Nepal
Kingdom of Nepal
parliamentary democracyIndependence 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)
Nepal as the 2000 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 108 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Southern Asia, between China and India
18 fieldsLand useshare of 140,800 sq km
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
Natural resources
quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Natural hazards
severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons
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
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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
16 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2000 est.)
Male · female
Religions(1981)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 41% (male 5,187,805; female 4,860,583)
- 15-64 years:
- 56% (male 7,056,784; female 6,746,293)
- 65 years and over:
- 3% (male 422,314; female 428,340) (2000 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.07 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.05 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.99 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
People - note
refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 96,500 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps
Government
Parliamentary democracy; 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); Prime Minister Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI (since NA May 1999)
19 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
House of Representatives, 205 seats, elected 3 and 17 May 1999one dot, one seat
Percent of vote
Administrative divisions
14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti
Legal system
based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI (since NA May 1999)
- 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 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004)
- election results:
- House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%;
- seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1
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]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency;
- 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, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Damodar Prasad GAUTAM
- chancery:
- 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 667-4550
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 667-5534
- consulate(s) general:
- New York
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Ralph FRANK
- embassy:
- Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
- mailing address:
- use embassy street address
- telephone:
- [977] (1) 411179
- FAX:
- [977] (1) 419963
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
Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line.
31 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(1998)
Electricity
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.
Industries
- tourism, carpet, textile;
- small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills;
- cigarette;
- cement and brick production
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)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- radiotelephone communications;
- microwave landline to India;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Transportation
6 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Military
Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police Force
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit drugs
- illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets;
- transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Nepal.” The World Factbook 2000. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/nepal/2000.