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416:'s decision to adjust Soviet energy prices annually after 1974; as a result, Soviet prices approached—and eventually at times exceeded—world market prices. The adjustment improved the terms of trade of the Soviet Union at the expense of Czechoslovakia and its neighbors when world prices for many commodities, particularly crude oil, rose sharply in the middle and late 1970s. The higher prices in turn resulted in a larger return to the Soviet Union for its exports of fuels and raw materials and helped to finance expansion of Soviet production capacity. In addition, in the 1970s Comecon initiated several joint projects, such as the construction of a major natural gas pipeline from the Soviet Union to Eastern Europe and of large
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the more important flow of crude oil was likely to stagnate. In the short run, extraction of domestic coal would help
Czechoslovakia meet its growing energy needs, but the increase would be slow and costly because deeper deposits had to be mined in order to meet quotas. The fuel problem was especially acute because Czechoslovak industry had a high input of energy per unit of national income, a rate substantially higher than that of Western Europe and some of Central and East European countries (7.5 tons of standard fuel per inhabitant per year). Industrial consumption of largely imported raw materials and energy was acknowledged to be perhaps as much as 40% higher than in comparable advanced industrial countries. The
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Thus while increased Soviet fuel and raw materials export prices imposed a severe burden on
Czechoslovakia, the cost was substantially less than if the country had imported these materials from noncommunist countries. In 1980 a Czechoslovak official indicated that Czechoslovakia was paying about one-fourth the world price for its oil imports. By 1985, however, the situation had changed dramatically. In 1981 the Soviet Union had announced a 10-percent cutback in the crude oil it would deliver to Central European countries during the 1981-85 period. Subsequently—and for a variety of other reasons—world oil prices plummeted, but the Soviet price, based on the five-year formula, continued to rise.
401:
443:, a basic input for the steel industry, was more plentiful, making exports possible during the 1970s and 1980s. Deposits of nonferrous metals were limited or nonexistent. Imports supplied most of the country's needs for these metals. The country also produced limited amounts of gold and mercury. Imports supplied most of the country's needs for nonferrous metals. Czechoslovakia did supply most of its own requirements for nonmetallic minerals to support the manufacture of building materials, glass, and ceramics.
393:. Domestic crude oil sources and production were modest. Within Czechoslovakia itself, numerous small oil and gas fields had been discovered, but production was minor (about 100,000 tons of crude oil and 800 million cubic meters of natural gas in 1985). These supplied only a small fraction of the country's needs. Geological surveys largely ruled out the possibility of future discoveries of major oil or gas deposits, although one significant new source of natural gas was discovered in 1985 near
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employment in services continued to expand faster than employment in the productive sectors. The expansion placed additional constraints on industrial enterprises seeking to fill positions. Some
Western observers suggested that the labor shortage resulted in part from the tendency of many industrial enterprises to overstaff their operations.
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From 1967 to 1984, Czechoslovakia benefited additionally from a special agreement with the Soviet Union—in effect a
Czechoslovak credit from 1967—whereby Czechoslovakia received 5 million tons of Soviet crude oil a year at a late 1960s price, which was just a small fraction of the world market price.
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In 1985 Czechoslovakia's total labor force amounted to about 7.6 million persons. Of these, 46.1% were women, giving
Czechoslovakia one of the highest female labor rates in the world. Almost 88% of the population of working age (between 15 and 59 years of age for men and between 15 and 54 for women)
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in the Soviet Union did not alter the government's commitment to nuclear power, particularly since none of the existing or planned reactors used the kind of technology employed at
Chernobyl, Czechoslovak leaders acknowledged the need for a thorough review of safety measures. Subsequently a number of
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The bulk of the country's mining activity involved coal, the principal domestic energy source. In 1985 production of all coal amounted to 126.6 million tons, a 2.1% drop over 1984 that signaled the accelerating exhaustion of easily worked, high-grade reserves. In 1985 Czechoslovakia depended on coal
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In the mid-1980s, the country's leaders considered energy conservation essential. Czechoslovakia's heavy reliance on fuel imports was costly, with imports supplying 95% of the country's needs. Conservation was also essential because although Soviet supplies of natural gas were expected to increase,
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During the 1970s, the Soviet Union found it increasingly difficult and costly to meet the fuel and raw materials needs of
Czechoslovakia and other East European countries. The unexploited Soviet resources tended to be located in Siberia, where extraction and transport were difficult and costly. One
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in southern
Bohemia. Nuclear power's share of the total electricity supply increased to almost 20% in 1986. According to the long-range plan, with expansion of this power station plus construction of additional stations and the import of electricity from joint nuclear projects in the Soviet Union,
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By the mid-1980s, the labor supply was a serious problem for
Czechoslovakia. During the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1981–85), the work force increased by less than 3%. Czechoslovakia's service sectors were less developed than those of the more industrialized countries of Western Europe, and the 1980s
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In the 1980s, agricultural land constituted just under 55% of the country's total land area, and most of this land was suitable for tillage. The soil is relatively fertile in the lowlands but less productive in the mountainous regions. About one-third of the country's territory is forested. Czech
564:, redistribution of the work force, especially movement from agriculture to industry, had provided an influx of workers for the government's program emphasizing heavy industry. Women also had entered the work force in record numbers. But falling birthrates in the 1960s, noticeable first in the
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In the mid-1980s, Czechoslovakia's mineral resources were meager. The country was heavily dependent on imports of raw materials for use in industry. Deposits of ferrous metals were small and low grade. Imports, especially from the Soviet Union, supplied the dominant share of iron ore for the
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and work norms. As part of reform measures effective after 1980, incentive rewards represented a larger share of total pay than had previously been the case. Work norms also increased. Officials were clearly soliciting a greater effort from workers, in terms of both quantity and quality.
591:. The party controlled the unions, and a major task of the unions was to motivate workers to work harder and fulfill the plan goals. The unions served as vehicles for disseminating desired views among the workers. The principal activity of the trade unions was the administration of
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During the 1970s, the government introduced various measures to encourage workers to continue working after reaching retirement age, with modest success. In addition, the large number of women already participating in the work force precluded significant increases from this source.
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in the Soviet Union. The participating countries, including
Czechoslovakia, received payments in the form of natural gas and electricity. In the mid-1980s, Czechoslovakia also participated in construction of the Yamburg natural gas pipeline "Progress" in the Soviet Union.
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to which environmentalists, especially in Hungary, had objected. The completed project was expected to supply about 4% of Czechoslovak energy requirements. In 1986 the government approved plans for construction of several additional power stations on the
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special conferences were held concerning nuclear power issues. Czechoslovakia was well positioned to fuel its ambitious nuclear program; in the mid-1980s, the country was an important producer of uranium. The uranium reserves were located in the
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In the 1970s, coal production expanded. During these years, the growing need for energy was met primarily by imported oil and, from the mid-1970s, by natural gas; almost all imports of oil and gas came from the
472:. In the long run, in their judgment, nuclear power was absolutely vital to the projected energy balance. In late 1978, the first major nuclear power plant (of Soviet design) began operation at
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nuclear power would provide 30% or more of total electricity by 1990. Plans called for nuclear power to account for over 53% of electricity by the year 2000. Although the 1986
557:
was employed in 1985. About 37.4% of the work force was in industry, 13.7% in agriculture and forestry, 24.3% in other productive sectors, and 24.6% in the service sectors.
548:. In the 1980s, the authorities acknowledged the seriousness of the problem, and the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1986-1990) allocated funding to combat the pollution.
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and Váh Rivers by the end of the century. Czechoslovakia imported some electricity every year from Romania.
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forests had serious environmental problems, primarily as a result of "acid rain" pollution from
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station began test runs, and preliminary site work was underway for two more power stations, at
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for 60% of its energy consumption in contrast with 88% in 1960.
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and Plzeň, but reserves have nearly been exhausted in the 1980s.
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Czechoslovakia had significant quantities of coal and lignite.
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Hard coal suitable for extraction was present in the
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in central Bohemia, but in insignificant quantities.
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Brown coal and lignite deposits were located around
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476:. In 1985 and 1986, portions of the
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146:(1948–1990) had significant
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351:Uranium mining in Czechoslovakia
308:ores in the Slovenské Rudohorie.
646:Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
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405:Dukovany Nuclear Power Station
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412:solution to the problem was
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641:Economy of Czechoslovakia
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508:hydroelectric plants
502:Hydroelectric plants
418:nuclear power plants
407:commissioned in 1974
384:commissioned in 1972
291:Slovak Ore Mountains
219:coalfields and near
82:Government structure
524:Gabčíkovo–Nagymaros
451:Energy conservation
318:ores were found at
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581:wage scales
566:Czech lands
280:natural gas
264:Modrý Kameň
262:, and near
250:field near
168:natural gas
150:available.
62:Agriculture
635:Categories
603:References
533:Labe River
320:Kutná Hora
90:Mass media
522:River at
441:Magnetite
429:Mid-1980s
373:1970-1985
306:manganese
293:and near
246:, in the
170:from the
74:Education
70:Transport
482:Mochovce
478:Dukovany
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272:Slovakia
268:Handlová
240:Chomutov
192:forestry
98:Religion
58:Industry
50:Politics
528:Hungary
486:Temelín
414:Comecon
347:uranium
341:in the
331:mercury
324:Příbram
256:Teplice
248:Sokolov
233:Trutnov
217:Ostrava
198:power.
184:mineral
160:lignite
102:Society
54:Economy
45:History
616:.
589:unions
520:Danube
516:Vltava
366:kaolin
337:, and
302:copper
295:Prague
231:, and
229:Košice
221:Kladno
194:, and
190:land,
174:, and
152:Energy
552:Labor
395:Gbely
258:, at
254:, at
225:Plzeň
196:labor
514:and
358:salt
322:and
316:zinc
314:and
312:Lead
304:and
278:and
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244:Most
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339:tin
276:oil
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