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)

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)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 20 September 2015

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)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

15 years

head of state:

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

head of government:

• Prime Minister Sher Bahadur DEUBA;
• Deputy Prime Ministers Bijay Kumar GACHHADAR, Krishna Bahadur MAHARA, Gopal Man SHRESTHA;
• note - Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal DAHAL resigned on 25 May 2017 as part of a rotational power-sharing arrangement between the CPN-MC and NC

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet dominated by the CPN-MC and the NC

elections/appointments:

• 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);
• prime minister indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament

election results:

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

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 20 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• the Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, a 5-member,high-level advisory body headed by the prime minister;
• other judges appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial Council, a 5-member advisory body headed by the chief justice;
• the chief justice term of office is 6 years;
• 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

• Akhanda Nepal Party [Kumar KHADKA]
• Bahujan Shakti Party [Bishwendra PASHWAN]
• Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) or CPN-MC [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as Comrade PRACHANDA]
• Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist or CPN-ML [C.P. MAINALI]
• Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist or CPN-UML [Khadga Prasad Sharma OLI]
• Communist Party of Nepal (United) or CPN (United) [Jaydev JOSHI]
• Dalit Janajati Party Nepal [Yashoda Kumari LAMA]
• Federal Limbuwan State Council or FLSC [Kumar LINGDEN]
• Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal [Upendra YADAV]
• 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-Republican [Raj Kishore YADAV]
• Madhesh Samata Party Nepal [Meghraj SAHANI]
• National Madhes Socialist Party [Sharat Singh BHANDARI]
• Nepal Pariwar Dal [Ek Nath DHAKAL]
• Nepal Workers and Peasants Party [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]
• Nepali Congress or NC [Bahadur DEUBA]
• Nepali Janata Dal [Hari Charan SHAH]
• Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal [Chitra Bahadur K.C.]
• Rastriya Janamukti Party [Malwar Singh THAPA]
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party or RPP [Kamal THAPA]
• Sadhbhawana Party [Rajendra MAHATO]
• Samajwadi Janata Party [Prem Bahadur SINGH]
• Sanghiya Sadbhavana Party [Anil Kumar JHA]
• Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch [Rukmini CHAUDHARY]
• Terai Madhesh Democratic Party [Mahantha THAKUR]
• Terai-Madhesh Sadbhavana Party-Nepal [Mahendra YADAV]
• Tharuhat Terai Party Nepal [Bhanuram CHAUDARY]

note: 164 political parties are registered with the Election Commission of Nepal as of early 2017; 122 political parties participated in the 19 November 2013 election and the 30 parties listed below were elected to serve in the Constituent Assembly; however only 26 of the 30 are considered "national" parties

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

• crimson 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:

29.2%

industry:

13.1%

services:

50% (2016 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:

mountainous topography hinders development of telecom infrastructure; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile-cellular telephone network

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

international:

• country code - 977;
• radiotelephone communications;
• microwave and fiber landlines to India;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2016)

• 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)

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:

27,990 km

paved:

11,890 km

unpaved:

16,100 km (2016)

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 illegal cross-border activities

refugees (country of origin):

13,509 (Tibet/China) (2016); 9,804 (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