Area of 78,866 sq km.  A landlocked country in central Europe, bounded by four countries.

Bordering countries are Poland to the north-east, Germany to the west and north-west, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east.

Largest cities – Praha (Prague, the capital - population 1.25 million), Brno (371.4 thousand), Ostrava (306 thousand), Plzen (170 thousand).

Main rivers - the Vltava, 430 km long, flows through Prague; the Labe (Elbe when it reaches Germany), which rises in the northern Krkonoše mountains on the border with Poland; the Oder and Morava.

Terrain:  Bohemia, the western half of the country, consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaux between low mountains.  Moravia in the east is very hilly.  Sněžka in the Krkonoše mountains (1602 metres) is the highest point in the country.

Natural resources – hard and soft coal, forest timber, clay, graphite and kaolin.