1993 Edition

Area

total area: 140,800 km2 land area: 136,800 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Arkansas

Climate

varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks; deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

9,430 km2 (1989)

Land boundaries

total 2,926 km, China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km

Land use

arable land: 17% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 13% forest and woodland: 33% other: 37%

Location

South Asia, in the Himalayas, between China and India

Map references

Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

quartz, water, timber, hydroelectric potential, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore

Note

landlocked; strategic location between China and India

Terrain

Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north

Birth rate

37.99 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

13.66 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas

Infant mortality rate

85.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

8.5 million (1991 est.) by occupation: agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2% note: severe lack of skilled labor

Languages

Nepali (official), 20 languages divided into numerous dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 51.98 years male: 51.84 years female: 52.12 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 26% male: 38% female: 13%

Nationality

noun: Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

20,535,466 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

2.43% (1993 est.)

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

Total fertility rate

5.33 children born/woman (1993 est.)

Administrative divisions

14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti

Capital

Kathmandu

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)

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

Constitution

9 November 1990

Digraph

NP

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

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers

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

Head of Government

Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 29 May 1991)

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

Independence

1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat)

Legal system

based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or National Council and a lower house or House of Representatives

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

Names

conventional long form: Kingdom of Nepal conventional short form: Nepal

National holiday

Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December (1945)

Other political or pressure groups

numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups

Political parties and leaders

ruling party: Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Party president Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI, Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA, Ganesh Man SINGH center:

Lokendra Bahadur CHAND; and National Democratic Party/Thapa (NDP/Thapa), Surya Bahadur THAPA; Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, Gayendra Narayan SINGH

the NDP has two factions

National Democratic Party/Chand (NDP/Chand),

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy as of 12 May 1991

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

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

Budget

revenues $308.0 million; expenditures $672.0 million, including capital expenditures of $396 million (FY92 est.)

Currency

1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

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

Electricity

300,000 kW capacity; 1,000 million kWh produced, 50 kWh per capita (1992)

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)

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

External debt

$2 billion (FY92 est.)

Fiscal year

16 July - 15 July

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; probable transit point for heroin from Southeast Asia to the West

Imports

$751 million (c.i.f., FY92 est.) commodities: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10% partners: India, Singapore, Japan, Germany

Industrial production

growth rate 6% (FY91 est.); accounts for 7% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

14% (November 1992)

National product

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.4 billion (FY92)

National product per capita

$170 (FY92)

National product real growth rate

3.1% (FY92)

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.

Unemployment rate

5% (1987); underemployment estimated at 25-40%

Airports

total: 37 usable: 37 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 8

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

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

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

Branches

Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 2% of GDP (FY91/92)

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.)