Statistická ročenka Olomouckého kraje

Characteristics of the Olomoucký Region

As for geography, the Region is divided to the northern mountainous part (the Jeseníky mountains with the highest point Praděd 1 492 m above sea level), while the southern part of the Region consists of the Haná lowland. The Morava River flows through the Region's territory; on its water level near to Kojetín in the Přerov District the lowest point of the Region lies (190 m above sea level). The Olomoucký Region offers a great variety of natural points of interest. Many tourists visit the Protected landscape area of the Jeseníky mountains with the largest Moravian peatbog Rejvíz and High Waterfall (Vysoký vodopád), which is 45 m high, water reservoir and the Dlouhé Stráně power plant on the top of a hill and other scenic places. Interesting are also floodplain forests in the Protected landscape area Litovelské Pomoraví with many endangered kinds of plants and animals. There are also many caves in the Olomoucký Region: Javoříčko Caves (Javoříčské jeskyně), Mladeč Caves (Mladečské jeskyně) and Zbrašov aragonite caves (Zbrašovské jeskyně).

Total area of the Region is 5,158.75 sq km, which is 6.5% of the total territory of the Czech Republic. The non-agricultural land with high percentage of forestland prevails in the Jeseník District and Šumperk District (52.1%), while the land of the Prostějov District, Přerov District and Olomouc District is used mainly for agriculture - arable land is prevailing (62.8%).

Population of the Olomoucký Region lives in 394 municipalities of which 26 have a status of town. In these towns, 57.9% of population live. The statutory town is the Olomouc regional city, which had as at 31 December 2002 101,624 inhabitants. Most municipalities (88.1%) are connected to the public water supply, one third of the municipalities (32.0%) have a sewerage connected to the sewerage plant. Gas is supplied to 83.0% of municipalities. What still remains unsolved is the anti-floods protection so that the situation from 1997 cannot repeat (in that year Moravia suffered from devastating floods). Values of specific emissions do not reach the average values of the CR, so the environment can be marked as the less damaged. Mountain areas and foothills have excellent air quality and are important sources of drinking water.

Since 1994 the population of the Olomoucký Region has been decreasing. It was caused primarily by low number of births (5,667 in 2002) and higher number of deaths (6,680 in 2002) and during the last two years also by the higher number of persons who moved out (4,829 in 2002), which is less than those who moved in (4,218 in 2002). As at 31 December 2002 population of the Region totalled 636,750 inhabitants, i.e. 6.2% of the CR's population. With the number of inhabitants per square kilometre (123.4) the Region is close to the national average (129.4 persons per sq km). There are, of course, differences within the Region: the lowest population density is in the Jeseník District (58.8 persons per sq km) and Šumperk District (95.7 persons per sq km). The same as in the entire CR also in the Olomoucký Region the following tendencies can be observed: during the past few years the number of children aged 0-14 was decreasing (15.8% from the total number of population as at 31 December 2002), while number of population aged 65+ is increasing (13.7% from total population as at 31 December 2002); thus, the average age of population is increasing (39.0 years as at 31 December 2002). Also average age of grooms is increasing (27.6 years in 2002) as well as of brides (25.3 years in 2002) at first marriage and number of marriages is decreasing (3,009 in 2002), while number of divorces is increasing (1,866 in 2002). Increasing is also number of children born out of marriage (25.0% in 2002) and more than a half of deaths (52.3% in 2002) are caused by diseases of circulatory system.

The Czech Statistical Office has been carrying out labour force sample surveys already for many years in the households of respondents. According to this survey, which complies with definitions and recommendations of the International Labour Organisation, the Olomoucký Region had in 2002 in total 317.3 thousand economically active population aged 15+, of which 286.8 thousand were employed and 30.5 thousand unemployed. Namely due to the different survey methodology the general unemployment rate (ILO) was 9.6% and it was lower than the registered unemployment rate as at 31 December 2002, which reached according to the register of labour offices 12.2%. However, these unemployment rates place the Olomoucký Region together with Ústecký Region and Moravskoslezský Region among regions with the highest unemployment rate in the Czech Republic.

Unfortunately, also another indicator of unemployment, namely the average monthly wage of employees in businesses that have their seat in the Olomoucký Region and more than 20 employees is the lowest in the entire Czech Republic; it reached in 2002 per natural person 13,373 CZK while in the Jeseník District the average monthly wage (11,910 CZK per natural person) was the lowest of all districts. According to an extraordinary survey of social situation of households that was carried out in 2001, the Olomoucký Region had the highest share of households with their income lower than the determined monthly subsistence level (5.9% of households) in the entire CR and income of more than half of households (61.6% households) in the Region was lower than double the monthly subsistence level. Total value of social benefits paid in the Region in 2002 reached 2,320.2 million CZK (6.9% of total amount drawn from accounts of state social benefit for the entire CR). In December 2002 160,261 people were receiving pensions. The average pension is 6,575 CZK, which is the second lowest among the districts of the CR. In the Olomoucký Region 230,288 persons were the sickness insured in 2002 and 1,798.7 million CZK was paid at sickness insurance benefits. Number of new cases of incapacity for work was 190,704; every year the average time of lasting of an individual case of incapacity for work is increasing (32.7 days in 2002). In 2002 in the Olomoucký Region patients were taken care about in 10 hospitals, 11 specialized therapeutic institutions and other health establishments by 2,535 physicians and 6,855 paramedical workers. Care of patients of the top quality level is provided most of all in the teaching hospital at the Palacký University in Olomouc (Univerzita Palackého), which is equipped with the most modern medical technology and has a large scientific and training background. Health care is provided also in many spa establishments that are placed all over the region, well known are, for example, spas in Jeseník, Velké Losiny, Teplice nad Bečvou, Slatinice, Skalka, etc. The network of school establishments consists of 422 nursery schools, 296 basic schools, 20 grammar schools, 47 secondary technical schools, 41 secondary vocational schools, 7 higher schools. The second oldest university in the Czech Republic - the Palacký University (Univerzita Palackého) is the centre of education. Over 13,000 students study at its faculties of natural sciences, pedagogy, medicine, philosophy, law, theology and sports.

As for economy, the Olomoucký Region is an industrial area with developed services. Economy of the districts of Haná is more stable and diverse enough, however, the Jeseník District and northern part of the Šumperk District due to their position, transport accessibility and disturbance of social and economic life after the Second World War (displacement of German population) belongs to economically weaker regions. The gross domestic product of the Olomoucký Region amounted to 4.8% of the total GDP of the CR in 2001, which is only 77.3% per capita of the national average, i.e. the worst position among all the regions.

Southern and central parts of the region belong to areas with the most fertile land. Crop yields - barley, wheat, rape and industrial sugar beet - reach the highest amounts of the entire CR. Unfavourable weather during the last years as well as unsuitable economic conditions for entities dealing with agriculture cause an every year decrease of the number of employees in agriculture and their average wages also belong to the lowest among individual branches. In 2002 agricultural businesses with 20+ employees had 9,961 employees and their average wage was 11,232 CZK.

Many traditional industrial enterprises are doing their business in the Olomoucký Region. Agricultural production is followed by many food enterprises; developed are textile and clothing industry, manufacture of machinery, optics and optic equipment and many others. In 2002, 147 industrial enterprises with 100 and more employees had their seat in the Olomoucký Region. These enterprises employed 51,770 employees with the average wage of 13,759 CZK. Revenues of these enterprises from sales of own goods and services from industrial activity reached 65,201 million CZK.

In 2002, 115 construction enterprises with 20+ employees had their seat in the Olomoucký Region; they employed 8,800 employees with an average monthly wage of 15,454 CZK. Performance value of these enterprises from construction activity made according to supply contracts reached 11,579 million CZK. In 2002 an extraordinary survey was carried out among natural persons doing their business in construction and having no employees. In the region there were found out 5,541 business entities the income of which reached 1,707 million CZK. Despite that, construction of new flats has been decreasing over the last five years (in 2002 construction of 1,532 new flats started); people rather modernise the current dwelling stock (in 2002 modernisation was completed in 2,172 flats). Related to that is also a decrease of the number of issued construction permits (8,788 in 2002). In 2002 investors with their seat on the territory of the Region (without businesses with less than 20 employees, budget organisations, municipalities, districts and regions) made tangible investments and intangibles in the value of 14,200 million CZK (3.7% of the total amount for the entire CR).

The statistical Business register had in 2002 almost 123 thousand businesses, organisations and entrepreneurs. Most of them were private entrepreneurs registered according to the trade law (75.6%) and business companies (6.3%).

Transport accessibility of the Region is provided by 744 km of railways and 3,461 km of roads, of which only 11.6% are firsts class roads. Important rail junctions are in Olomouc and Přerov; dense railway network is spread equally all over the Region´s territory; its density is 0.14 km per square kilometre, which is higher than that of the entire CR (0.12 km per sq km). Road network is, of course, denser in the southern flat part of the Region. Connection of central parts of the Region with the Jeseník District is insufficient; it is ensured only by two mountain passes: Červenohorské sedlo and Ramzovské sedlo. Near to the city of Olomouc there is an airport for small airliners, which obtained status of an international airport.

As for the number of crimes per 1,000 inhabitants the Olomoucký Region had the third lowest value (25.9%) after the Vysočina Region and the Zlínský Region in 2002. There were committed 16,535 crimes of which 8,919 were solved. In 2002, 9,089 road accidents took place, in which 91 people died and 1,933 were injured; 6 people died and 55 were injured in 1,045 fires.

The Olomoucký Region belongs to regions with the smallest number of accommodation establishments. According to the most recent survey of the branch of hotels and restaurants in 2001, accommodation services were provided in 728 establishments, which are placed primarily in the Jeseník District and the Šumperk District that are most visited by tourists. As for the number of beds in accommodation establishments per 1,000 inhabitants of the Region (37.3) the Olomoucký Region is the smallest in the entire Czech Republic. The Region offers many establishments to entertain tourists. In addition to many natural beauties there is also a lot of historical monuments such as castles (Bouzov, Helfštýn, Šternberk) and chateaux (Úsov, Tovačov, Velké Losiny, Jánský vrch, Náměšť in the Haná area), tens of museums and galleries. Most visited is mainly the regional city of Olomouc with the second largest urban conservation area, which preserves a large set of buildings that are important for their historical, architectonic or artistic value and are located on a preserved medieval pattern of the town. The most important monument in Olomouc is a baroque Column of the Holy Trinity on the central square, which joined the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. Olomouc has also many churches and in the parks flower and plants exhibitions take place (Flora Olomouc - International Flower Exhibition). Near to Olomouc there is a well-known Pilgrimage Church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary (Basilica Minor) on Svatý Kopeček (The Holy Hill) and a zoological garden, which participates within the European salvage programme in salvage of many endangered species of animals. One of the most picturesque ethnographic areas in the CR is Haná with its characteristic costumes, dialects, dances and songs. Tens of ethnographical and dance groups take care of preservation of folkways at Haná; folklore shows and festivals are organised in Náměšť, Prostějov, Kojetín and other places of the Region. In the Olomoucký Region there are also many opportunities to go in for sports. Already 1,500 km of cycle tracks were marked; they are connected to two international long-distance cycle tracks - the Jantarová (Amber) cycle track (which connects Vienna, Brno, Ostrava and Krakov) and the Moravian cycle track (connecting Bratislava, Uherské Hradiště, Jeseník and Wroclav). For water sports many modern swimming pools, natural open-air pools and a dam in Plumlov can be used. In the towns of Prostějov and Přerov one can find well-known tennis centres. Fitness, aerobic and riding centres are placed all over the Region; many places for bowling and squash are emerging. Many visitors are attracted to see special quality hill-climb racers at Ecce Homo in Šternberk. Football and ice hockey matches can be seen at well-equipped playgrounds and winter stadiums that visitors can find all over the Region. For winter sports many downhill courses and pistes are prepared in the Jeseníky mountains in the following well-known areas: Červenohorské sedlo, Petříkov, Ostružná, Ramzová and many others. Many tourists visit Jeseníky for its beautiful nature also in other seasons.

The Olomoucký Region is a region with rich history, varied and colourful nature, many cultural, sports and recreational opportunities. The Region's economy focuses on traditional agriculture, processing industry and services. Conditions for further development of the Region are its suitable position, transport accessibility, developed infrastructure, enough qualified labour force and entry of foreign investors. Many long-term strategic plans being realised, the economic situation of the Olomoucký Region gradually improves and the growing tendency is to continue also in the following years.