The Capital City of Prague (Hlavní město Praha) is the capital of the Czech Republic and the seat of the state's highest legislative and administrative bodies.[3] It is also one of the 14 regions into which the country is divided.[2] Prague is a municipality, a district and a region at once, which sets it apart from the other regions.[2] It is surrounded on all sides by the Central Bohemian Region, whose regional authority is also based in Prague.[6]*
Location and territory
The capital covers 496 km².[3] The city centre lies at 50° 05′ 19″ N and 14° 25′ 17″ E; the Prague meridian is marked in the paving of Old Town Square near the Jan Hus Memorial.[3] The highest point is Teleček in the cadastral area of Sobín in Prague 5 (399 m above sea level), the lowest lies at Sedlec by the Vltava (177 m).[3] Elevations within the city include Bílá hora (381 m), Petřín (318 m), Děvín (310 m), Vítkov (270 m) and Vyšehrad (231 m).[3] The Vltava flows through Prague for 31 km, is 330 m wide at its widest point and has nine islands.[3]
Population
As of 31 December 2025 Prague had 1,407,084 inhabitants and was the second most populous region after Central Bohemia.[4] At the first census in 1869, 270,389 people lived within the present city limits; the 2021 census counted 1,301,432.[1] Since 2006 more children have been born in Prague than people have died, which had last happened in 1975.[1] Prague residents have the highest life expectancy of all regions; in 2024 life expectancy at birth was 84.72 years for women and 79.12 years for men.[1]
Administration and divisions
The city is headed by an elected mayor. It is governed by an assembly of 65 members, 11 of whom form the Prague City Council, and the term of office is four years.[3] The executive office is Prague City Hall.[3] For self-government Prague is divided into 57 municipal districts, and for state administration into 22 administrative districts; this arrangement has applied since 1 July 2001.[2] The municipal districts were created under a 1990 act, and the 57th district was formed in 1992 by separating part of the Troja cadastral area from Prague 7.[2] In the European statistical classification Prague is both a cohesion region at NUTS 2 level and a region at NUTS 3 level, with the code CZ010.[2]
Creation of the region
Constitutional Act No. 347/1997 Coll. created fourteen higher self-governing territorial units with effect from 1 January 2000. Thirteen of them are the newly established regions; the fourteenth is the territory of the capital city of Prague.[5] Prague had already been a separate territorial unit in the regional system of 1949 and after the territorial reform of 1960.[5]
History of the city
Prague Castle was founded in the second half of the 9th century, and under its protection the separate towns of the Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town and Hradčany grew up.[1] In 1784 they were united into a single city.[1] Josefov (1850), Vyšehrad (1883), Holešovice-Bubny (1884) and Libeň (1901) were gradually added.[1] An act of 6 February 1920 created Greater Prague by annexing 38 surrounding municipalities. Further municipalities were added in 1960, 1968 and 1970, and the last expansion came in 1974, when 30 municipalities of the Central Bohemian Region became part of Prague.[1] The historic core of 866 ha is the Prague Heritage Reserve and since December 1992 it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.[3]
Economy and transport
Prague has long produced about a quarter of Czech gross domestic product, and since 2000 services have accounted for more than 80 % of value added there.[1] According to 2024 data the metro network was 65 km long and the tram network 149 km; public transport vehicles carried 976.8 million passengers during the year.[1] The Prague Ring Road is being built around the city to divert through traffic away from built-up areas; half of it is in operation so far.[1] Václav Havel Airport Prague handled 16.4 million passengers in 2024.[1]
Pages linking here
- Central Bohemian Region
- Metro D from plans to construction
- Prague 2
- Prague Public Transit Company
- Renaming of Prague streets and squares
- Stromovka
- Vltava
- Vyšehrad