How to mark our country in the heart of Europe? The topic has been addressed for many years by the state, language experts, international organisations, associations and the public. The conclusion is clear: Czechia and the Czech Republic are synonyms, in both cases they are official names. Decision on whether to use the short or long name depends on the area and whether there is an obligation attached to the state designation.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the longer name Czech Republic must be used only in official government documents, in the names of embassies, official correspondence, powers of attorney or in contractual practice, including declarations, instruments of ratification, memoranda, etc. This is based, inter alia, on the MFA's guidelines for embassies, the rest another is summarised here.
The Czechia (Česko) brand should be used in all other cases. Among other things, it is more practical for production and less formal. As a shorter version of our country's marking, it fits better, for example, on signs accompanying official meetings at the highest political level or meetings of international organizations, as well as on presentation or promotional materials such as large advertising signs with the country's marking at trade fairs. Czechia (Česko) also works better in informal communication and correspondence as well as in literary works, newspaper articles, etc. Non-ceremonial political speeches are more acceptable to the general public with Czechia, partly because they tend to be simply shorter and less distant. It is similar with the jerseys and other clothing of people representing the state in culture, science, sports and other spheres. For example, the Czech Olympic Committee has already switched to the short version Česko/Czechia. In summary: the Czechia (Česko) brand should be used for press and other materials presenting domestic achievements, history or personalities of the country. This applies to promotional printed materials and items as well as to private entities.
Consensus on country designations is very important not only for tourism. Among other things, the MFA is convening a Commission for a unified presentation of the Czech Republic abroad. It is attended by the representatives of relevant ministries, Czech Centres, the House of Foreign Cooperation, the Czech Olympic Committee, CzechInvest, CzechTrade, CzechTourism agencies and other agencies. It is there that ambiguities are discussed and harmonized and the presentation of the Czech Republic, especially abroad, is unified.
The current imaginary "herald" in the spirit of the rules set and mentioned above is the change of the name of the portal of the Czech Tourist Board (Česká centrála cestovního ruchu) from Visit Czech Republic to Visit Czechia. This should be followed up - among other things, after mutual agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Development - by rebranding promotional and information materials, including presentation at trade fairs. Always with a view to the efficient, effective and economical use of state budget resources.
For completeness: the short name of the Czech Republic, i.e. Czechia, has been part of the UN databases since 2016 (United Nations) - UNGEGN (United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names) and UNTERM (United Nations Terminology Database). And since last September, it has also been part of the European Union database. Including the language options below.
The Czechia (Česko) brand should be used in all other cases. Among other things, it is more practical for production and less formal. As a shorter version of our country's marking, it fits better, for example, on signs accompanying official meetings at the highest political level or meetings of international organizations, as well as on presentation or promotional materials such as large advertising signs with the country's marking at trade fairs. Czechia (Česko) also works better in informal communication and correspondence as well as in literary works, newspaper articles, etc. Non-ceremonial political speeches are more acceptable to the general public with Czechia, partly because they tend to be simply shorter and less distant. It is similar with the jerseys and other clothing of people representing the state in culture, science, sports and other spheres. For example, the Czech Olympic Committee has already switched to the short version Česko/Czechia. In summary: the Czechia (Česko) brand should be used for press and other materials presenting domestic achievements, history or personalities of the country. This applies to promotional printed materials and items as well as to private entities.
Consensus on country designations is very important not only for tourism. Among other things, the MFA is convening a Commission for a unified presentation of the Czech Republic abroad. It is attended by the representatives of relevant ministries, Czech Centres, the House of Foreign Cooperation, the Czech Olympic Committee, CzechInvest, CzechTrade, CzechTourism agencies and other agencies. It is there that ambiguities are discussed and harmonized and the presentation of the Czech Republic, especially abroad, is unified.
The current imaginary "herald" in the spirit of the rules set and mentioned above is the change of the name of the portal of the Czech Tourist Board (Česká centrála cestovního ruchu) from Visit Czech Republic to Visit Czechia. This should be followed up - among other things, after mutual agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Development - by rebranding promotional and information materials, including presentation at trade fairs. Always with a view to the efficient, effective and economical use of state budget resources.
For completeness: the short name of the Czech Republic, i.e. Czechia, has been part of the UN databases since 2016 (United Nations) - UNGEGN (United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names) and UNTERM (United Nations Terminology Database). And since last September, it has also been part of the European Union database. Including the language options below.
| Language | Short name |
| Czech | Česko |
| English | Czechia |
| French | Tchéquie (la) |
| Spanish | Chequia |
| Ruština | Чехия |
| Arabic | تشيكيا |
| Chinese | 捷克 |