Regions of the Czech Republic

Regions of the Czech Republic (Template:Langx Template:IPA; singular Template:Lang Template:IPA) are higher-level territorial self-governing units of the Czech Republic.

History

File:Czech Republic - Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (en).png

Historical lands and current administrative regions

Template:See also The first regions (kraje) were created in the Kingdom of Bohemia in the 14th century. At the beginning of the 15th century, Bohemia was already divided into 12 regions, but their borders were not fixed due to the frequent changes in the borders of the estates. During the reign of George of Poděbrady (1458–1471), Bohemia was divided into 14 regions, which remained so until 1714, when their number was reduced to 12 again. From 1751 to 1850, after the four largest regions were divided, the kingdom consisted of 16 regions. Between 1850 and 1862, there were several reforms and the number of regions fluctuated between 7 and 13. Due to the parallel establishment of political districts in 1848, however, their importance declined. In 1862, the regions were abolished, although the regional authorities had some powers until 1868.<ref name=mvcr>Template:Cite web</ref>

Moravia was divided into four regions in 1529. In 1569–1735, their number was five, then the number increased to six. After the introduction of the political districts in 1850, Moravia consisted of two regions. In 1855–1860, there were six regions, but in 1860 they were abolished.<ref name=mvcr/>

Czech Silesia was not divided into regions until 1783, when it was divided into two regions. From 1850, Czech Silesia formed one region.<ref name=mvcr/>

From the 1860s to 1948, the Czech lands were divided into counties and districts. Regions were reintroduced in 1949 in Czechoslovakia. From 1949 to 1960, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was divided into the Capital City of Prague and 13 regions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1960–1999, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was divided into the Capital City of Prague and following 7 regions:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• Central Bohemian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Prague
• South Bohemian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in České Budějovice
• West Bohemian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Plzeň
• North Bohemian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Ústí nad Labem
• East Bohemian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Hradec Králové
• South Moravian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Brno
• North Moravian Region (Template:Lang) with the capital in Ostrava

According to the Act no. 129/2000 Coll. ("Law on Regions"), which implements Chapter VII of the Czech Constitution, the Czech Republic is divided into thirteen regions and one capital city with regional status as of 1 January 2000.<ref name=law>Template:Cite web</ref> The capital city of Prague, which has simultaneously the status of a region and a municipality, is treated by Act no. 131/2000 Coll. ("Law on Capital City of Prague").<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Competences

Rights and obligations of the regions include:<ref name=law/>

• Establishment of secondary schools;
• Responsibility for hospitals and social facilities;
• Construction and repair of second and third class roads;
• Organization of integrated transport systems;
• Ordering of public intermunicipal transport;
• Protection of the nature;
• Cooperation in the distribution of EU funds within the NUTS-2 regions;
• Tasks within the integrated rescue system;
• Right to propose laws to the Chamber of Deputies and submit complaints to the Constitutional Court.

Government

Every region is governed by a regional council, headed by a governor (hejtman). Elections to regional councils take place every four years. The number of council members varies according to the population in the region and consists of 45 (population under 600,000), 55 (population 600,000–900,000) or 65 people (population over 900,000).<ref name=law/>

List of regions

Licence plate	Region	Capital	Population (2025)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Area (km2)	Pop. density (per km2)	GDP (million CZK, 2022)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	GDP per capita (2022)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A	Template:Flag		1,397,880	496	2,818	1,926,323	1,453,579
S	Template:Flag	PragueTemplate:Efn	1,466,215	10,929	134	775,682	557,641
C	Template:Flag	České Budějovice	653,227	10,058	65	309,007	480,506
P	Template:Flag	Plzeň	614,640	7,649	80	326,669	553,512
K	Template:Flag	Karlovy Vary	293,195	3,310	89	111,015	377,886
U	Template:Flag	Ústí nad Labem	808,356	5,339	151	360,731	440,737
L	Template:Flag	Liberec	449,494	3,163	142	202,639	457,749
H	Template:Flag	Hradec Králové	555,923	4,759	117	299,250	543,106
E	Template:Flag	Pardubice	530,469	4,519	117	268,290	513,222
J	Template:Flag	Jihlava	517,647	6,796	76	241,562	474,282
B	Template:Flag	Brno	1,229,343	7,188	171	745,193	624,757
M	Template:Flag	Olomouc	631,500	5,272	120	317,890	503,709
Z	Template:Flag	Zlín	578,998	3,963	146	304,826	524,888
T	Template:Flag	Ostrava	1,182,613	5,427	218	597,665	499,813
CZ	Template:Flagu	Prague	10,909,500	78,871	138	6,786,742	634,993

Coats of arms

• Central Bohemian Region
  Central Bohemian Region
• South Bohemian Region
  South Bohemian Region
• Plzeň Region
  Plzeň Region
• Karlovy Vary Region
  Karlovy Vary Region
• Ústí nad Labem Region
  Ústí nad Labem Region
• Liberec Region
  Liberec Region
• Hradec Králové Region
  Hradec Králové Region
• Pardubice Region
  Pardubice Region
• Vysočina Region
  Vysočina Region
• South Moravian Region
  South Moravian Region
• Olomouc Region
  Olomouc Region
• Zlín Region
  Zlín Region
• Moravian-Silesian Region
  Moravian-Silesian Region

See also

• List of Czech regions by Human Development Index
• ISO 3166-2:CZ
• Královec Region