Czech Republic

Brno is the second-largest city in the Czech Republic and the historic capital and administrative center of Moravia.

The Pilsen region lies on the southwest border of the Czech Republic, adjacent to Germany. The city of Pilsen, one hour from Prague and about 30 miles from the German border, is the economic and cultural capital of the region. A historic center of beer production, the city of Pilsen has a population of about 169,000—roughly one-third of the entire region’s population of 575,000.

Prague, a storied city, has emerged as the 21st century political, cultural and business capital of the Czech Republic. With a metropolitan area population of about 1.3 million, Prague is an important consumer economy. Prague accounts for nearly one-quarter of the Czech economy’s total output, and Prague’s GDP per capita is more than twice the average of the rest of the Czech Republic.

Since the end of the Cold War, the Czech Republic has modernized and become tightly integrated with the economy of Europe, especially  Germany’s.