The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe bordered by Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.
Covering 78,871 square kilometres of hilly terrain, the country has a mostly temperate continental climate. Its capital and largest city is Prague. The region underwent significant industrialisation during the 19th century and became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 following the collapse of Austria-Hungary. After decades under communist rule as part of the Eastern Bloc, the Velvet Revolution of November 1989 restored democracy. On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved into two independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Today the Czech Republic is a developed parliamentary republic and member of the United Nations, NATO and the European Union, ranking 32nd in the Human Development Index.
