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Country Resource - Czech Republic (Czechia)
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Czech Republic (Czechia)

CZ
  • Population................................................................................10,837,890 (2024 est.)
  • Population growth rate ........................................................................0.04% (2024 est.)
  • Birth rate......................................................9.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Death rate..................................................12 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Net migration rate..................................2.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
  • Ethnic groups*............................Czech 57.3%, Moravian 3.4%, other 7.7%, unspecified 31.6% (2021 est.)

* Includes only persons with one ethnicity

CIA World Factbook

A view of Prague
Profile
June 6, 2019

Migration and Integration in Czechia: Policy Advances and the Hand Brake of Populism

Since regaining its independence in 1989, the Czech Republic has transformed from a country of emigration to one of rising immigration, amid growing labor market needs. Even as Czechia received few asylum seekers during the 2015-16 European migration crisis, the country has taken a harder line on immigration, and public opinion and political stances have grown more negative towards immigrants and refugees.

Recent Activity

A celebration for the Feast of San Gennaro in New York's Little Italy
Spotlight
January 11, 2024
European Immigrants in the United States

One-tenth of all immigrants in the United States come from Europe, a vast decline from the mid-20th century, as migration within Europe has grown and more U.S. immigrants arrive from other destinations. This article provides an overview of contemporary European immigration to the United States, as a region and by top European countries of origin.

A displaced Ukrainian in Prague.
Feature
March 21, 2023
Can Czechia Capitalize on High-Skilled Immigration amid Influx of Ukrainians?

High-skilled immigration represents a potential major benefit to Czechia, which has undergone rapid economic growth since the transition from communism. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of new Ukrainians, many of whom are well educated, marks a moment for the country to re-evaluate its integration policies, as this article details.

A television with the words "Fake News."
Feature
September 8, 2022
Disinformation on Migration: How Lies, Half-Truths, and Mischaracterizations Spread

Disinformation and misinformation about migrants, refugees, and minority groups adapts to the shifting news cycle while also appealing to people’s pre-existing convictions and current worries. Events such as the war in Ukraine act as a catalyst, enabling coordinated groups to grab people’s attention, stoke fears, and in some cases even dictate political discourse. This article traces the long history of conspiracy theories around immigrants and how they spread today.

Flags of the European Union fly outside of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Feature
June 3, 2021
Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement

Between Brexit and COVID-19, Europe’s 31-country zone of free movement has been profoundly tested. Still, the area has constantly evolved over the last 70 years, to include new groups of individuals who can freely move for work, study, or leisure, as well as cover larger geographic areas. This article examines the history and challenges to free movement, a crowning success of the European project.

A view of Prague
Profile
June 6, 2019
Migration and Integration in Czechia: Policy Advances and the Hand Brake of Populism

Since regaining its independence in 1989, the Czech Republic has transformed from a country of emigration to one of rising immigration, amid growing labor market needs. Even as Czechia received few asylum seekers during the 2015-16 European migration crisis, the country has taken a harder line on immigration, and public opinion and political stances have grown more negative towards immigrants and refugees.

GermanyAfDPoster MarkusSpiske Flickr
Top Ten
December 8, 2017
Nativism Goes Mainstream, Moving the Needle on Migration Policy

In 2017, nationalists in Europe and the United States continued seizing on public concerns about immigration and diversity, making gains in pushing their agendas. While their success at the polls was mixed, nativist politicians have succeeded in reshaping broader migration debates, with growing political fragmentation and mistrust of establishment parties making it easier for them to break through.

Top Ten
December 1, 2009
Buyer's Remorse on Immigration Continues

The global recession has caused countries that once welcomed foreign workers by the tens and hundreds of thousands — particularly Spain — to rethink generous immigration policies as unemployment rates have risen.

Feature
November 5, 2009
Pay to Go: Countries Offer Cash to Immigrants Willing to Pack Their Bags

Many countries relied on low-skilled immigrant workers during good times. But Japan, Spain, and the Czech Republic have recently introduced "pay-to-go" programs to reduce the number of unemployed immigrants. MPI's Kristen McCabe, Serena Yi-Ying Lin, and Hiroyuki Tanaka, and Piotr Plewa of the European University Institute examine these programs and the larger policy questions they raise.

ez map
Profile
August 1, 2005
The Czech Republic: From Liberal Policy to EU Membership
After its independence in 1993, the Czech Republic became home to tens of thousands of economic migrants. But as Dušan Drbohlav of Charles University reports, tighter restrictions and new laws in accordance with EU standards have not resolved the problems of illegal and transit migration.
Cover image for Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine
Reports
December 2024

Exploring Refugees’ Intentions to Return to Ukraine: Data Insights and Policy Responses

The European response to displacement from Ukraine has been unprecedented. Yet as the war has stretched on, uncertainty has grown about whether and when refugees will be able to return home. This report examines a wide range of personal, host-country, and origin-country factors that contribute to refugees’ intentions to return or stay abroad, and what this means for the ongoing policy response in European host countries.

Cover image for Coordination Breakdown
Reports
March 2024

Coordination Breakdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Europe

The story of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe is chiefly one of challenges to solidarity and coordination. Cross-border movement—even within Europe’s Schengen Area—ground to a halt, and countries took varied approaches to using travel measures in an attempt to slow the virus’s spread. This report explores the pandemic’s impacts on mobility to and within Europe, its challenges to European solidarity, and lessons for future public-health crises.

Cover image for Confronting Compassion Fatigue
Reports
January 2024

Confronting Compassion Fatigue: Understanding the Arc of Public Support for Displaced Populations in Turkey, Colombia, and Europe

Large-scale displacement can trigger instability and feelings of threat in refugee host countries. But in certain cases, it can also uncover deep wells of solidarity that create space for generous policy responses. This report explores factors that can foster and erode public support for forced migrants, drawing examples from attitudes towards Syrians in Turkey, Venezuelans in Colombia, and Ukrainians in Europe.

Cover image for Expanding Protection Options?
Reports
January 2024

Expanding Protection Options? Flexible Approaches to Status for Displaced Syrians, Venezuelans, and Ukrainians

The massive and rapid displacement of Syrians, Venezuelans, and Ukrainians presented neighboring countries with an impossible task: providing legal status and assistance, even though their asylum systems lacked the capacity to handle such a large influx. This report examines the costs and benefits of the flexible approaches taken to providing status in these three cases, identifying lessons for future crises.

Cover image for Displaced Ukrainians in European Labor Markets
Reports
May 2023

Displaced Ukrainians in European Labor Markets: Leveraging Innovations for More Inclusive Integration

With millions of Ukrainians seeking safety in Europe, receiving countries are facing considerable pressure and also potential opportunities to benefit from this highly qualified population’s skills. This report explores displaced Ukrainians’ early employment outcomes, common challenges to finding jobs commensurate to their skills, and opportunities to more fully support their labor market integration.

thumb DGOverviewPolicy2014
Reports
November 2014

Aiming Higher: Policies to Get Immigrants into Middle-Skilled Work in Europe

This report is the final one in an MPI-International Labour Office series that examines the employment prospects of migrants in the EU (focusing on the case-study countries of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), as well as the effectiveness of integration and workforce development policies in helping these workers overcome barriers and ascend out of low-skilled work.
thumb DGCzechPolicy2014
Reports
October 2014

Building an Integration System: Policies to Support Immigrants’ Progression in the Czech Labor Market

This report presents an overview of Czech integration policies, with a special focus on economic integration. It focuses on policies designed to support migrants’ incorporation in the Czech labor market, and assesses the extent to which these policies facilitate migrants’ upward mobility into more skilled work.
coverthumb DG Empl Data Overview
Reports
July 2014

Moving Up or Standing Still? Access to Middle-Skilled Work for Newly Arrived Migrants in the European Union

The global economic crisis and changing migration patterns in Europe bring up questions about how well immigrants are able to find employment and progress into better jobs over time. This overview report caps a series of six country case studies evaluating the employment outcomes for foreign-born workers during their first decade in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
cover DGEmployment Czech Republic
Reports
March 2014

A Tumultuous Decade: Employment Outcomes of Immigrants in the Czech Republic

This report assesses the labor market outcomes of new immigrants in the Czech Republic, focusing on trends according to year of arrival, country of origin, gender, level of education, and sector of employment. The analysis suggests that the challenge of reducing obstacles to immigrant workers’ progression into more skilled employment are worth significant policy attention.
ImmigrantIntegration Austerity Cover
Reports
March 2011

Immigrant Integration in Europe in a Time of Austerity

The global economic downturn and rising debt levels in all European countries have put immigration at the forefront of many debates surrounding public spending. This report presents a diversity of findings with regard to European governments' responses to immigrant integration organization, financing, and programs.