Background: During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepalese Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkhas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy.An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. The ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and the re-assumption of absolute power by the king in 2002. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a May 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until March 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in November 2013, in which the Nepali Congress won the largest share of seats in the CA and in February 2014 formed a coalition government with the second place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and with Nepali Congress President Sushil KOIRALA as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in September 2015, at which point the CA became the Parliament. Khagda Prasad Sharma OLI served as the first post-constitution prime minister from October 2015-August 2016, when a new coalition led by Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (aka 'Prachanda') took over the premiership. The constitution provided for a transitional period during which three sets of elections - local, provincial, and national - needed to take place. The first local elections in 20 years occurred in three phases between May and September 2017, while state and federal elections proceeded in two phases in November and December 2017. A coalition led by OLI and DAHAL swept the elections, and OLI was sworn in as prime minister in February 2018.

Geographic coordinates: 28 00 N, 84 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 147,181 km²
Land: 143,351 km²
Water: 3,830 km²
Rank: 96
Comparative: slightly larger than New York state

Land boundaries
Total: 3,159 km
Border countries: (2) China 1389 km; , India 1770 km

Coastline: 0 km
Note: (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 with rugged Himalayas in north

Elevation
Mean elevation: 2,565 m
Elevation extremes: 70 m
Note: lowest point: Kanchan Kalan

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 28.8% (2011 est.)
Forest: 25.4% (2011 est.)
Other: 45.8% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 13,320 km² (2012)

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 mountains - on the borders with China and India respectively

Population
Distribution: most of the population is divided nearly equally between a concentration in the southern-most plains of the Tarai region and the central hilly region; overall density is quite low: 29,717,587 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 47
Growth rate: 1.09% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 102
Below poverty line: 25.2% (2011 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Nepali (singular and plural)
Adjective: Nepali

Ethnic groups:

Languages:

Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Buddhist 9%, Muslim 4.4%, Kirant 3.1%, Christian 1.4%, other 0.5%, unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.54% (male 4,578,768 /female 4,198,913)
15-24 years: 21.52% (male 3,250,614 /female 3,145,807)
25-54 years: 37.18% (male 4,987,071 /female 6,061,616)
55-64 years: 6.42% (male 917,342 /female 991,937)
65 years and over: 5.34% (male 785,893 /female 799,626) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 61.4 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 52.5 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.8 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 11.3 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.5 years
Male: 23.2 years
Female: 25.8 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 162

Population growth rate: 1.09% (2018 est.)
Rank: 102

Birth rate: 19.1 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 82

Death rate: 5.6 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 176

Net migration rate: -2.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 165

Population distribution: most of the population is divided nearly equally between a concentration in the southern-most plains of the Tarai region and the central hilly region; overall density is quite low

Urbanization
Urban population: 19.7% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 3.15% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 1.33 million KATHMANDU (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); forest degradation; soil erosion; contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); unmanaged solid-waste; wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 0.82 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth:

Infant mortality rate
Total: 26.9 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 28.2 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Female: 25.6 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Rank: 67

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.3 years (2018 est.)
Male: 70.6 years (2018 est.)
Female: 72 years (2018 est.)
Rank: 154

Total fertility rate: 2.07 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 105

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 52.6% (2017)

Drinking water source
Urban: 9.1% of population
Rural: 8.2% of population
Total: 8.4% of population (2015 est.)

Physicians density: 0.6 physicians/1000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density: 3 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 44% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 56.5% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 54.2% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2017 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 100
People living with hivaids: 31,000 (2017 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 71
Deaths: 1300 (2017 est.)
Deaths rank: 61

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: Japanese encephalitis, malaria, and dengue fever (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2016)
Rank: 187

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 27% (2016)
Rank: 14

Education expenditures: 3.7% of GDP (2015)
Rank: 121

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2015 est.)
Total population: 63.9% (2015 est.)
Male: 76.4% (2015 est.)
Female: 53.1% (2015 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years (2015)
Male: 12 years (2015)
Female: 13 years (2015)

Country name
Conventional long form: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Conventional short form: Nepal
Local long form: Sanghiya Loktantrik Ganatantra Nepal
Local short form: Nepal
Etymology: the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas apparently gave their name to the country; the terms Nepal, Newar, Nepar, and Newal are phonetically different forms of the same word

Government type: federal parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Kathmandu
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

Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)

National holiday: Constitution Day, 20 September (2015); note - marks the promulgation of Nepal’s constitution in 2015 and replaces the previous 28 May Republic Day as the official national day in Nepal; the Gregorian day fluctuates based on Nepal’s Hindu calendar

Constitution
History: several previous; latest approved by the Second Constituent Assembly 16 September 2015, signed by the president and effective 20 September 2015 (2017)
Amendments: proposed as a bill by either house of the Federal Parliament; bills affecting a state border or powers delegated to a state must be submitted to the affected state assembly; passage of such bills requires a majority vote of that state assembly membership; bills not requiring state assembly consent require at least two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both houses of the Federal Parliament; parts of the constitution on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty vested in the people cannot be amended; amended January 2016 (2017)

Legal system: English common law and Hindu legal concepts; note - new criminal and civil codes come into effect mid-August 2018

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

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 15 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: Prime Minister Khadga Prasad (KP) Sharma OLI (since 15 February 2018); deputy prime ministers (vacant); note - Prime Minister Sher Bahadur DEUBA resigned on 15 February 2018
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet dominated by the CPN-UML and MC
Electionsappointments: president indirectly elected by an electoral college of the Federal Parliament and of the state assemblies for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 13 March 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament
Election results: Bidhya Devi BHANDARI reelected president; electoral vote - Bidhya Devi BHANDARI (CPN-UML 39,275, Kumari Laxmi RAI (NC) 11,730
Head of state: President Bidhya Devi BANDHARI (since 29 October 2015); Vice President Nanda Bahadar PUN (since 31 October 2015)

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 20 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, a 5-member, high-level advisory body headed by the prime minister; other judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Judicial Council, a 5-member advisory body headed by the chief justice; the chief justice serves a 6-year term; judges serve until age 65
Subordinate courts: High Court; Court of Appeal; district courts: note: Nepal's judiciary was restructured under its 2007 Interim Constitution

Political parties and leaders: note: the Election Commission of Nepal granted ballot access under the proportional system to 88 political parties for the November-December 2017 House of Representatives election to the Federal Parliament; of these, the following 9 parties and 1 independent won seats

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Arjun Kumar KARKI (since 18 May 2015)
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: Cleveland (OH), New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Randy BERRY (since 25 October 2018)
From the us embassy: Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal
From the us mailing address: US Embassy, Maharajgunj Chakrapath, Kathmandu, Nepal 44,600
From the us telephone: [977] (1) 423-4,000
From the us FAX: [977] (1) 400-7,272

Flag description:

National symbols: rhododendron blossom; national color: red

National anthem
Name: Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka (Hundreds of Flowers)
Lyricsmusic: Pradeep Kumar RAI/Ambar GURUNG: note: adopted 2007; after the abolition of the monarchy in 2006, a new anthem was required because of the previous anthem's praise for the king

Economy overview: Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Nepal is heavily dependent on remittances, which amount to as much as 30% of GDP. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for almost two-thirds of the population but accounting for less than a 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 commercially feasible capacity. Nepal has signed trade and investment agreements with India, China, and other countries, but political uncertainty and a difficult business climate have hampered foreign investment. The United States and Nepal signed a $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact in September 2017 which will expand Nepal’s electricity infrastructure and help maintain transportation infrastructure.Massive earthquakes struck Nepal in early 2015, which damaged or destroyed infrastructure and homes and set back economic development. Although political gridlock and lack of capacity have hindered post-earthquake recovery, government-led reconstruction efforts have progressively picked up speed, although many hard hit areas still have seen little assistance. Additional challenges to Nepal's growth include its landlocked geographic location, inconsistent electricity supply, and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 95

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 9

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 195

Gross national saving:
Rank: 7

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 78% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 11.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 33.8% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 8.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 9.8% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -42% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 27% (2017 est.)
Industry: 13.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 59.5% (2017 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: 12.4% (2017 est.)
Rank: 7

Labor force:
Rank: 37
By occupation agriculture: 69%
By occupation industry: 12%
By occupation services: 19% (2015 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 36

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

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 115

Budget
Revenues: 5.925 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 5.945 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -0.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 48

Taxes and other revenues: 23.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 122

Public debt:
Rank: 171

Fiscal year: 16 July - 15 July

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 168

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 52

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 73

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 98

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 101

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 89

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 67

Current account balance:
Rank: 84

Exports:
Rank: 169
Partners: India 53.1%, US 11.8%, Turkey 7.2% (2017)
Commodities: clothing, pulses, carpets, textiles, juice, jute goods

Imports:
Rank: 102
Commodities: petroleum products, machinery and equipment, gold, electrical goods, medicine
Partners: India 70.2%, China 7.5% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 76

Debt external:
Rank: 129

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $103 million (31 July 2013 est.)
Rank: 138

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: NA

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access population without electricity: 6.6 million (2013)
Access electrification total population: 76% (2013)
Access electrification urban areas: 97% (2013)
Access electrification rural areas: 72% (2013)
Production: 4.244 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 125
Consumption: 4.983 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 124
Exports: 2.69 million kWh (FY 2017 est.)
Exports rank: 94
Imports: 2.175 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 57
Installed generating capacity: 943,100 kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 130
Generation sources fossil fuels: 5% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 203
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 152
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 92% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 10
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 128

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 180
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 173
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 174
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 176

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 185
Products consumption: 27,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 126
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 187
Products imports: 26,120 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 106

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 177
Consumption: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 181
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 159
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 164
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 175

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 8.396 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 115

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 861,299 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2017 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 77
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 32,120,305 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 109 (July 2016 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 41

Telephone system
General assessment: mountainous topography hinders development of telecom infrastructure; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile-cellular telephone network (2016)
Domestic: mobile service has been extended to all 75 districts covering 90% of Nepal’s land area; disparity between high coverage in cities and coverage available in underdeveloped rural regions (2016)
International: country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave and fiber landlines to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2016)

Broadcast media: state operates 3 TV stations, as well as national and regional radio stations; 88 independent TV channels are registered with only 25 in regular operation; 672 FM radio stations are licensed with 588 operational (2016)

Internet
Country code: .np
Users total: 5,716,419 (July 2016 est.)
Users percent of population: 19.7% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 69

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 224,184 (2017 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2017 est.)
Rank: 105

Military expenditures:
Rank: 74

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2014)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 4 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 15 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 510,341 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 4,536,371
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9N (2016)

Airports: 47 (2013)
Rank: 93
With paved runways total: 11 (2017)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2017)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3 (2017)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6 (2017)
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 36 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 29 (2013)

Railways
Total: 53 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 53 km
Note: 0.762-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 131

Roadways
Total: 27,990 km (2016)
Paved: 11,890 km (2016)
Unpaved: 16,100 km (2016)
Rank: 97

Disputes international: joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 km² dispute over the source of the Kalapani RiverIndia has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of illegal cross-border activities

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 13,509 (Tibet/China), 7,422 (Bhutan) (2017)
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; 2015 earthquakes) (2016)
Stateless persons: undetermined (2016); note - the UNHCR is working with the Nepali Government to address the large number of individuals lacking citizenship certificates in Nepal; smaller numbers of Bhutanese Hindu refugees of Nepali origin (the Lhotshampa) 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