Nepal

parliamentary democracyIndependence 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)

Nepal as the 2007 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 120 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalKathmandu, UTC+5.75
Position28 00 N, 84 00 E
Area147,181 sq km
LocationSouthern Asia, between China and India
2007

Every edition of Nepal

Populationas each edition published it
28.9 million July 2007 est. · 19.15m in 1990
Population growth% a year
2.132% 2007 est. · 2.43% in 1993
Median ageyears
20.5 years 2007 est. · 19.7 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
60.56 years 2007 est. · 51.98 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
4.01 children per woman 2007 est. · 5.6 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
63.66 deaths per 1,000 live births 2007 est. · 99 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$1,500 2006 est. · $170 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
1.9% 2006 est. · 3.1% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, gained traction and threatened to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003.

In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government.

Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency and corruption, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, imprisoned party leaders, and assumed power. The king's government subsequently released party leaders and officially ended the state of emergency in May 2005, but the monarch retained absolute power until April 2006. After nearly three weeks of mass protests organized by the seven-party opposition and the Maoists, the king allowed parliament to reconvene on 28 April 2006.

Following the November 2006 peace accord between the government and the Maoists, an interim constitution was promulgated and the Maoists were allowed to enter parliament in mid-January 2007. Parliamentary elections, orginally planned for June 2007, were postponed to November 2007.

Geography

Southern Asia, between China and India

18 fields

Land useshare of 147,181 sq km

arable land 16.07%permanent crops 0.85%other 83.08% (2005)irrigated 11,700 sq km (2003)
Area
147,181sq km
land: 143,181 sq kmwater: 4,000 sq kmslightly larger than Arkansas
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Highest point
8,850m
Mount Everestlowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
Land boundaries
2,926km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km

Location

Southern Asia, between China and India

Geographic coordinates

28 00 N, 84 00 E

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

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Marine Life Conservation

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

People

19 fields

Age structuremale left, female right · (2007 est.)

528,113
65 and over3.8%
560,414
8,597,037
15-6457.9%
8,134,115
5,721,720
0-1438.3%
5,360,391
MaleFemale
Population
28,901,790
(July 2007 est.)growth rate: 2.132% (2007 est.)

Per 1,000 population(2007 est.)

Birth
30.46Death
9.14Net migration
0

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (2007 est.)60.56
60.78 · 60.33Infant mortality deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)63.66
61.87 · 65.54
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (2001 census)48.6%
62.7% · 34.9%Median age years (2007 est.)20.5
20.3 · 20.6
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups(2001 census)

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)

Religions(2001 census)

Hindu 80.6%Buddhist 10.7%Muslim 4.2%Kirant 3.6%other 0.9% (2001 census)note: only official Hindu state in the world

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.067 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.057 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.942 male(s)/female
total population:
1.056 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

3,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Nepalese

Languages

Nepali 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) note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.)

Government

Parliamentary democracy; Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006); Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006)

18 fields

Country name

conventional long and short form:
Nepal
local long and short form:
Nepal

Government type

parliamentary democracy

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

in 2006, Parliament abolished the birthday of King GYANENDRA (7 July) and Constitution Day (9 November) as national holidays

Constitution

9 November 1990; the government began working on an interim constitution in May 2006

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state:
Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006)
head of government:
Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Khadga Prasad OLI (since 2 May 2006) and Amik SHERCHAN since June 2006)
cabinet:
  • Cabinet historically appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister;
  • note - the prime minister selected the Cabinet in May 2006 in consultation with the political parties
elections:
following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition historically has been appointed prime minister by the monarch

Legislative branch

a 330 seat Interim Parliament was formed on 15 January 2007 following the promulgation of an interim constitution

elections:
Constituent Assembly elections orginally scheduled for June 2007 were postponed to November 2007
election results:
Interim Parliament seats by party - NC 85, CPN/M 83, CPN/UML 83, NC/D 48, RPP 9, NSP/AD 5, NWPP 4, People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group) 4, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group) 3, UFL 3, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group) 2, NSP 1

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or 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];
  • National Democratic Party or NDP [Pashupati Shumsher RANA] (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP);
  • Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP - Mandal [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL];
  • Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Ananda Devi [Ananda DEVI];
  • Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE];
  • Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, president] (reunited with splinter Nepali Congress-Democratic in September 2007);
  • People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group);
  • People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group);
  • People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group);
  • Rastriya Janashakti Party or RJP [Surya Bahadur THAPA] (split from RPP in March 2005);
  • Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal (merged with People's Front Nepal or PFN in 2002);
  • United Leftist Front or UFL [C.P. MAINALI]

Political pressure groups and leaders

  • Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as PRACHANDA, chairman; Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI];
  • numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital;
  • several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups

International organization participation

AsDB, BIMSTEC, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); note - Charge d'Affaires Kali Prasad POKHREL
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 Nancy J. POWELL
embassy:
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[977] (1) 400-7200
FAX:
[977] (1) 400-7272

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 almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line.

42 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$41.18billion
(2006 est.)official exchange rate: $6.948 billion (2006 est.)
GDP per capita, PPP
$1,500
(2006 est.)
Real growth rate
1.9%
(2006 est.)industrial production growth: 2.2% (FY05/06)
Inflation, consumer prices
8.6%
(November 2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture 38%industry 20%services 42% (FY05/06 est.)

Trading partnersexports left, imports right

67.9%
India
61.8%
11.7%
US
4.7%
Germany
China
3.8%
Indonesia
3.3%
Exports $822 million f.o.b. ; note - does not include unrecorded border trade with India (2005 est.)Imports $2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)(2006)

Budget

Revenues
$1.153 billionExpenditures
$1.927 billion (FY06/07)

Electricity

Electricity production
2.511 billion (2006)Electricity consumption
1.96 billion (2006)Electricity exports
101 million (2006)Electricity imports
266 million (2006)

Economy - overview

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third 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 38% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain.

Security concerns relating to the Maoist conflict have led to a decrease in tourism, a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for 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, its civil strife, and its susceptibility to natural disaster.

Labor force

11.11 million note: severe lack of skilled labor (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture:
76%
industry:
6%
services:
18% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate

42% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
2.6%
highest 10%:
40.6% (2004)

Agriculture - products

rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, jute, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat

Industries

  • tourism, carpet, textile;
  • small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills;
  • cigarettes, cement and brick production

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption

11,550 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports

11,530 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Exports

$822 million f.o.b.; note - does not include unrecorded border trade with India (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities

carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain

Imports

$2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities

gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer

Economic aid - recipient

$427.9 million (2005)

Debt - external

$3.07 billion (March 2006)

Currency (code)

Nepalese rupee (NPR)

Exchange rates

Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 72.446 (2006), 72.16 (2005), 73.674 (2004), 76.141 (2003), 77.877 (2002)

Fiscal year

16 July - 15 July

Communications

8 fields
Mobile cellular
1.042 million
(2006)
Internet users
18,733
(2007)
Fixed lines
595,800
(2006) · country code .np

Telephone system

general assessment:
poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic:
NA
international:
  • country code - 977;
  • radiotelephone communications;
  • microwave landline to India;
  • satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2000)

Television broadcast stations

1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998)

Internet users

249,400 (2006)

Transportation

5 fields

Airports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right

1
over 3,047 m
8
914 to 1,523 m
6
1
under 914 m
30
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
Paved 10Unpaved 37

Networkskm

Roadways
17,380Railways
59
Roadways: paved: 9,886 km · unpaved: 7,494 km (2004) · Railways: narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2006)

Airports

47 (2007)

Railways

total:
59 km
narrow gauge:
59 km 0.762-m gauge (2006)

Roadways

total:
17,380 km
paved:
9,886 km
unpaved:
7,494 km (2004)

Military

Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service); Nepalese Police Force

6 fields

Military branches

Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service); Nepalese Police Force

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001)

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49:
6,107,091
females age 18-49:
5,744,989 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49:
4.193 million
females age 18-49:
3,853,102 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually

males age 18-49:
308,031
females age 18-49:
286,604 (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues

3 fields

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;
  • approximately 106,000 Bhutanese Lhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps in southeastern Nepal since 1990

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin):
106,248 (Bhutan), 20,153 (Tibet/China)
IDPs:
100,000-200,000 (ongoing conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels; displacement spread across the country) (2006)

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

Central Intelligence Agency. “Nepal.” The World Factbook 2007. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/nepal/2007.

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