Map of Nepal | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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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.


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Location: Southern Asia between China and India

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N 84 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Comparative: slightly larger than Arkansas

Land boundaries

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

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

Natural resources: quartz water timber hydropower scenic beauty small deposits of lignite copper cobalt iron ore

Land use

Irrigated land: 8,500 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: severe thunderstorms flooding landslides drought and famine depending on the timing intensity and duration of the summer monsoons

Geography
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks


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Population: 24,702,119 (July 2000 est.)
Growth rate: 2.34% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: 42% (1995-96 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Newars Indians Tibetans Gurungs Magars Tamangs Bhotias Rais Limbus Sherpas

Languages: Nepali (official) over 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects

Religions: Hindu 90% Buddhist 5% Muslim 3% other 2% (1981)

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.34% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 33.83 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 10.41 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes agricultural runoff and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 75.93 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 4.68 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Kathmandu

Administrative divisions: 14 zones (anchal singular and plural); Bagmati Bheri Dhawalagiri Gandaki Janakpur Karnali Kosi Lumbini Mahakali Mechi Narayani Rapti Sagarmatha Seti

Dependent areas

Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)

National holiday: Birthday of His Majesty the King 28 December (1945)

Constitution: 9 November 1990

Legal system: based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives 10 by the king and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat) chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL general secretary]; Marxist-Leninist [Sahana PRADHAM chairman Bam Dev GAUTAM general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Gajendra Narayan SINGH president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE party chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA party president Sushil KOIRALA general secretary]; Rastriya Jana Morcha [Chitra Bahadur K. C. chairman]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL general secretary]

International organization participation: AsDB CCC CP ESCAP FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Intelsat Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU MONUC NAM OPCW SAARC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOP UNMOT UNTAET UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 3.4% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: rice corn wheat sugarcane root crops; milk water buffalo meat

Industries: tourism carpet textile; small rice jute sugar and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 10 million (1996 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 81%
By occupation services: 16%
By occupation industry: 3%

Unemployment rate: NA%; substantial underemployment (1999)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 42% (1995-96 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: 16 July - 15 July

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices: 11.8% (FY98/99 est.)

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $485 million (f.o.b. 1998) but does not include unrecorded border trade with India
Commodities: carpets clothing leather goods jute goods grain
Partners: India 33% US 26% Germany 25% (FY97/98)

Imports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b. 1998)
Commodities: gold machinery and equipment petroleum products fertilizer
Partners: India 31% China/Hong Kong 16% Singapore 14% (FY97/98)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $2.4 billion (1997)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1 - 68.784 (January 2000) 68.253 (1999) 65.976 (1998) 58.010 (1997) 56.692 (1996) 51.890 (1995)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 1.17 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity consumption: 1.212 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity exports: 72 million kWh (1998)

Electricity imports: 196 million kWh (1998)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular: NA

Telephone system: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $44 million (FY96/97)
Percent of gdp: 0.9% (FY96/97)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 45 (1999 est.)

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: over approximately 96,500 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West