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Background
In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. The refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved; 90% of these displaced persons are housed in seven United Nations Offices of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps.
Geography
Location
Southern Asia, between China and India
Geographic coordinates
28 00 N, 84 00 E
Area
total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km
water: 4,000 sq km
slightly larger than Arkansas
Border countries
China, India
Climate
varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south
Terrain
Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Natural resources
quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Land use
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 42%
other: 26% (1993 est.)
Note
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks
People
Population: 25,284,463 (July 2001 est.)
Population growth rate
2.32% (2001 est.)
Birth rate
33.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate
10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate
74.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 58.22 years
male: 58.65 years
female: 57.77 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.)
Nationality
noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese
Ethnic groups
Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995)
Religions
Hinduism 86.2%
Buddhism 7.8%
Islam 3.8%
other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995)
Languages
Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 27.5%
male: 40.9%
female: 14% (1995 est.)
Government
Country name
conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal
Government type
parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Capital
Kathmandu
Independence
1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
National holiday
Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946)
Economy
Overview
Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past three years. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements in order to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth.
GDP by sector
agriculture: 41%
industry: 22%
services: 37% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line
42% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate
3.3% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 10 million (1996 est.)
agriculture: 81%
services: 16%
industry: 3%
note: severe lack of skilled labor
Unemployment rate
Not Applicable
Communications
Telephones: 236,816 (January 2000)
Mobile Phones: Not Applicable
Radios: 840,000 (1997)
Televisions: 130,000 (1997)
Internet users: 35,000 (2000)
Transportation
Railways: total: 59 km
Highways: total: 13,223 km
Waterways: None
Airports: 45 (2000 est.)
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