Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry publishes updated online maps of socially excluded localities

The Czech Labor and Social Affairs Ministry has published the updated version of its online maps of socially excluded localities. The map is one of the main outputs of a research project commissioned by the ministry and performed by the GAC company.  

GAC was founded by Ivan Gabal, a sociologist who is currently an MP, and first produced an analysis of the country’s socially excluded localities in 2006. The overall number of socially excluded localities has almost doubled compared to 2006 (from 310 to 606).  

There are now more "ghettos" in all regions of the country, with the numbers in the Karlovy Vary and Moravian-Silesian Regions more than tripling. In 2006 there were between 60 000 – 80 000 people living in such localities, while today the numbers are estimated at between 95 000 – 115 000.

Gabal says the Czech Republic is beginning to look as if it is comprised of two separate states. The central and southern regions are all prospering, while the northern regions are afflicted by poverty.