For the first time in history, the Czech Republic is richer than Italy and Spain.

It follows from 2020 data from the International Monetary Fund, processed for the FX Street server by Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist of the government’s National Economic Council.

Czechs are also happier than the French and the British.

According to data presented by FX Street, the net income of the average Czech, including children and pensioners, increased by more than 600 percent since 1989 from less than CZK 2,000 (€78.20) to more than CZK 15,000 (€587) in 2018.

The change is mainly due to the transition from a planned to a market economy after the fall of the communist regime in 1989. The first half of the 1990s was crucial, characterized by privatization, restitution, foreign owner input, and economic liberalization in general.

The past 30 years represent the most successful period in Czech history from an economic point of view. The evidence of that is the rise of the country in the Fraser Institute World Economic Freedom Index from 101st to 20th place since 1990. However, FX Street also draws attention to the pay inequality that increased after 1989, when a new elite of the wealthiest Czechs emerged.

ČR je dle MMF ekonomicky výkonnější než Itálie i Španělsko (1).
Češi jsou dle OSN spokojenější než Francouzi i Britové (2).
ČR životní úrovní utíká “eurovému” Slovensku (3) i Slovinsku (4).

Vše nejlepší k jubileu klíčovému strůjci tohoto úspěchu!
🥂#80https://t.co/2atdbIdk6c pic.twitter.com/g8GuChd5f4

— Lukáš Kovanda (@LukasKovanda) June 18, 2021

Furthermore, Czechia is the second most innovative economy of the former Eastern bloc after Estonia, according to the global innovation index.

The assessment reflects the standard of living of households, the economic performance of the country, and the societal redistribution of wealth. However, Czechia is only gradually getting closer to the most advanced economies so far. The Germans are still in the lead.

In the “satisfaction ranking”, the Czechs placed 16th, surpassing, for example, Belgians, the British, the French, and Italians. The Slovaks placed 22nd. The first three places belong to Finns, Icelanders, and Danes.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has already responded to the report.

“Congratulations and many thanks to all our citizens,” he wrote on Twitter.