Statistická ročenka Olomouckého kraje

Characteristics of the Olomoucký Region

The Olomoucký Region is located in the central part of Moravia and extends also to its northern part. As for the territory administration it forms together with the Zlínský Region the area of Central Moravia (NUTS 2). It consists of five districts (Jeseník, Olomouc, Prostějov, Přerov and Šumperk). Since 1 January 2005 3 municipalities from the Moravskoslezský Region were attached to the Olomoucký Region. On the territory of the Olomoucký Region the following were established: 13 administrative districts of municipalities with extended competence and 20 administrative districts of municipalities with commissioned local authority. The Olomoucký Region borders in the north with Poland (the border is 104 km long), in the east it borders with the Moravskoslezský Region, in the south with the Zlínský Region and Jihomoravský Region and in the west with the Pardubický 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).

As at 31 December 2005, the total area of the Region amounted to 5,266.78 sq km (i.e. 6.7% of the entire area of the Czech Republic). The share of arable land is decreasing every year (39.9%) and that of non-agricultural land is increasing (46.5%).

Population of the Olomoucký Region lives in 397 municipalities of which 27 have a status of town. In these towns, 57.5% of population live. The statutory town is the Olomouc regional city, which had as at 31 December 2005 100,381 inhabitants. Most municipalities (90.2%) are connected to the public water supply, one third of the municipalities (41.6%) have a sewerage connected to the sewerage plant. Gas is supplied to 87.2% 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.

Due to territorial changes population of the Region totalled 639,161 inhabitants, i.e. 6.2% of the CR's population as at 31 December 2005. With the number of inhabitants per square kilometre (121.4) the Region is close to the national average (130.0 persons per sq km). There are, of course, differences within the Region: the lowest population density is in the Jeseník District (58.3 persons per sq km) and Šumperk District (95.0 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 births has been increasing (6 183 in 2005) however it does not exceed the number of deaths (6 479 in 2005), the number of children aged 0-14 is decreasing (14.7% from the total number of population as at 31 December 2005), while number of population aged 65+ is increasing (14.2% from total population as at 31 December 2005); thus, the average age of population is increasing (39.8 years as at 31 December 2005). Also average age of grooms is increasing (29.0 years in 2005) as well as of brides (26.5 years in 2005) at first marriage, number of children born out of marriage is also increasing (31.2% in 2005) and more than a half of deaths (50.8% in 2005) 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 2005 in total 314.2 thousand economically active population aged 15+, of which 282.8 thousand were employed and 31.4 thousand unemployed. Namely due to the different survey methodology, the general unemployment rate (ILO) was 10.0%. It was lower than the registered unemployment rate as at 31 December 2005, which reached 10.6% according to the register of labour offices. 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.

Total value of social benefits paid in the Region in 2005 reached 2,203 million CZK (6.7% of total amount drawn from accounts of state social benefit for the entire CR). 164,814 people were receiving pensions in December 2005; the average pension was 7,421 CZK. In the Olomoucký Region 224,518 persons were the sickness insured in 2005 and 1,698.8 million CZK was paid at sickness insurance benefits. Number of new cases of incapacity for work was 153,931. In 2005 in the Olomoucký Region patients were taken care about in 9 hospitals, 13 specialized therapeutic institutions and other health establishments by 2,564 physicians and 6,421 paramedical workers. Care of patients of the top quality level is provided most of all in the teaching hospital in Olomouc, 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 352 nursery schools, 280 basic schools, 20 grammar schools, 46 secondary technical schools, 37 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 17,000 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 4.9% of the total GDP of the CR in 2005, which is only 78.1% per capita of the national average, i.e. the worst position among all the regions. The average monthly wage of employees in businesses that have their seat of business in the Olomoucký Region and have more than 20 employees reached 16 193 CZK per natural person in 2005.

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 2005, agricultural and forestry businesses with 20+ employees had 9,111 employees and their average wage was 13,291 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 2005, 160 industrial enterprises with 100 and more employees had their seat in the Olomoucký Region. These enterprises employed 53,355 employees with the average wage of 16,390 CZK and their sales of own goods and services incidental to industry reached 87,264 million CZK.

In 2005, 133 construction enterprises with 20+ employees had their seat in the Olomoucký Region; they employed 8,957 employees with an average monthly wage of 19,392 CZK. Performance value of these enterprises from construction activity made according to supply contracts reached 17,310 million CZK. In 2005, construction of 1,760 new flats started; people rather modernise the current dwelling stock (in 2005 modernisation was completed in 2,747 flats). Related to that is also a decrease of the number of issued construction permits (8,492 in 2005).

The statistical Business register had over 129 thousand businesses, organisations and entrepreneurs in the end of 2005. Most of them were private entrepreneurs registered according to the trade law (74.0%) and business companies (6.8%).

Transport accessibility of the Region is provided by 613 km of railways and 3,563 km of roads, of which only 12.2% are firsts class roads. Important rail junctions are in Olomouc and Přerov; dense railway network is spread equally all over the Region´s territory. Road network is, of course, denser in the southern flat part of the Region. Near to the city of Olomouc there is an airport for small airliners, which obtained status of an international airport.

In the Region, 14,841 crimes were committed, of which 7,587 were solved. In 2005, 9,962 road accidents took place, in which 69 people died and 1,796 were injured; 11 people died and 51 were injured in 1,137 fires.

The Olomoucký Region belongs to regions with the smallest number of accommodation establishments. As at 31 December 2005 accommodation services were provided in 345 collective accommodation establishments, which are placed primarily in the Jeseník District and the Šumperk District that are most visited by tourists. 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.