Czech Republic, Greece and

The Netherlands
By Kendall, Genaya and Hannah

Netherlands

Czech
Republic

Greece

Introduction Czech Republic

- Location: Centre of Europe
- Population: 10,516,000 people
- Area: 78 866km2
- Capital City: Prague
- Unemployment rate: 7.9%
- Currency: Czech Koruna
- Average life expectancy: 77.87 years
- Bordering countries: Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria
- Government system: Parliamentery democracy

Czech Republic
Government System
Czech Republic is a democratic society with three main branches Executive, Legislative and
Judicial.
- The Executive branch consists of the President, Prime minister and the Cabinet. The Legislative
branch or Parliament is made up of the Chamber of Deputies (200 members) and the senate (81
members).
- The Judicial branch includes the Supreme court and the Constitutional court. The President is
chosen by the Parliament and serves a five year term.
- Every citizen in the Czech Republic who is over 18 years old is entitled to vote for candidates of the
House of Parliament and the Senate.
- Members are elected as representatives of individual political parties, after their election the parties
create parliamentary clubs in the House of Parliament.
- Members are also divided into 18 Committees of the House of Parliament.
- The Senate was established in 1996. 81 senators are elected with a six-year term of office according
to the principles of the majority election system.
- Every citizen of the Czech Republic, who is entitled to vote and is at least 40 years old, can be
elected to the Senate.
- The President of the Republic is the head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces.
The President is elected by the members of Parliament and the senators during a joint meeting. A
- The

Czech Republic
Unemployment Rate
- The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic has decreased to 7.1
percent in April of 2014 from 8.34 percent in March of 2014.
- The unemployment rate averaged 5.53 percent from 1990 to 2014. The
highest it has been is 9.69 percent in January 2004.
- The lowest it has been is 0.09 in February 0f 1990.
- Unemployment Rate in Czech Republic is reported by the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs.
- In Czech Republic, the unemployment rate measures the number of
people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labor force.

Czech Republic

This graph shows how the unemployment rate in the Czech Republic has increased and decrease since July
2013.

Czech Republic
Legal system
- The Czech Republic is considered to have a fairly low crime rate, though
there is an occasional suburban burglary.
- The police attribute this to the downturn in the economy.
- Tourists are sometimes approached to buy illicit drugs; taking drugs is
against the law.
- Though casinos and gambling facilities are government regulated, some
have been associated with or attracted the interest of crime.
- Visitors are most likely to face street crime, particularly pick pocketing, this
frequently occurs in tourist locations.

Czech Republic
Resources
- Although resources are limited, the Czech Republic

produces significant quantities of bituminous, anthracite,

and brown coal.
- The Czech Republic's natural are burned to provide
energy for the country.
- Over half the country's energy needs are met by coal.
Coal use has, however, wreaked havoc on the
country's environment.
- Nuclear energy is increasing in importance as the
country works to reduce its dependence on coal and
safeguard its environment from further damage.
- Production of brown coal increased rapidly up to the
mid-20th century and remained fairly static until the
1990s.

This graph shows how much energy is

produced in certain areas of the Czech
Republic.

Czech Republic
Population
- The current population is 10,516,000 people.

- The population growth rate was estimated at -0.07 percent.

- A negative growth rate means that there are more deaths than births in the
country.
- The population of the Czech Republic is dominated by Bohemians who represent
81 percent of the population. 13 percent are Moravians and 3 percent are Slovaks.
- The remaining 3 percent are made up of Germans, Roma, Poles and Silesians.
-The Czech Republic also have a growing Vietnamese community.

Czech Republic

This graph shows how the Czech Republics population has increased and decrease since
January 2004.

Czech Republic
Education
- The Czech education system is based on a long tradition beginning
in 1774, when compulsory school attendance was instituted.
- Children begin in preschool, then move on to elementary school,
then secondary school then university.
- The classification system used in the Czech school system consists
of a scale from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) that is used to evaluate the
students work. Report cards (summary classifications) are given
for each subject halfway through and at the end of the school year.
- Children may enter preschool before they begin compulsory
elementary education. Preschool enrollment is guaranteed for
children in their last year before entering elementary school, but
they often attend as early as 4 years of age.
- Czech elementary education takes nine years, usually from the
ages of 6 to 15.

A typical Czech classroom.

Conclusion - Czech Republic

To conclude, living in the Czech Republic would be both a good but bad country to
live in. It has a low unemployment rate, a well organized legal system, it is a safe
country with a low crime rate, it has a high life expectancy, it has a reasonable life
satisfaction score, a high adult literacy rate, a strong economy and they have a well
structured education system. However; the country has a bad population growth
rate that means there are more deaths than births in the country. The climate in the
Czech Republic can be quite extreme in winter, the temperature can get as low as 11 degrees Celsius, that will be a dramatic change for Australians as our winter
does not bring us snow or extremely low temperatures. In summer there are often
big thunderstorms that cause extreme flooding and summer can often bring heat
waves. Only 27 percent of the population speak English but it is more commonly
spoken amongst younger people. Most of the populations religions are not common
in Australia, that might cause some problems as some people can be quite
defensive with religions. Living in the Czech Republic will be a big change as we
will have to adapt to an extremely cold climate, learn how to speak Czech so we
can get around and possibly change our religion.
Back To

Map

Greece The picturesque holiday destination, but is it really the ideal place to live?

Introduction - Greece

Capital City: Athens

Population: 10,775,557
Area (sq. km.): 131,957 sq. km
GDP (PPP) per capita: $23,600
Adult Literacy: 98% (male); 96% (female)
Life Expectancy: 77 (male); 83 (female)
Currency: Euro
Unemployment Rate: 27.9%
Did you know?: The first ever Olympics were
held in Olympia (Greece) in 776 BC, and the
first ever modern Olympics were also held in
Greece, in Athens, in 1896 .

Greece - Education
Inquiry Question: How good is Greece's standard of education and reputation and
where does it rank in comparison to the world?

Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Education Rankings 20092010Rank

Score
OECD Average
Reading (Overall) 483

31/65

493

Mathematics

466

39/65

496

Science

470

40/65

501

This table shows Greeces education performance across three core areas of learning, when compared to countries around the
world. By interpreting this data it can be seen that Greece performs at a below-average level of education.

Greece - Education
Inquiry Questions: How expensive is schooling in Greece? What kinds of opportunities after
graduating school does Greece provide, eg. University?

Education free and compulsory

Required to attend school ages 6-15

Large majority of primary and secondary schools public (state); often

have insufficient and inadequate facilities
Very difficult to attain place in university, as education is free and there
is a lot of competition for the limited places in Greek universities
Many institutions of higher learning including general universities, 6
specialized universities (eg. Agriculture and Fine Arts) and a naval
academy.

Literacy ranking (age 15 and over can readand write): Total: 97.3%,
Female: 96.3%, Male: 98.4%

A typical Greek classroom

Greece - Health
Inquiry Question:How effective is Greece's health system and where does it rank in
comparison to the world? How are Greece's medical services rated for quality and
consistency?

Greece - Health
Inquiry Question: What requirements are there to get medical protection/care in Greece? What
type of health insurance, if any, does the government provide to Greek people? What are the
benefits/ inclusions to Greek public health care?

Health care cost lowest among EU countries

Many Greeks have been calling for country to improve and reorganise healthcare system, as faces serious
structural problems, regarding organisation, financing, funding and delivery and distribution of services.
Health insurance is compulsory and covers all persons working in Greece, as well as immigrants who are
employed and pay regular contributions to social security.
Insurance from private companies not compulsory, although many Greeks choose to pay extra, because of
poor services offered by some state healthcare systems.
Benefits of health insurance - pharmaceutical, hospital and dental care, emergency care, medical-related
appliances or devices and dental and eye treatments

Greece - Health

Inquiry Question:On an average, how healthy is Greece as a nation?

This graph
shows that
Greeces life
expectancy
is ranked
one of the
highest
among
other OECD
countries.
Greeces
average life
expectancy
is 80.8 years
(81 years).

This graph
shows the
percentage of
adults in a
country that
consider
themselves in
good health.
Again, Greece
is ranked highly
among other
OCED countries
with 76.4% of
adults
reporting to be
in good health.

Greece Cost of living

Inquiry Question: Compared to Australia, how much does it cost to live in Greece? What
is Greeces cost of living? How is Greeces cost if living affected by its average monthly
wage/salary? How is a person living in Greeces average wage distributed amongst
monthly expenses?

Greece - Economy

Inquiry Questions: Is Greece a wealthy country or a country ridden in debt? What kind of economy
does Greece have - is it stable, in debt, or climbing? What is Greece's GDP and how does it compare
with other countries? What are Greece's main industries and how do they affect the GDP?

Greeces economy fell into recession and collapsed in 2009

By end of 2013, economy had contracted by a quarter,
unemployment had hit almost 27% (the highest in Europe) and
tax income and profit continued to decline.
GDP (PPP) in billions: $280.8
GDP (PPP) per capita: $25,100
GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
- agriculture: 3.5%
- industry: 16%
- services: 80.5%

GDP - composition by sector

Agriculture

Industry

3.5%

Services

16%

80.5%

Greece - climate

Inquiry Questions: What type of climate does Greece have? How diverse is Greece's climate and
how similar is this to Australias? What is the weather like in Greece's summers and winters? What
kind of clothes are appropriate for Greece's winters and summers?

Mediterranean Climate hot dry summers and mild, rainy winters

Climate varies sharply between mountainous interior and coastal regions
Short Spring; moderate temperatures, Summer; long, hot, Autumn; average temperature, higher than
Spring, Winter; mild, rainy.

Along coasts and islands summer temperatures average around 27C (mid-20s mid-30s) and winter
temperature rarely drop below 10C.
Summer clothing: hats, sufficient sun protection, light clothing, summer dresses and linen shorts/trousers
Winter clothing: warm jackets are essential

Greece The picturesque holiday destination, but is it really the ideal place to live?

Conclusion - Greece
In conclusion, Greece is both a suitable and unsuitable country for an Australian family to migrate to. It has a low cost of
living, high life expectancy, low healthcare cost, good health system, a high adult literacy rate and a reasonable education
system, with many options for higher education. Also, Greece has a warm, easy to adapt to and similar style climate to
Australia. On the contrary; Greece is a politically and economically instable country with a collapsed economy that is in the
middle of a recession. The unemployment rate is the highest in Europe standing at 28% and it has a low GDP per capita and
average monthly disposable salary. Greece has a low life satisfaction score of 4.7 out of 10, one of the lowest in Europe. 99% of
the population speak Greek, with a some knowing basic English, especially within the business community. Despite this to
move permanently to Greece, you would have to learn at least the basics of the Greek language. All in all, Greece would be a
relatively easy country for an Australian family to adapt and migrate to, although chances of finding work and having a high
income are incredibly low. But, when compared to Australia on a whole, Greece is definitely not a suitable country to migrate
to, because of its collapsed economy, political instabilities, high unemployment rate, low income rate and a below-average
education system. Greece - The picturesque holiday destination, but is it really the ideal place to live?

Back To Map

Introduction - Netherlands
Location: Western Europe
Bordering: The North Sea between Belgium and Germany
Capital City: Amsterdam
Population: 16 366 134
Land mass: 41 543 sq km
Unemployment rate: 6.8%
60% of population lives at or below sea level
Currency: Euro

Netherlands
Education
- Children living for long time mandatory to attend school
- Children must go from ages 5-16
- Almost all children are at school from age 4
- When parents allow (repeatedly) for their kids to miss school they can be
prosecuted
- Parents and young people over age 12 can be fined or jailed for this circumstance
- Every child in The Netherlands receives free schooling until age 16
- When child reaches age of 16 if diploma not obtained, they must train for a
qualification
- In Dutch secondary school students are divided based on ability

Netherlands

Netherlands

A typical Dutch Classroom

Netherlands
Employment
Despite being amongst the smallest countries in Europe, the Netherlands
has always maintained a strong economy.
Unemployment Rate: 6.8%
Plenty of career paths along with high standards of living.
The largest sector in the Netherlands is business services.
80% of the Dutch workforce is in services.
Involved in areas such as transportation and financial and business
services. (vital parts of Dutch work)
Agriculture and food play vital parts in Dutch economy, with the
Netherlands exporting three-quarters of its agricultural produce.

Netherlands

Netherlands
Condition of Living
Current population 16 366 134
Over half of population living at or below sea level
41 000 square kilometres
Due to high population density they have claimed land from sea
Flevoland was created between 1927 and 1968
Currently houses 350 000 people

Netherlands
Religion
Most of Netherlands is non religious (48%)
27% Roman Catholic
16% are Protestant
6% are Islamic
2% are other religions
1% are Christians

Netherlands

Netherlands
Climate
In Northern Hemisphere seasons are opposite
Average temperature in coastal region is 1-5 Degrees in
January(Winter) and 14 -21 Degrees in July (Summer)
Average temperature in central region is -1 to 4 degrees in January
(Winter) and 13 to 22 degrees in July (summer)
Temperate cool summers
Mild winters

Netherlands

Netherlands
Natural Disasters
Most common is flooding
Dikes and canals keep Netherlands from flooding
Many floods many human victims
1953 one of worst floods
Huge pumping stations pump out unnecessary water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXUgXehf-uI#t=13

Conclusion - Netherlands
To conclude, I think that the Netherlands would be a great place for an
Australian family to live because it has a very low unemployment rate,
good living conditions and a high life expectancy rate of 81.20. The
schooling is of very high standards and there are many different
religious groups for people to join if they are religious. The climate may
be hard for some to adapt to at first. The climate would probably be
the biggest change for Australians because in some places like
Queensland people are not as used to cooler weather. The Netherlands
also has a relatively good life satisfaction score and an almost perfect
Adult Literacy Rate. Although most of the Dutch people speak some
sort of English it is still recommended that you learn the Basics of the
Dutch language.
Back To Map

Comparison

Czech Republic

Greece

Netherlands

Australia

Unemployment Rate

7.1%

27.9%

6.8%

5.7%

Life Expectancy

78.31
99%

80.3
97.3%

81.20
99%

82.07
99%

$26 300

$23 600

$41 400

$43 000

$1 020.48

$1 037.13

$2 937.58

$3 780.69

Health Expenditures per capita

$1 511

$2 547

$3 481

$3 119

Life Satisfaction Score (out of

10)

6.7

4.7

7.4

7.4

Adult Literacy Rate

GDP per capita (PPP)
Average Monthly Disposable
Salary (After Tax)

Conclusion
To sum up, we have agreed that the Netherlands would be the most liveable and most suitable country for an Australian family to migrate
to. By using the data on the comparison table, combined with our own country's research and information we have come to a the
conclusion of this. The Netherlands has a low unemployment rate, making it easier to find work in the country for immigrants, good living
conditions, a high life expectancy, a high monthly income, a strong economy and a near perfect adult literacy rate. The nation also has an
excellent standard of education and a high-quality health system. The only negative aspect of the Netherlands is its climate. The climate is
quite different to what many people experience in Australia, especially people who come from warmer places such as Queensland, Western
Australia and the Northern Territory. The Netherlands climate is much on the cooler, more mild side, with temperatures that can be as low
as 0C in the winter. When compared to Greece and the Czech Republic, the Netherlands is clearly much more liveable. In the Czech
Republic there is a negative population growth rate, implying there is more deaths than births. Also, the climate in the Czech Republic can
be quite extreme in winter, the temperature can get as low as -11 degrees Celsius. Greece's climate would be the easiest to adapt to for an
Australian family, but Greece is a country with major economic and political problems. It has the worst and highest unemployment rate in
Europe and has a below-average level education system that is going from bad to worse. All in all, the Netherlands is definitely the most
suitable country for an Australian family to migrate to for all these reasons.

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