Czech Republic

=== Education and health care ===
{{Main|Education in the Czech Republic|Healthcare in the Czech Republic|Healthcare in the Czech Republic = }}
[[File:156 Univerzita Karlova, o Karolinum (Universitat Carolina).jpg|left|thumb|The oldest part of [[Charles University]], founded in 1348]]

Education in the Czech Republic is compulsory for nine years and citizens have access to a [[Free education|free-tuition]] [[Tertiary education in the Czech Republic|university education]], while the average number of years of education is 13.1.<ref name="Sign In">{{Cite journal|title=Expansion of schooling and educational inequality in Europe: the educational Kuznets curve revisited|date=10 December 2013|url=https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-abstract/66/3/660/2364602/Expansion-of-schooling-and-educational-inequality?redirectedFrom=fulltext|doi=10.1093/oep/gpt036|journal=Oxford Economic Papers|first1=Elena |last1=Meschi |first2=Francesco|last2=Scervini|volume=66|issue=3|pages=660–680|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124101304/https://academic.oup.com/oep/article-abstract/66/3/660/2364602/Expansion-of-schooling-and-educational-inequality?redirectedFrom=fulltext|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the Czech Republic has a "relatively equal" educational system in comparison with other countries in Europe.<ref name="Sign In" /> Founded in 1348, [[Charles University]] was the first university in [[Central Europe]]. Other major universities in the country are [[Masaryk University]], [[Czech Technical University in Prague|Czech Technical University]], [[Palacký University, Olomouc|Palacký University]], [[Academy of Performing Arts in Prague|Academy of Performing Arts]] and [[University of Economics, Prague|University of Economics]].

The [[Programme for International Student Assessment]], coordinated by the [[OECD]], currently ranks the Czech education system as the 15th most successful in the world, higher than the OECD average.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |title=Range of rank on the PISA 2006 science scale |work=OECD.org |access-date=25 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229020307/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/8/39700724.pdf |archive-date=29 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> The UN [[Education Index]] ranks the Czech Republic 10th {{as of|2013|lc=y}} (positioned behind [[Denmark]] and ahead of [[South Korea]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/education-index|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104212133/http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/education-index|url-status=dead|title=Education index &#124; Human Development Reports|archivedate=4 January 2018|website=hdr.undp.org}}</ref>

Health care in the Czech Republic is similar in quality to that of other developed nations. The Czech [[universal health care]] system is based on a [[Health insurance mandate|compulsory insurance model]], with [[fee-for-service]] care funded by mandatory employment-related insurance plans.<ref name=primary>{{cite journal| pmc=1534002 | pmid=16902697 | volume=1 | title=Primary health care in the Czech Republic: brief history and current issues | journal=Int J Integr Care | page=e06 | last1=Holcik | first1=J | last2=Koupilova | first2=I | year=2000 | doi=10.5334/ijic.8 | doi-access=free }}</ref> According to the 2016 [[Euro health consumer index]], a comparison of [[healthcare in Europe]], the Czech healthcare is 13th, ranked behind [[Sweden]] and two positions ahead of the [[United Kingdom]].<ref name="EHCI 2016">{{cite web| url=http://www.healthpowerhouse.com/files/EHCI_2016/EHCI_2016_report.pdf| title=Euro Health Consumer Index 2016| publisher=Health Consumer Powerhouse| access-date=8 April 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014090901/https://healthpowerhouse.com/files/EHCI_2016/EHCI_2016_report.pdf| archive-date=14 October 2017| url-status=dead}}</ref>