnic Groups In The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a central European country bordered by Germany, Austria, Poland, and Slovakia. The country covers an area of 78,866 square kilometers with Prague being the largest city and its capital city as well. The Czech Republic has a parliamentary representative democracy characterized by the pluralistic multi-party system. In the country the premier is the head of government while the president is the head of state but with limited powers. The executive powers of the premier are derived from the constitution of the country. The Czech Republic has a population of about 1.2 million people divided into several ethnic groups. The country is also home to several foreigners mostly from Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Germany America, China, and Vietnam. Ethnic groups in the Czech Republic include:

Czechs

The Czech people are the largest ethnic group in the country with its population accounting for 63.7% of the country’s population, translating to 6.7 million people. The group was initially called the Bohemians because of their initial settlement in Bohemia during the late Iron Age. However, they migrated into the various modern day settlements in the 20th century. Czechs are also found in US, UK, Italy, Germany, and Canada. Czechs are believed to have been brought into the Czech Republic by their forefather Cech or by Václav Havel who established a dynasty that ruled for 400 years up to 1306. Some of the notable figures associated to Czechs include Charles IV, a Holy Roman Emperor, Vaclav Hava who was the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of Czech Republic. Czechs are famous for sports, music, art and literature. The ethnic group lives mainly in three regions of Czech Republic, namely Bohemia, Czech Silesia, and Moravia.

Moravians

Moravians live predominantly in the Moravia regions of Czech Republic. This ethnic group forms part of Czechs who speak the Moravian dialect. Moravians can be traced back to 9th century when they began settling in the regions of Moravia and lower parts of Austria. However, in Czech, Moravians were declared an ethnic group in 1991. Currently, they form 4.9% of the total population in the country representing a population of 522,474.

Slovaks

Slovaks form part of the ethnic minority in the Czech Republic with a population of only 149,140 people representing 1.4% of the population. The majority of the Slovaks live in Slovakia where they form an ethnic majority. Slovaks were part of the framework of Czechoslovakia formed in the 20th century after the World War I. In the period of the framework, and the Slovaks were significantly influenced by the Czechs especially their Slovak language. Slovaks are known for their culture, sports, and art. In sports, they are known for ice hockey.

The Other Ethnic Groups

During 2011 census, 26% of the people did not declare their ethnic group. These people constitute the second largest group in the country after Czechs with a population of 2.7 million. Other ethnic groups in the Czech Republic are the Ukrainians, Poles, Vietnamese, Germans, Russians, and Silesians. These are mainly immigrants into the country from the neighboring countries.