Nepal

agricultural land:

28.8%;

• arable land 15.1%;
• permanent crops 1.2%;
• permanent pasture 12.5%

forest:

25.4%

other:

45.8% (2011 est.)

• severe thunderstorms;
• flooding;
• landslides;
• drought and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons

• 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

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

• 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

noun:

Nepali (singular and plural)

adjective:

Nepali

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.82 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

vectorborne disease:

Japanese encephalitis, malaria, and dengue fever (2016)

total number:

2,467,549

percentage:

34% (2008 est.)

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

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)

• several previous;
• latest adopted 20 September 2015;
• amended January 2016

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

15 years

chief of state:

President Bidhya Devi BHANDARI (since 29 October 2015); Vice President Nanda Bahadar PUN (since 31 October 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (since 4 August 2016); note - Prime Minister Khadga Prasad OLI resigned on 24 July 2016

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet dominated by the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the Constituency Assembly;
• term extends until the new constitution is promulgated;
• president elected on 29 October 2015 (next election NA);
• prime minister indirectly elected by the Constituent Assembly

election results:

• Bidhya Devi BHANDARI elected president;
• Constituent Assembly vote count - Bidhya Devi BHANDARI (CPN-UML) 327, Kul Bahadur GURUNG (NC) 214;
• BHANDARI is Nepal's first woman president

description:

unicameral Constituent Assembly or Sambidhan Sabha (601 seats; 240 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 335 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation (PR) vote and 26 appointed by the cabinet (Council of Ministers); note - political parties allocated more than 30 percent of the PR seats are obliged to follow specified quotas for ethnic groups and within them equal percentages of men and women

elections:

last held on 19 November 2013 (next to be held NA)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NC 26%, CPN-UML 24%, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) 15%, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal 7%;
• other 28%;
• seats by party - NC 196, CPN-UML 175, UCPN(M) 80, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal 24, other smaller parties 100

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 14 judges)

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 appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Judicial Council;
• judges serve until age 65

subordinate courts:

Court of Appeal; district courts

note: Nepal's judiciary was restructured under its 2007 Interim Constitution

• Akhanda Nepal Party [Kumar KHADKA]
• Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist or CPN-ML [C.P. MAINALI]
• Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist or CPN-UML [Jhala Nath KHANAL]
• Communist Party of Nepal (United) or CPN (United) [Jaydev JOSHI]
• Dalit Janajati Party [Bishwendra PASHWAN]
• Federal Socialist Party [Ashok RAI]
• Jana Jagaran Party Nepal (Awareness Party Nepal) [Lok Mani DHAKAL]
• Khambuwan Rastriya Morcha-Nepal [Ram Kumar RAI]
• Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic [Bijay Kumar GACHCHADAR]
• Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Nepal [Upendra YADAV]
• Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Republican
• Madhesh Samata Party Nepal [Meghraj SAHANI]
• National Madhes Socialist Party [Sharat Singh BHANDARI]
• Nepal Rastriya Party [Keshav Man SHAKYA]
• Nepal Pariwar Dal [Ek Nath DHAKAL]
• Nepal Workers and Peasants Party [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]
• Nepali Congress or NC [Sushil KOIRALA]
• Nepali Janata Dal [Hari Charan SHAH]
• Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal [Chitra Bahadur K.C.]
• Rastriya Janamukti Party [Malwar Singh THAPA]
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal [Kamal THAPA]
• Sadbhavana Party [Rajendra MAHATO]
• Samajbadi Prajatanytrik Janata Party Nepal [Prem Bahadur SINGH]
• Sanghiya Sadbhavana Party [Anil Kumar JHA]
• Sanghiye Loktantrik Rastriya Manch [Rukmini CHAUDHARY]
• Terai Madhesh Democratic Party [Mahantha THAKUR]
• Terai-Madhesh Sadbhavana Party-Nepal [Mahendra YADAV]
• Tharuhat Terai Party Nepal [Bhanuram CHAUDARY]
• Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or UCPN(M) [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as Comrade PRACHANDA]

note: 122 political parties participated in the 19 November 2013 election and the 30 parties listed below were elected to serve in the Constituent Assembly

chief of mission:

Ambassador Arjun Kumar KARKI (since 18 May 2015)

chancery:

2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-4550

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-5534

consulate(s) general:

Cleveland (OH), New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Alaina B. TEPLITZ (since 7 October 2015)

embassy:

Maharajgunj, Kathmandu

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[977] (1) 423-4000

FAX:

[977] (1) 400-7272

• 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

note: Nepal is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular or square

name:

"Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka" (Hundreds of Flowers)

lyrics/music:

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

agriculture:

29.4%

industry:

13.8%

services:

49.4% (2015 est.)

• tourism, carpets, textiles;
• small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills;
• cigarettes, cement and brick production

agriculture:

69%

industry:

12%

services:

19% (2014 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.2%

highest 10%:

29.5% (2011)

general assessment:

poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile-cellular telephone network

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) (2015)

• 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)

number of registered air carriers:

4; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 15

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

510,341

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

4,536,371 mt-km (2015)

total:

53 km

narrow gauge:

53 km 0.762-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 131

total:

10,844 km

paved:

4,952 km

unpaved:

5,892 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 132

• joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 sq km 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 (country of origin):

15,000 (Tibet/China) (2015); just over 14,000 (Bhutan) (2016)

IDPs:

40,700 (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) (2015)

stateless persons:

• undetermined (2015);
• 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 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