| Nepal |
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| 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. Constituent elections are planned for June 2007. |
| Geography and Environmental |
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) |
| Area Total: 147,181 sq km |
| Area Land: 143,181 sq km |
| Area Water: 4,000 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly larger than Arkansas |
| Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) |
| 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 |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
| Natural Resources: quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
| Land Use Arable Land: 16.07% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 0.85% |
| Land Use Other: 83.08% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 11,700 sq km (2003) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Population |
| Population: 28,901,790 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 38.3% (male 5,721,720/female 5,360,391) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 57.9% (male 8,597,037/female 8,134,115) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 3.8% (male 528,113/female 560,414) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 20.5 years |
| Median Age Male: 20.3 years |
| Median Age Female: 20.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 2.132% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 30.46 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.05 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.067 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.057 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.942 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.056 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 63.66 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 65.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 60.56 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 60.78 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 60.33 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 4.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 0.5% (2001 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 61,000 (2001 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: 3,100 (2003 est.) |
Religions: 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 |
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 |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 48.6% |
| Literacy Male: 62.7% |
| Literacy Female: 34.9% (2000-2004 est.) |
| 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 |
| 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. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $42.84 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 2.4% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 38% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 20% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 42% (FY05/06 est.) |
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%: 39.1% (2003-2004) |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 8.6% (November 2006 est.) |
| Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 2.2% (FY05/06) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 2.511 billion kWh (2006) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 8.5% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 91.5% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 1.96 billion kWh (2006) |
| Electricity Exports: 101 million kWh (2006) |
| Electricity Imports: 266 million kWh (2006) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 11,550 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2006 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2006 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 |
| Exports Partners: India 53.7%, US 17.4%, Germany 7.1% (2005) |
| Imports: $2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer |
| Imports Partners: India 47.7%, UAE 11.2%, China 10.8%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.2% (2005) |
| Debt External: $3.07 billion (March 2006) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $533 million (FY04/05) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 448,600 (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 248,800 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network |
| Telephone System Domestic: NA |
| Telephone System 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 (January 2000) |
| Radios: 840,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
| Televisions: 130,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 6 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 175,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 59 km |
| Railways Narrow Gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2005) |
| Airports: 48 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 1.6% (2006) |
| 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) |
| IllicitDrugs: illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West |