@node Geography (Nepal)
@section Geography (Nepal)

@display

Location:
  South Asia, in the Himalayas, between China and India
Map references:
  Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  140,800 km2
 land area:
  136,800 km2
 comparative area:   slightly larger than Arkansas
Land boundaries:
  total 2,926 km, China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
  none; landlocked
International disputes:
  none
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, hydroelectric potential, scenic beauty, small
  deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
Land use:
 arable land:
  17%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  13%
 forest and woodland:
  33%
 other:
  37%
Irrigated land:
  9,430 km2 (1989)
Environment:
  contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks; deforestation; soil erosion;
  water pollution
Note:
  landlocked; strategic location between China and India



@end display

@node People (Nepal)
@section People (Nepal)

@display

Population:
  20,535,466 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  2.43% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  37.99 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  13.66 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  85.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  51.98 years  male:
  51.84 years
 female:
  52.12 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  5.33 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Nepalese (singular and plural)
 adjective:
  Nepalese
Ethnic divisions:
  Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus,
  Sherpas
Religions:
  Hindu 90%, Buddhist 5%, Muslim 3%, other 2% (1981)
 note:
  only official Hindu state in world, although no sharp distinction between
  many Hindu and Buddhist groups
Languages:
  Nepali (official), 20 languages divided into numerous dialects
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  26%
 male:
  38%
 female:
  13%
Labor force:
  8.5 million (1991 est.)
 by occupation:
  agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2%
 note:
  severe lack of skilled labor



@end display

@node Government (Nepal)
@section Government (Nepal)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Kingdom of Nepal
 conventional short form:
  Nepal
Digraph:
  NP
Type:
  parliamentary democracy as of 12 May 1991
Capital:
  Kathmandu
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)
Constitution:
  9 November 1990
Legal system:
  based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted
  compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December (1945)
Political parties and leaders:
 ruling party:
  Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Party president Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI, Prime
  Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA, Ganesh Man SINGH
 center:
  the NDP has two factions: National Democratic Party/Chand (NDP/Chand),
  Lokendra Bahadur CHAND; and National Democratic Party/Thapa (NDP/Thapa),
  Surya Bahadur THAPA; Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, Gayendra
  Narayan SINGH
 Communist:
  Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist and Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan
  ADIKHARY; United People's Front (UPF), N. K. PRASAI, Lila Mani POKHAREL;
  Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, leader NA; Rohit Party, N. M. BIJUKCHHE;
  Democratic Party, leader NA
 note:
  the two factions of the NDP announced a merger in late 1991
Other political or pressure groups:
  numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small,
  radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal
Elections:
 House of Representatives:
  last held on 12 May 1991 (next to be held May 1996); results - NCP 38%,
  CPN/UML 28%, NDP/Chand 6%, UPF 5%, NDP/Thapa 5%, Terai Rights Sadbhavana
  Party 4%, Rohit 2%, CPN (Democratic) 1%, independents 4%, other 7%; seats -
  (205 total) NCP 110, CPN/UML 69, UPF 9, Terai Rights Sadbhavana Party 6,
  NDP/Chand 3, Rohit 2, CPN (Democratic) 2, NDP/Thapa 1, independents 3; note
  - the new Constitution of 9 November 1990 gave Nepal a multiparty democracy
  system for the first time in 32 years
Executive branch:
  monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
  bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or National Council and a
  lower house or House of Representatives



@end display

@node Government (Nepal 2. usage)
@section Government (Nepal 2. usage)

@display

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat)
Leaders:
 Chief of State:
  King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (since 31 January 1972, crowned King 24
  February 1985); Heir Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, son
  of the King (born 21 June 1971)
 Head of Government:   Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 29 May 1991)
Member of:
  AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
  INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
  UNIFIL, UNPROFOR, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Yog Prasad UPADHYAYA
 chancery:
  2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  (202) 667-4550
 consulate general:
  New York
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Julia Chang BLOCH
 embassy:
  Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
 mailing address:
  use embassy street address
 telephone:
  [977] (1) 411179 or 412718, 411604, 411613, 413890
 FAX:
  [977] (1) 419963
Flag:
  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



@end display

@node Economy (Nepal)
@section Economy (Nepal)

@display

Overview:
  Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world.
  Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over
  90% of the population and accounting for 60% of GDP. Industrial activity is
  limited, mainly involving the processing of agricultural produce (jute,
  sugarcane, tobacco, and grain). Production of textiles and carpets has
  expanded recently and accounted for 85% of foreign exchange earnings in
  FY91. Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable natural
  resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural production in the
  late 1980s grew by about 5%, as compared with annual population growth of
  2.6%. More than 40% of the population is undernourished partly because of
  poor distribution. The top 10% of the population receives 47% of total
  income, the bottom 20% less than 5% of the total. Since May 1991, the
  government has been encouraging trade and foreign investment, e.g., by
  eliminating business licenses and registration requirements in order to
  simplify domestic and foreign investment. The government also has been
  cutting public expenditures by reducing subsides, privatizing state
  industries, and laying off civil servants. Prospects for foreign trade and
  investment in the 1990s remain poor, however, because of the small size of
  the economy, its technological backwardness, and its remoteness.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion (FY92)
National product real growth rate:
  3.1% (FY92)
National product per capita:
  $170 (FY92)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  14% (November 1992)
Unemployment rate:
  5% (1987); underemployment estimated at 25-40%
Budget:
  revenues $308.0 million; expenditures $672.0 million, including capital
  expenditures of $396 million (FY92 est.)
Exports:
  $313 million (f.o.b., FY92 est.) but does not include unrecorded border
  trade with India
 commodities:
  carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
 partners:
  US, Germany, India, UK
Imports:
  $751 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.)
 commodities:
  petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
 partners:
  India, Singapore, Japan, Germany
External debt:
  $2 billion (FY92 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 6% (FY91 est.); accounts for 7% of GDP
Electricity:
  300,000 kW capacity; 1,000 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
  small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette, textile, carpet,
  cement, and brick production; tourism
Agriculture:
  accounts for 60% of GDP and 90% of work force; farm products - rice, corn,
  wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, buffalo meat; not self-sufficient in
  food, particularly in drought years



@end display

@node Economy (Nepal 2. usage)
@section Economy (Nepal 2. usage)

@display

Illicit drugs:
  illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug
  markets; probable transit point for heroin from Southeast Asia to the West
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $2,230 million; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $286
  million
Currency:
  1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa
Exchange rates:
  Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1 - 43.200 (January 1993), 42.742 (1992),
  37.255 (1991), 29.370 (1990), 27.189 (1989), 23.289 (1988)
Fiscal year:   16 July - 15 July



@end display

@node Communications (Nepal)
@section Communications (Nepal)

@display

Railroads:
  52 km (1990), all 0.762-meter narrow gauge; all in Terai close to Indian
  border; 10 km from Raxaul to Birganj is government owned
Highways:
  7,080 km total (1990); 2,898 km paved, 1,660 km gravel or crushed stone;
  also 2,522 km of seasonally motorable tracks
Airports:
 total:
  37
 usable:
  37
 with permanent-surface runways:
  5
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  1
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  8
Telecommunications:
  poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radio communication and broadcast
  service; international radio communication service is poor; 50,000
  telephones (1990); broadcast stations - 88 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean
  INTELSAT earth station



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Nepal)
@section Defense Forces (Nepal)

@display

Branches:
  Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police Force
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 4,849,109; fit for military service 2,517,385; reach
  military age (17) annually 234,060 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 2% of GDP (FY91/92)



@end display