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 Location:
Southern Asia, between China and India
Geographic
coordinates:
28 00 N, 84 00 E
Map
references: Asia
Area:
total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km
water: 4,000 sq km
}
Land
boundaries:
total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 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:
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 8,848 m
Natural
resources: quartz, water, timber, hydropower potential,
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.)
Irrigated
land: 8,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural
hazards: severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides,
drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity,
and duration of the summer monsoons
Environment-current
issues: the almost total dependence on wood for fuel
and cutting down trees to expand agricultural land without
replanting has resulted in widespread deforestation; soil
erosion; water pollution (use of contaminated water presents
human health risks)
Environment-international
agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear
Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation
Geography-note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India;
contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks
People
Population:
24,302,653 (July 1999 est.)
Age
structure:
0-14 years: 41% (male 5,182,829; female 4,869,895)
15-64 years: 55% (male 6,856,905; female 6,571,916)
65 years and over: 4% (male 407,797; female 413,311) (1999
est.)
Population
growth rate: 2.51% (1999 est.)
Birth
rate: 35.32 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death
rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net
migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999
est.)
Sex
ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Infant
mortality rate: 73.58 deaths/1,000 live births (1999
est.)
Life
expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.42 years
male: 58.47 years
female: 58.36 years (1999 est.)
Total
fertility rate: 4.78 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese
Ethnic
groups: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars,
Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas
Religions:
Hindu 90%, Buddhist 5%, Muslim 3%, other 2% (1981)
note: only official Hindu state in the world, although no
sharp distinction between many Hindu and Buddhist groups
Languages:
Nepali (official), 20 other languages divided into numerous
dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 27.5%
male: 40.9%
female: 14% (1995 est.)
People-note:
refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately
91,000 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United
Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
camps
Government
Country
name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal
Data
code: NP
Government
type: parliamentary democracy as of 12 May 1991
Capital:
Kathmandu
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: 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
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive
branch:
chief of state: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (succeeded
to the throne 31 January 1972 following the death of his
father King MAHENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, crowned king 24
February 1975); Heir Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA Bir
Bikram
head of government: Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA
(since 15 April 1998)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation
of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative
elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of
a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister
by the monarch
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)
elections: House of Representatives-last held 15 November
1994 (next to be held 3 May 1999)
election results: House of Representatives-percent of vote
by party-NCP 33%, CPN/UML 31%, NDP 18%, Nepal Sadbhavana
(Goodwill) Party 3%, NWPP 1%; seats by party- CPN/UML 88,
NCP 83, NDP 20, NWPP 4, Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party
3, independents 7
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; Nepali Congress Party or NCP;
National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra
Party or RPP); Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party; Nepal
Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP
Political
pressure groups and leaders: numerous small, left-leaning
student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese
antimonarchist groups
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, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO (applicant)
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
Economy
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. Apart from agricultural
land and forests, exploitable natural resources are mica,
hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural production is growing
by about 5% on average as compared with annual population
growth of 2.5%. Since May 1991, the government has been
moving forward with economic reforms particularly those
that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by eliminating
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:
purchasing power parity-$26.2 billion (1998 est.)
GDP-real
growth rate: 4.9% (1998 est.)
GDP-per
capita: purchasing power parity-$1,100 (1998 est.)
GDP-composition
by sector:
agriculture: 41%
industry: 22%
services: 37% (1997)
Population
below poverty line: 42% (1995-96 est.)
Household
income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96)
Inflation
rate (consumer prices): 7.8% (1998 est.)
Labor
force: 10 million (1996 est.)
note: severe lack of skilled labor
Labor
force-by occupation: agriculture 81%, services 16%,
industry 3%
Unemployment
rate: NA%; substantial underemployment (1996)
Budget:
revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $818 million, including capital expenditures
of $NA (FY96/97 est.)
Industries:
tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed
mills; cigarette; cement and brick production
Industrial
production growth rate: 14.7% (FY94/95 est.)
Electricity-production:
1.032 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity-production
by source:
fossil fuel: 3.1%
hydro: 96.9%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)
Electricity-consumption:
1.013 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity-exports:
89 million kWh (1996)
Electricity-imports:
70 million kWh (1996)
Agriculture-products:
rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water
buffalo meat
Exports:
$394 million (f.o.b., 1997), but does not include unrecorded
border trade with India
Exports-commodities:
carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
Exports-partners:
India, US, Germany, UK
Imports:
$1.7 billion (c.i.f., 1997)
Imports-commodities:
petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
Imports-partners:
India, Singapore, Japan, Germany
Debt-external:
$2.4 billion (1997)
Economic
aid-recipient: $411 million (FY97/98)
Currency:
1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa
Exchange
rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1-67.675 (January
1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997), 56.692 (1996), 51.890
(1995), 49.398 (1994)
Fiscal
year: 16 July-15 July
Communications
Telephones:
115,911 (1996 est.)
Telephone
system: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone
communication service
domestic: NA
international: radiotelephone communications; satellite
earth station-1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 88, FM 1, shortwave 0
Radios:
690,000 (1992 est.)
Television
broadcast stations: 6 (1998 est.)
Televisions:
45,000 (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 101 km; note-all in Kosi close to Indian border
narrow gauge: 101 km 0.762-m gauge
Highways:
total: 7,700 km
paved: 3,196 km
unpaved: 4,504 km (1996 est.)
Ports
and harbors: none
Airports:
45 (1998 est.)
Airports-with
paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)
Airports-with
unpaved runways:
total: 40
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 29 (1998 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes-international:
with Bhutan over 91,000 Bhutanese refugees in Nepal
Illicit
drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic
and international drug markets; transit point for opiates
from Southeast Asia to the West
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