Prague

Czech Republic COUNTRY

2,677,964 CITY POPULATION

City Council GOVERNMENT TYPE

Introduction

Prague (Czech: Praha) is the capital city and largest city in the Czech Republic. It's one among the most important cities of Central Europe and has served as the capital of the historic region of Bohemia for hundreds of years. The town is legendary for its unique medieval architecture, the historical centre of Prague is inscribed within the World Heritage List.

The city is bisected by the Vltava River. Nicknamed “the City of 100 Spires,” it's known for its Old Town Square, the guts of its historic core, with colourful baroque buildings, Gothic churches and therefore the medieval Astronomical Clock, which provides an animated hourly show. Completed in 1402, pedestrian Charles Bridge is lined with statues of Catholic saints.

Data and Facts

The demonym for a Prague resident: Praguer

Population: 1,380,000 (Prague)

Density: 12,000 people per square mile (4,633 per square kilometre)

Population: 10,644,842 (Czech Republic)

Density: 350 people per square mile (135 per square kilometre)

GDP: US$89.2 billion in 2014 (Prague)

GDP per person: $46,947

Note: The above GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars.

Administration

Prague is autonomously administered by the Prague City Assembly, which is elected through municipal elections and consists of 55 to 70 members. the chief body of Prague, elected by the Assembly may be a Prague council. The municipal office of Prague is named Prague hall. It's 11 members including the mayor and it prepares proposals for the Assembly meetings and ensures that adopted resolutions are fulfilled. The present Mayor of Prague is Czech Pirate Party member Zdeněk Hřib.

Until 1949, all administrative districts of Prague were formed by the entire one or more cadastral units, municipality or town. Since 1949, there has been a fundamental change within the administrative district. Since then, the boundaries of the many urban districts, administrative districts and city districts are independent of the boundaries of cadastral territories and a few cadastral territories are thus divided into administrative and self-governing parts of the town. Cadastral areas (for example, Vinohrady, Smíchov) are still relevant especially for the registration of land and land and house numbering.

Economy

Prague (Praha) has a well-diversified financial system with an emphasis on the commercial sector.

The metropolis was negatively influenced by the recession in Russia (1999), despite the fact that since the Czech’s entry into the European Union (2004) it has helped the financial system regain its strength. EU access has extended exports on the whole to its neighbour Germany, and overseas investments have almost doubled.

The Czech Republic has adopted the Euro inside the 12 months 2012, and therefore the currency has changed from Czech Koruna (CZK) to Euro.

In Prague, the prices are relatively lower as compared to other EU cities and this has encouraged many international companies to base their European headquarters in Prague. Additionally, international film production companies have also been interested in the town not only for the lower costs but also for the fascinating architecture.

Approximately one-fifth of all investments within the Czech Republic takes place in Prague.

A significant proportion of research and development is predicated in Prague, especially within the search to seek out alternatives for natural resources. The town remains highly hooked on Russia for the availability of oil and gas and thus officials are looking to develop solar energy and nuclear plants, also as other fuel solutions.

Prague’s GDP per capita is nearly double than the Czech Republic and therefore the city is liable for generating over 21% of the national gross domestic product. This ranks Prague amongst the 12 richest EU regions in terms of GDP per capita/Purchasing Power Parity.

The city of Prague has an economy supporting various industrial sectors. These include aircraft engines, diesel engines, refined oil products, electronics, chemicals, food, printing, automobiles etc.

However, within the last decade, Prague’s economy has undergone a serious transformation; manufacturing has decreased and there has been a rapid climb within the newly privatised service sector.

Business services like finances, information technologies, land, consulting and advertising have expanded. The tourism industry which incorporates hotels, restaurants, tours and travel agencies is playing an exceptional role within the economy, contributing nearly 60% to Prague’s overall income.

Prague features a lower unemployment rate than the remainder of the country. Although jobs have declined within the manufacturing sector, Prague still holds the most important industrial centre within the Czech Republic.

Business Environment

A high level of urbanisation, the concentration of the many economic functions and therefore the proximity of key players within the capital makes Prague a definite centre of development at a national level and places Prague above the opposite national regions in nearly all of the structural indicators. As an example, it accounts for quite one-quarter (25.4%) of the Czechian GDP (Eurostat 2019).

As for the economy, Prague features a unique position within Czechia: it's the economic centre of the state and also a centre for intermediation when it involves multinational economic relations within the whole state. Aside from all main authorities of the state administration, most financial institutions and foreign enterprises are based in Prague. All these features have a significant effect on the regional economy.

In 2017, the entire GDP in Prague amounted to €48.8m and therefore the GDP per capita was at €56.200 (PPS per inhabitant, Eurostat 2019). At present, Prague exceeds the typical values for the whole EU (GDP per capita in Prague at 187% of the EU average). Higher GDP (generally typical for a metropolis) is said to have a better level of wages, localisation of activities with a high added value and therefore the concentration of central bodies of both the general public and personal sector.

Descriptive features of the economic development of Prague include the strengthening of the sphere of services and therefore the decrease of the share of production industries. The services industry in Prague now represents quite 75% of employed people (Regional Innovation Scoreboard, 2019). Moreover, the utilization rate in Prague markedly exceeds the figures of other regions, with just one .3% of the workforce being unemployed (Eurostat, 2019). This was a rock bottom reported percentage across all regions within the EU in 2018 (Eurostat, 2019).

The structure of the processing industry is currently showing a small shift towards high-tech production thanks to activities of multinational enterprises, but the event of the high-tech sector in Prague, and in Czechia generally, remains lagging behind other countries. This will be seen by a coffee share of high-tech output in exports and therefore the lower value-added of exported goods.

As for high-growth manufacturing industries, a huge increase of value-added and employment are observed within the pharmaceutical industry and therefore the ICT sector within the period 2000-2014. These industries belong to the foremost innovative branches not only in Prague’s economy but the entire Czechian economy also. Their growth is driven mainly by activities of multinational enterprises also as newly established small and medium enterprises.

Infrastructure

As of 2017, Prague had a current transport modal share: 52% of all trips are done in public transport, 24,5% in cars, 22,4% on foot, 0,4% on bikes and 0,5% by aeroplane.

The City of Prague offers excellent infrastructure, including excellent transport links, one among the simplest conveyance systems in Europe, office premises and hotel accommodation. Prague may be a city of contrasts. Serene green islands on the river and tranquil parks draping the town ’s seven hills are just stepping stones far away from the countless architectural treasures and therefore the bustling street life of the city centre. Since our previous experience with GSA agency, we realize the requirements of EBA for correct congress and conference capacities alongside sufficient accommodation capacities. Prague’s excellent transport system may be a remarkable time saver also. Prague may be a city favoured by ex-pats including a big British and Italian community. Simply put, Prague offers diverse and open-minded modern communities and excellent living conditions and amenities.

The conveyance infrastructure consists of a heavily used Prague Integrated Transport Prague has one among the very best rates of public transport usage within the world, with 1.2 billion passenger journeys per annum. Prague has about 300 bus lines and 34 tram lines. There also are three funiculars.

The Prague tram system is the twelfth longest within the world (142 km) and its wheeled vehicle consists of 857 individual cars,[106] which is the third-largest within the world behind Moscow and Budapest. The system carries quite 360 million passengers annually, the very best tram patronage within the world after Budapest, on a per capita basis, Prague has the second-highest tram patronage after Zürich.

All services (metro, tramways, city buses, funiculars and ferries) have a standard ticketing system that operates on a proof-of-payment system. Basic transfer tickets are often bought for a 30/90-minute ride, short-term tourist passes are available for periods of 24 hours or 3 days, longer-term tickets are often bought on the smart ticketing system Lítačka card, for periods of 1 month, three months or one year.

Prague is served by Havel Airport Prague, the most important airport within the Czech Republic and one among the most important and busiest airports in central and eastern Europe. The airport is the hub of carriers Smartwings and Czech Airlines operating throughout Europe. Other airports in Prague include the city's original airport within the north-eastern district of Kbely, which is serviced by the Czech Air Force, also internationally. It also houses the Prague Aviation Museum. The nearby Letňany airport is especially used for personal aviation and aeroclub aviation. Another airport within the proximity is Aero Vodochody aircraft factory to the north, used for testing purposes, also as for aeroclub aviation. There are a couple of aeroclubs around Prague, like the Točná airfield.

In 2018, 2% of individuals commute by bike in Prague, cycling is extremely common as a sport or recreation. As of 2017, there was 178 km (111 mi) of protected cycle paths and routes. Also, there have been 48 km (30 mi) of motorcycle lanes and 24 km (15 mi) of specially marked bus lanes that are liberal to be employed by cyclists. Bike-sharing is obtainable by four different companies, three of them are Czech. The primary one is Rekola operating in Prague since 2013, which has 900 free-flowing bikes around Prague as of 2019. The other is named Free bike and it's operated by Homeport, it's operating 450 electric bikes in Prague as of 2019. The third one is Velonet, operating but 50 bikes in Prague 4. Since 2018, scooter sharing is obtainable by American company Lime which operates quite 1000 electric scooters in Prague as of 2019.

Technology

The regional city of Prague is a crucial centre of research. It's the seat of 39 out of 54 institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences, including the most important ones, the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Microbiology and therefore the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It's also a seat of 10 public research institutes, four business incubators and enormous hospitals performing research and development activities like the Motol University Hospital or Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine, which was the most important transplant centre in Europe as of 2019. Universities seated in Prague (see section Colleges and Universities) also represent important centres of science and research activities.

As of 2008, there have been 13,000 researchers (out of 30,000 within the country, counted in full-time equivalents), representing a third share of Prague's economically active population. Gross expenditure on research and development accounted for €901.3 million (41.5% of the country's total).

Some well-known multinational companies have established research and development facilities in Prague, among them Siemens, Honeywell, Oracle, Microsoft and Broadcom.

Prague was selected to host administration of the EU satellite navigation system Galileo. It began to provide its first services in December 2016 and full completion is predicted by 2020.

Unlike many metropolitan cities which are slow to plan a technique for updating their infrastructure to accommodate IoT integration, Prague has developed a well-funded, centralised roadmap. In 2017, the Prague hall approved the Smart Prague initiative, which put aside Kč 600 million for the event of a variety of projects to modernise the city’s infrastructure and services with IoT functionality.

The Smart Prague initiative has overseen Operátor ICT, a city-run organisation liable for developing the Lítačka Prague transportation system card. a variety of pilot projects have already been implemented, including solar-powered benches with WiFi and phone chargers, and smart trash bins that compact waste, and report back to the gathering company that they're filled, thereby ensuring more efficient pickup and emptying.

A number of other projects are either being assessed for approval or are already being implemented. Examples include smart sensors in buildings to optimise energy management, installing charging stations for electric vehicles, and installing city-wide sensors to assist construct a 3D model of Prague which will aid in planning traffic flow, and optimising future town planning.

Prague could also be a smaller tech hub than London and NY at the moment, but their rapid climb across various technological and entrepreneurial areas could teach a number of the larger cities a thing or two.

The Czech tech industry has picked up momentum, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. Prague, especially, has become one among Central and Eastern Europe’s largest startup ecosystems, proving to be a really friendly environment for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. A number of the rationale include the city’s low living costs and labour force costs also because the country’s specialists who aren't only knowledgeable of high-tech but even have a robust command of the English language.

As a result, entrepreneurs are flocking to our beautiful city. Prague has become a hub that gives tremendous untapped growth potential for both existing and emerging companies.

Social Wellness and Human Resources

Education within the Czech Republic is free and compulsory from ages 6 to fifteen. The Programme for International Student Assessment ranks the Czech education system as the 15th best within the world.

The education system is free, although preschools are frequently purchased by parents. is usually |this can be"> this is often because child care is often included at younger ages, also as parents eager to provide an academic advantage. There has been considerable discussion about changing the university system so it might be purchased. Currently, however, the sole costs related to education are textbooks, basic equipment, food, and housing. The state also pays insurance for college kids up to 26 years aged.

Tap water is safe to drink Prague, though nearly everyone drinks drinking water.

The quality of medical aid in Prague is high, and rest assured, if you are suffering a medical emergency you'll receive proper care. Prague has several large hospitals, with trained staff, want to handle foreign visitors.

Na Homolce Hospital Widely considered to be the simplest hospital in Prague, equipped and staffed to Western standards, with staff who speak English, French, German and Spanish.

Polyclinic at Národní A central clinic with staff who speak English, German, French and Russian.

Canadian medical aid is a dear but professional private clinic with English-speaking doctors.

You'll see many lékárna (pharmacies) throughout the Czech Republic, identified by an enormous green cross on the surface. Additionally to dispensing prescription medications, pharmacies are usually the sole places you will find common over-the-counter drugs like aspirin, cough syrup, cold medications, and therefore the like.

Most pharmacies keep normal business hours, but each district has a minimum of one late-hour dispensary for emergencies. to seek out the pharmacy in your district, attend any nearby pharmacy; information is typically posted on the door. Lékárna U Sv Ludmily may be a neighbourhood pharmacy with a 24-hour window.