Regions of the Czech Republic

This article is about current administrative division of the Czech Republic. For the traditional historical division of the country, see Czech lands.

Regions of the Czech Republic (Czech: kraje [ˈkrajɛ]; singular kraj [kraj] ) are higher-level territorial self-governing units of the Czech Republic.

Regions of the Czech Republic
Also known as: Kraje České republiky (Czech)
Category	Unitary state
Location	Czech Republic
Number	13 regions + Prague
Populations	293,064 (Karlovy Vary Region) – 1,438,364 (Central Bohemian Region)
Areas	3,163 km2 (1,221 sq mi) (Liberec Region) – 10,929 km2 (4,220 sq mi) (Central Bohemian Region)
Government	Region government, national government
Subdivisions	District

History

Historical lands and current administrative regions

See also: Administrative divisions of Czechoslovakia

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.

Czech Silesia was not divided into regions until 1783, when it was divided into two regions. From 1850, Czech Silesia formed one region.

From the 1860s to 1948, the Czech lands were divided into counties and districts. Regions were reintroduced in 1949 in Czechoslovakia. From 1949 to 1960, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was divided into the Capital City of Prague and 13 regions. In 1960–1999, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was divided into the Capital City of Prague and following 7 regions:

• Central Bohemian Region (Středočeský kraj) with the capital in Prague
• South Bohemian Region (Jihočeský kraj) with the capital in České Budějovice
• West Bohemian Region (Západočeský kraj) with the capital in Plzeň
• North Bohemian Region (Severočeský kraj) with the capital in Ústí nad Labem
• East Bohemian Region (Východočeský kraj) with the capital in Hradec Králové
• South Moravian Region (Jihomoravský kraj) with the capital in Brno
• North Moravian Region (Severomoravský kraj) 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:

• Establishment of secondary schools;
• Responsibility for hospitals and social facilities;
• Construction and repair of second and third class roads;
• Organization of integrated transport systems;
• Ordering of public intermunicipal transport;
• Protection of the nature;
• Cooperation in the distribution of EU funds within the NUTS-2 regions;
• Tasks within the integrated rescue system;
• Right to propose laws to the Chamber of Deputies and submit complaints to the Constitutional Court.

Government

Every region is governed by a regional council, headed by a governor (hejtman). Elections to regional councils take place every four years. The number of council members varies according to the population in the region and consists of 45 (population under 600,000), 55 (population 600,000–900,000) or 65 people (population over 900,000).

List of regions

Licence plate	Region	Capital	Population (2024)	Area (km2)	Pop. density (per km2)	GDP (million CZK, 2022)	GDP per capita (2022)
A	Prague		1,384,732	496	2,792	1,926,323	1,453,579
S	Central Bohemian	Prague	1,455,940	10,929	133	775,682	557,641
C	South Bohemian	České Budějovice	654,505	10,058	65	309,007	480,506
P	Plzeň	Plzeň	613,374	7,649	80	326,669	553,512
K	Karlovy Vary	Karlovy Vary	295,077	3,310	89	111,015	377,886
U	Ústí nad Labem	Ústí nad Labem	811,169	5,339	152	360,731	440,737
L	Liberec	Liberec	450,728	3,163	143	202,639	457,749
H	Hradec Králové	Hradec Králové	556,949	4,759	117	299,250	543,106
E	Pardubice	Pardubice	530,560	4,519	117	268,290	513,222
J	Vysočina	Jihlava	517,960	6,796	76	241,562	474,282
B	South Moravian	Brno	1,226,749	7,188	171	745,193	624,757
M	Olomouc	Olomouc	632,864	5,272	120	317,890	503,709
Z	Zlín	Zlín	580,744	3,963	147	304,826	524,888
T	Moravian-Silesian	Ostrava	1,189,204	5,427	219	597,665	499,813
CZ	Czech Republic	Prague	10,900,555	78,871	138	6,786,742	634,993

Coats of arms

• 
  Central Bohemian Region
• 
  South Bohemian Region
• 
  Plzeň Region
• 
  Karlovy Vary Region
• 
  Ústí nad Labem Region
• 
  Liberec Region
• 
  Hradec Králové Region
• 
  Pardubice Region
• 
  Vysočina Region
• 
  South Moravian Region
• 
  Olomouc Region
• 
  Zlín Region
• 
  Moravian-Silesian Region

See also

• List of Czech regions by Human Development Index
• ISO 3166-2:CZ
• Královec Region