Map of Nepal | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: In 1951 the Nepali 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. An insurgency led by Maoist extremists broke out in 1996. The ensuing 10-year civil war between rebels and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and assumption of absolute power by the king. Several weeks of mass protests in April 2006 were followed by several months of peace negotiations between the Maoists and government officials and culminated in a November 2006 peace accord and the promulgation of an interim constitution. Following a nationwide election in April 2008 the newly formed Constituent Assembly (CA) declared Nepal a federal democratic republic and abolished the monarchy at its first meeting the following month. The CA elected the country's first president in July. Between 2008 and 2011 there have been four different coalition governments led twice by the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist which received a plurality of votes in the Constituent Assembly election and twice by the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist. In August 2011 Baburam BHATTARAI of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist became prime minister. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by the May 2012 deadline BHATTARAI dissolved the CA and called for new elections. Months of negotiations failed to produce a new election date. Finally in March 2013 the chief justice of Nepal's Supreme Court Khil Raj REGMI was sworn in as Chairman of the Interim Council of Ministers for Elections to lead an interim government and charged with holding Constituent Assembly elections by December 2013.


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Location: Southern Asia between China and India

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N 84 00 E

Map reference

Area
Rank: 94
Land: 143,351 km²
Water: 3,830 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Arkansas

Land boundaries
Border countries: (2) China 1236 km; India 1690 km

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: Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south central hill region rugged Himalayas in north

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (highest point in Asia)

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

Land use
Permanent crops: 0.8%
Other: 83.2% (2011)

Irrigated land: 11,680 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 210.2 km³ (2011)

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 including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest - on the borders with China and India respectively


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Population: 30,430,267 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 42
Growth rate: 1.81% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 66
Below poverty line: 25.2% (2011 est.)

Nationality
Adjective: Nepali

Ethnic groups: Chhettri 15.5% Brahman-Hill 12.5% Magar 7% Tharu 6.6% Tamang 5.5% Newar 5.4% Muslim 4.2% Kami 3.9% Yadav 3.9% other 32.7% unspecified 2.8% (2001 census)

Languages: Nepali (official) 47.8% Maithali 12.1% Bhojpuri 7.4% Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8% Tamang 5.1% Newar 3.6% Magar 3.3% Awadhi 2.4% other 10% unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)

Religions: Hindu 80.6% Buddhist 10.7% Muslim 4.2% Kirant 3.6% other 0.9% (2001 census)

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 22.6% (male 3,444,428/female 3,431,127)
25-54 years: 34.9% (male 5,015,145/female 5,593,248)
55-64 years: 5.5% (male 820,014/female 860,439)
65 years and over: 4.5% (male 630,853/female 729,750) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 57.6 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.5 %
Potential support ratio: 11.7 (2013)

Median age
Male: 21.7 years
Female: 23.2 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.81% (2013 est.)
Rank: 66

Birth rate: 21.48 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 79

Death rate: 6.68 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 144

Net migration rate: 3.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 31

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 3.62% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: KATHMANDU (capital) 990,000 (2009)

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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 20.1

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 53
Male: 41.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 41.71 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 165
Male: 65.57 years
Female: 68.19 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.36 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 93

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 49.7% (2011)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.21 physicians/1000 population (2004)

Hospital bed density: 4.7 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 72
People living with hivaids: 64,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 51
Deaths: 4,700 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 39

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: Japanese encephalitis malaria and dengue fever (2013)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 1.4% (2008)
Rank: 189

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 29.1% (2011)
Rank: 18

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 86

Literacy
Total population: 57.4%
Male: 71.1%
Female: 46.7% (2011 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 10 years
Female: 8 years (2002)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional short form: Nepal
Local long form: Sanghiya Loktantrik Ganatantra Nepal
Local short form: Nepal

Government type: federal democratic republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 27 43 N 85 19 E
Time difference: UTC+5.75 (10.75 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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: Republic Day 29 May

Constitution: several previous; latest entered into force 15 January 2007 (interim); note -a Constituent Assembly elected in 2008 to draft and promulgate a new constitution was unsuccessful and was dismissed in mid-2012 (2013)

Legal system: English common law and Hindu legal concepts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: note: on 14 March 2013 the chief justice of Nepal's Supreme Court Khil Raj REGMI was sworn in as Chairman of the Interim Council of Ministers for Elections to lead an interim government and charged with holding Constituent Assembly elections by December 2013
Cabinet: cabinet was formed in August-September 2011 by a majority coalition made up of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Republic Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Nepal Terai-Madhes Democratic Party and several smaller parties
Elections: president elected by Parliament; term extends until the new constitution is promulgated; president elected on 21 July 2008; date of next election NA
Election results: Ram Baran YADAV elected president by the Constituent Assembly in a second round of voting on 21 July 2008; Ram Baran YADAV 308 Ram Jaja Prasad SINGH 282

Legislative branch: unicameral Constituent Assembly (601 seats; 240 members elected by direct popular vote 335 by proportional representation and 26 appointed by the Cabinet (Council of Ministers)
Elections: last held on 10 April 2008; note - the Constituent Assembly failed to draft a new constitution by the 27 May 2012 deadline; as of early 2013 the parties were in negotiations to hold elections for a new Constituent Assembly
Election results: percent of vote by party - CPN-M 38% NC 19% CPN-UML 18% Madhesi People's Right Forum-Nepal 9% other 11%; seats by party - CPN-M 229 NC 115 CPN-UML 108 Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Nepal 54 Terai Madhes Democratic Party 21 other smaller parties 74; note - 26 seats filled by the new Cabinet are included in the totals above

Judicial branch: note - Nepal's judiciary was restructured under its 2007 Interim Constitution
Judge selection and term of office: the Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council; other judges are appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Judicial Council; judges serve until age 65
Subordinate courts: appellate and district courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB BIMSTEC CD CP FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINURSO MINUSTAH MONUSCO NAM OPCW SAARC SACEP UN UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNIFIL UNISFA UNMIL UNMISS UNMIT UNOCI UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 2,131 Leroy Place NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 667-4,550
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 667-5,534
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us embassy: Maharajgunj Kathmandu
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [977] (1) 400-7,200
From the us FAX: [977] (1) 400-7,272

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 displays a white 12-pointed sun; the color red represents the rhododendron (Nepal's national flower) and is a sign of victory and bravery the blue border signifies peace and harmony; the two right triangles are a combination of two single pennons (pennants) that originally symbolized the Himalaya Mountains while their charges represented the families of the king (upper) and the prime minister but today they are understood to denote Hinduism and Buddhism the country's two main religions; the moon represents the serenity of the Nepalese people and the shade and cool weather in the Himalayas while the sun depicts the heat and higher temperatures of the lower parts of Nepal; the moon and the sun are also said to express the hope that the nation will endure as long as these heavenly bodies

National symbols: rhododendron blossom

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Pradeep Kumar RAI/Ambar GURUNG

National heritage


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Economy overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population and accounting for a little over one-third of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural products including pulses jute sugarcane tobacco and grain. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower with an estimated 42,000 MW of feasible capacity but political instability hampers foreign investment. Additional challenges to Nepal's growth include its landlocked geographic location civil strife and labor unrest and its susceptibility to natural disaster.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 102

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 70

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 202

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 10.7%
Investment in fixed capital: 20%
Investment in inventories: 14.9%
Exports of goods and services: 10%
Imports of goods and services: -31.8%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 15.3%
Services: 46.6% (2012 est.)

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

Industries: tourism carpets textiles; small rice jute sugar and oilseed mills; cigarettes cement and brick production

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2012 est.)
Rank: 87

Labor force: 18 million
Rank: 35
By occupation industry: 7%
By occupation services: 18% (2010 est.)

Unemployment rate: 42% (2004 est.)
Rank: 192

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 25.2% (2011 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 29.5% (2011)

Distribution of family income gini index: 47.2 (2008 est.)
Rank: 100

Budget
Expenditures: $4.7 billion (FY11/12)
Surplus or deficit: -6.4% of GDP (FY11/12)
Surplus or deficit rank: 180

Taxes and other revenues: 18.7% of GDP (FY11/12)
Rank: 174

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 16 July - 15 July

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 196

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 51

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 116

Stock of narrow money: $2.723 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 115

Stock of broad money: $12.14 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 98

Stock of domestic credit: $10.67 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 93

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 84

Current account balance: $49 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 49

Exports: $998.9 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 156
Commodities: clothing pulses carpets textiles juice pashima jute goods
Partners: India 59.1% US 9.3% Germany 4.1% (2012)

Imports: $5.665 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 121
Commodities: petroleum products machinery and equipment gold electrical goods medicine
Partners: India 52.3% China 33.6% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.655 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 97

Debt external: $3.673 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 129

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $N/A

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $N/A

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 3.431 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 128
Consumption: 2.745 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 133
Exports: 30 million kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 84
Imports: 694 million kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 71
Installed generating capacity: 721,000 kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 129
Generation sources fossil fuels: 7.9% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 197
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 152
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 92.1% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 10
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 106

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 200
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 164
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 105
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 171

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 117
Products consumption: 18,430 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 132
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 203
Products imports: 21,960 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 102

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 175
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 180
Exports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 156
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 108
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 178

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 3.173 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 139

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 834,000 (2013)
Main lines in use rank: 83
Mobile cellular: 18.138 million (2013)
Mobile cellular rank: 54

Telephone system
Domestic: mobile-cellular telephone subscribership base is increasing with roughly 90% of the population living in areas covered by mobile carriers
International: country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave and fiber landlines to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2011)

Broadcast media: state operates 2 TV stations as well as national and regional radio stations; roughly 30 independent TV channels are registered with only about half in regular operation; nearly 400 FM radio stations are licensed with roughly 300 operational (2007)

Internet
Country code: .np
Hosts: 41,256 (2012)
Hosts rank: 100
Users: 577,800 (2009)
Users rank: 116

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.3% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 109

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; 15 years of age for military training; no conscription (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 47 (2013)
Rank: 94
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With unpaved runways: 29 (2013)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways
Rank: 129
Narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 132
Paved: 4,952 km
Unpaved: 5,892 km (2010)

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities

Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 50,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; figure does not include people displaced since 2007 by inter-communal violence and insecurity in the Terai region) (2012)
Stateless persons: 800,000 (2011); note - in 2007-2008 the government distributed 2.6 million citizenship certificates to the 3.4 million people without one; the remaining 800,000 without citizenship certificates are not necessarily stateless and the UNHCR is working with the Nepali Government to clarify their situation; lesser numbers of Bhutanese Hindu refugees of Nepali origin (the Lhotsampa) who were stripped of Bhutanese nationality and forced to flee their country in the late 1980s and early 1990s - and undocumented Tibetan refugees who arrived in Nepal prior to the 1990s - are considered stateless

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