See also
- Czech Republic–Vietnam relations
- Chinese people in the Czech Republic
- Sapa – Vietnamese marketplace in Prague
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 70,000 [1] [a] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Prague, Cheb District [1] | |
| Languages | |
| Vietnamese, Czech | |
| Religion | |
| Vietnamese folk religion, Mahayana Buddhism, [2] Roman Catholicism, Protestantism |
Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic, including citizens and non-citizens, are the third-largest ethnic minority in the country overall (after Slovaks and Ukrainians), and the largest Asian ethnic group, numbering more than 38,000 people according to the 2021 census.
It is the third-largest Vietnamese diaspora in Europe, after Germany and France, and one of the most populous Vietnamese diasporas of the world.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 9,633 | — |
| 2001 | 17,462 | +81.3% |
| 2004 | 34,179 | +95.7% |
| 2007 | 51,159 | +49.7% |
| 2009 | 61,178 | +19.6% |
| 2014 | 56,609 | −7.5% |
| 2017 | 59,808 | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 62,842 | +5.1% |
| Source: [3] | ||
According to the 1991 census, there were 421 ethnic Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. According to the 2001 census, there were 17,462 ethnic Vietnamese in the Czech Republic. In the 2011 census, 29,660 people listed their ethnicity as Vietnamese. In the 2021 census, 31,469 people listed their ethnicity as Vietnamese, and 7,254 other people listed Vietnamese ethnicity as one of two their ethnicities (making it 38,723 people in total). [4]
Nguyen, the most common Vietnamese surname, was the 9th most common surname in the Czech Republic in 2011, when 21,020 people with this surname were registered. [5] [b]
The largest group of Vietnamese people (about 16,000, including those with temporary residence) lives in Prague. About 2,500–3,000 people are registered in each of the other largest cities in the Czech Republic – Brno, Ostrava and Plzeň. The main centre of the Vietnamese community is Cheb, with about 3,300 people. [1]
Vietnamese immigrants began settling in the Czech Republic during the communist period, when Vietnam, which sought to bolster its skilled workforce, sent students and guest workers to socialist Czechoslovakia for education and training. [6] The Vietnamese communist government was told to pay the western communist countries for their help in the Vietnam War. In lieu of money, they sent their citizens there as indentured workers for subsistence wages. Following the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia, a significant number have moved towards establishing their own businesses and integrating more broadly into society, similar to the experience of other overseas Vietnamese in Western countries. However, the small business sector remains the key economic domain of first-generation Vietnamese people in the Czech Republic. [7]
In the Czech Republic, national minorities are afforded classic national minority rights, including government funding for the protection of their language and culture. In recent years, the Vietnamese community has sought recognition as a national minority. In 2004, however, the Government Council for National Minorities, the advisory body of the Czech Government on the issues of national minorities, concluded that the Vietnamese do not constitute a "national minority", as this term only applies to indigenous minorities who have inhabited the Czech territory for a long period of time. [8] Eventually in 2013, a representative of the Vietnamese was accepted as a member of the Government Council for National Minorities, which in the absence of precise legal criteria, has been understood as an official recognition of the Vietnamese ethnic minority as a national minority by both authorities and the public. [9] [10] In Prague, which has the largest community of Vietnamese, a Vietnamese representative had been a member of the city's National Minority Council and Vietnamese had been included in Prague's policy for national minorities before this happened at the national level. [8]
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers (30,452 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec.
Demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.
The Czechs, or the Czech people, are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, history, and the Czech language.
Vietnamese Americans are Americans of Vietnamese ancestry. They comprise a major part of all overseas Vietnamese. There are approximately 2.3 million people of Vietnamese descent residing in the U.S. as of 2023.
The flag of South Vietnam was first introduced by the Provisional Central Government of Vietnam in 1948, later served as the national flag of the State of Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam from 8 March 1949 to 30 April 1975. The design consists of a yellow background with three red horizontal stripes through the middle. It is used to represent the "Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag" by Overseas Vietnamese.
Overseas Vietnamese are Vietnamese people who live outside Vietnam. There are approximately 5 million overseas Vietnamese, the largest community of whom live in the United States.
The Khmer Krom are ethnically Khmer people living in or from the Mekong Delta, the south western part of Vietnam known in Khmer as Kampuchea Krom. The Khmer Krom people are considered an the indigenous people of parts of Southern Vietnam and have the oldest extant recorded history of inhabiting in the region. In Vietnam, they are recognized as one of Vietnam's fifty-three ethnic minorities.
Vietnamese Australians are Australians of Vietnamese descent. Vietnamese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Vietnamese diaspora.
The majority of Vietnamese do not follow any organized religion, instead participating in one or more practices of folk religions, such as venerating ancestors, or praying to deities, especially during Tết and other festivals. Folk religions were founded on endemic cultural beliefs that were historically affected by Confucianism and Taoism from ancient China, as well as by various strands of Buddhism. These three teachings or tam giáo were later joined by Christianity which has become a significant presence. Vietnam is also home of two indigenous religions: syncretic Caodaism and quasi-Buddhist Hoahaoism.
The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of government in Vietnam and, in accordance with the principle of unified power, all state organs are subservient to it.
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Trans-Olza region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Trans-Olza is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It comprises Karviná District and the eastern part of Frýdek-Místek District. Many Poles living in other regions of the Czech Republic have roots in Trans-Olza as well.
Czech Republic–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. Relations have substantially deteriorated in recent years due to events such as the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russian sabotage of Czech ammunition depot in Vrbětice in 2014, poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018 and Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Greeks in the Czech Republic have a presence dating back to the 20th century. Roughly 12,000 Greek citizens, mainly from Greek Macedonia in Northern Greece, who fled from the 1946–1949 Greek Civil War were settled in several formerly German inhabited areas in Czechoslovakia.
Vietnamese people in Germany form one of the country's largest groups of resident foreigners from Asia. Federal Statistical Office figures show 103,260 Vietnamese nationals residing in Germany at the end of 2020, which is the fourth largest community from Asia excluding transcontinental, Caucusus and Middle Eastern states. Not included in those figures are individuals of Vietnamese origin or descent who have been naturalised as German citizens. Other data from 2020 shows 183,000 people of Vietnamese descent, of which 117,000 have a migration background.
The Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam is the legislative speaker of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, presiding over the National Assembly. The National Assembly is, in the words of the constitution, "the highest representative organ of the people; the highest organ of state power". This position was formerly designated as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Vietnam from 1946 to 1981.
The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants.
This article describes ethnic minorities in Czechoslovakia from 1918 until 1992.
Asian diasporas in France or French Asians consist of foreign residents and French citizens originating from Asian countries living in France. French citizens of Asian descent primarily have ancestry from the former French colonies of Indochina, as well as China or Turkey. Other Asian ethnic groups found in France include other West Asians, South Asians, Japanese, and Koreans.
Czech Republic–Vietnam relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic and Vietnam.
Filip Nguyen is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for V.League 1 club Công An Hà Nội. Born in Czechoslovakia, he represents the Vietnam national team.