Central and South-Eastern Europe 2023

0582653 - NHU-C 2024 RIV GB eng M - Monography Chapter
Filipová, L. - Pytliková, Mariola
Economy - The Czech Republic.
Central and South-Eastern Europe 2023. 23rd ed. London: Routledge, 2022, s. 182-187. ISBN 978-1-032-27316-7
Institutional support: Cooperatio-COOP
Keywords : Czech Republic * economic performance
OECD category: Applied Economics, Econometrics

Since the Czech Republic’s entry to the European Union (EU) in 2004, the country’s economy has experienced an increasing trend in convergence towards its Western counterparts. After the global financial and economic crisis during 2008–13, the Czech economy started to recover quickly, and in 2021 gross domestic product (GDP) per head, measured in purchasing-power parity terms (PPP), reached 93% of the EU average. In fact, the Czech Republic surpassed Southern European countries such as Spain and Italy in GDP per capita in terms of PPP. Since 2015 the Czech Republic has demonstrated one of the best economic performances among the EU countries, characterized by strong economic growth, low unemployment rates, the expansion of exports and a decline in government debt. The country’s GDP grew strongly, by 4.4% in 2017, 2.8% in 2018 and 2.6% in 2019. This changed, however, with the global impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in early 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of ensuing lockdowns, GDP declined sharply, by 5.8% in 2020. Economic activity decreased, mainly as a result of the restrictions on mobility and private consumption. According to the Czech Statistical Office, accommodation and hospitality, transport, tourism, retail and manufacturing were among the economic sectors most severely affected by the pandemic. These circumstances led to a rise in the household savings rate to an unprecedented level of 22%. The economy’s high dependence on external demand, which fell sharply, also contributed to the decline in economic activity. The situation was particularly damaging for the automotive industry, which was already under pressure as a result of regulatory changes (carbon dioxide emission targets for new cars).
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0350732