Czech Republic
The Czech Republic[1] (official name[2]) or Czechia[3] (short name, now officially approved by the government for use in less formal contexts[4]) (in Czech: Česká republika; short form: Česko) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders Poland to the north, Germany to the west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (in Czech: Praha). The official language is Czech[5]. The country has an area of 78 866 km² (30 450 sq mi) and 10 535 811 inhabitants (2011).
Czechia comprises the historic regions Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia.
The Czech Republic came into existence on January 1 1993 after dissolution of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (known as Czechoslovakia). It joined NATO in 1999 and has been a member state of the European Union since 2004.