Regions of the Czech Republic ( ; singular ) are higher-level territorial self-governing units of the Czech Republic.
History
thumb|280px|Historical lands and current administrative regions
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.
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. In 1960–1999, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was divided into the Capital City of Prague and following 7 regions:
- Central Bohemian Region () with the capital in Prague
- South Bohemian Region () with the capital in České Budějovice
- West Bohemian Region () with the capital in Plzeň
- North Bohemian Region () with the capital in Ústí nad Labem
- East Bohemian Region () with the capital in Hradec Králové
- South Moravian Region () with the capital in Brno
- North Moravian Region () 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. 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").
Competences
Rights and obligations of the regions include:
!Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)
!Pop. density<br/>(per km<sup>2</sup>)
!GDP<br/>(million CZK, 2022)
!GDP per<br/>capita (2022)
|-
!A
|align="left" colspan=2|
|1,397,880
|496
|2,818
|1,926,323
|1,453,579
|-
!S
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Prague
|1,466,215
|10,929
|134
|775,682
|557,641
|-
!C
|align="left"|
|align="left"|České Budějovice
|653,227
|10,058
|65
|309,007
|480,506
|-
!P
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Plzeň
|614,640
|7,649
|80
|326,669
|553,512
|-
!K
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Karlovy Vary
|293,195
|3,310
|89
|111,015
|377,886
|-
!U
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Ústí nad Labem
|808,356
|5,339
|151
|360,731
|440,737
|-
!L
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Liberec
|449,494
|3,163
|142
|202,639
|457,749
|-
!H
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Hradec Králové
|555,923
|4,759
|117
|299,250
|543,106
|-
!E
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Pardubice
|530,469
|4,519
|117
|268,290
|513,222
|-
!J
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Jihlava
|517,647
|6,796
|76
|241,562
|474,282
|-
!B
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Brno
|1,229,343
|7,188
|171
|745,193
|624,757
|-
!M
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Olomouc
|631,500
|5,272
|120
|317,890
|503,709
|-
!Z
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Zlín
|578,998
|3,963
|146
|304,826
|524,888
|-
!T
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Ostrava
|1,182,613
|5,427
|218
|597,665
|499,813
|-class="sortbottom" style="background:#cccccc; align:left"
!CZ
|align="left"|
|align="left"|Prague
|10,909,500
|78,871
|138
|6,786,742
|634,993
|}
Coats of arms
<gallery heights=70px>
Central Bohemian Region CoA CZ.svg|Central Bohemian Region
Coat of arms of South Bohemian Region.png|South Bohemian Region
Plzen Region CoA CZ.svg|Plzeň Region
Karlovy Vary Region CoA CZ.svg|Karlovy Vary Region
Usti nad Labem Region CoA CZ.svg|Ústí nad Labem Region
Liberec Region CoA CZ.svg|Liberec Region
Hradec Kralove Region CoA CZ.svg| Hradec Králové Region
Pardubice Region CoA CZ.svg|Pardubice Region
CZE Kraj Wysoczyzna COA.svg|Vysočina Region
South Moravian Region CoA CZ.svg|South Moravian Region
Olomouc Region CoA CZ.svg|Olomouc Region
Zlin Region CoA CZ.svg|Zlín Region
Moravian-Silesian Region CoA CZ.svg|Moravian-Silesian Region
</gallery>
See also
- List of Czech regions by Human Development Index
- ISO 3166-2:CZ
- Královec Region