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'''FIGURE 6. Age composition of the population (U/OU)'''

'''FIGURE 7. Age-sex composition of the population of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, 1972 (U/OU)'''

In 1972, 22.9% of the population consisted of persons under age 15, and 17.4% were age 60 or older. Reflecting the higher mortality rates among males, the female population had a markedly higher proportion of older members than did the male population. During the period 1950-72, the population in the working (or able-bodied) ages—16 to 59 for males and 16 to 54 for females—increased less rapidly than did that in the other two broad age groups, and therefore the working-age population declined as a share of the total. The proportion of persons under working age also declined, while the share of the population in the older ages increased sharply.

Women have outnumbered men in Czechoslovakia throughout the 20th century. In 1972 the population comprised 7,030,786 males and 7,404,827 females, a ratio of 94.9 males per 100 females. Males outnumbered females in all age groups under 30. Beginning at age 30, however, women exceeded men in all age groups, and they did so strikingly at the older ages. The deficiency of males is greater in the more urbanized Czech Lands. In 1972 the latter area had a ratio of 93.9 males per 100 females whereas Slovakia had a ratio of 97.3. The lower sex ratio in urban areas also reflects the greater opportunities for employment of females in the cities.

D. Living and working conditions (U/OU)

Living levels in Czechoslovakia are higher than those in the other European Communist countries except for East Germany, but are lower than those in the United States and many Western European countries. The industrialized western and central regions of Czechoslovakia were on economic par with neighboring Germany before World War II and suffered little damage during the war, with the result that living levels recovered rapidly to prewar levels during the late 1940's. As in the other Communist countries, however, Czechoslovak consumers were forced to lower their levels of living as the government invested the country's resources during the 1950's primarily in production of capital goods, particularly in heavy industry. In the distribution of income, both the peasants and unskilled urban laborers have been far better off than they were before the war. Conversely, most white-collar employees (including nearly all of the prewar middle class) and skilled urban workers have been considerably worse off. The most highly educated and technically skilled elements of the population have had the most reason to be discontented with their living conditions and with the inconveniences and chronic shortages which have so

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110015-7