2019 Edition

CIA World Factbook 2019 Archive (Wayback Machine)

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Countries

267

Data Records

66,981

Nepal

2019 Edition · 305 data fields

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Introduction

Background

During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepali Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkhas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. During the ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces, the monarchy dissolved the cabinet and parliament and re-assumed absolute power in 2002, after the crown prince massacred the royal family in 2001. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in 2013, in which the Nepali Congress (NC) won the largest share of seats in the CA and in 2014 formed a coalition government with the second-place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) with NC President Sushil KOIRALA serving as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in 2015, at which point the CA became the Parliament. Khagda Prasad Sharma OLI served as the first post-constitution prime minister from 2015 to 2016. OLI resigned ahead of a no-confidence motion against him, and Parliament elected Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) leader Pushpa Kamal DAHAL (aka "Prachanda") prime minister. The constitution provided for a transitional period during which three sets of elections – local, provincial, and national – needed to take place. The first local elections in 20 years occurred in three phases between May and September 2017, and state and federal elections proceeded in two phases in November and December 2017. The parties headed by OLI and DAHAL ran in coalition and swept the parliamentary elections, and OLI, who led the larger of the two parties, was sworn in as prime minister in February 2018. In May 2018, OLI and DAHAL announced the merger of their parties - the UML and CPN-M - to establish the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), which is now the ruling party in Parliament.

Geography

Area

Land: 143,351 sq km
Total: 147,181 sq km
Water: 3,830 sq km

Area Comparative

slightly larger than New York state

Climate

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

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation

Highest Point: Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,848 m
Lowest Point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
Mean Elevation: 2,565 m

Environment Current Issues

deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); forest degradation; soil erosion; contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); unmanaged solid-waste; wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions

Environment International Agreements

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

Geographic Coordinates

28 00 N, 84 00 E

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 mountains - on the borders with China and India respectively

Irrigated Land

13,320 sq km (2012)

Land Boundaries

Border Countries: China 1389 km, India 1770 km
Total: 3,159 km

Land Use

Agricultural Land: 28.8% (2011 est.)
Agricultural Land Arable Land: 15.1% (2011 est.)
Agricultural Land Permanent Crops: 1.2% (2011 est.)
Agricultural Land Permanent Pasture: 12.5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 25.4% (2011 est.)
Other: 45.8% (2011 est.)

Location

Southern Asia, between China and India

Map References

Asia

Maritime Claims

none (landlocked)

Natural Hazards

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

Natural Resources

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

Population Distribution

most of the population is divided nearly equally between a concentration in the southern-most plains of the Tarai region and the central hilly region; overall density is quite low

Terrain

Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south; central hill region with rugged Himalayas in north

People and Society

Age Structure

0 14 Years: 29.54% (male 4,578,768 /female 4,198,913)
15 24 Years: 21.52% (male 3,250,614 /female 3,145,807)
25 54 Years: 37.18% (male 4,987,071 /female 6,061,616)
55 64 Years: 6.42% (male 917,342 /female 991,937)
65 Years And Over: 5.34% (male 785,893 /female 799,626) (2018 est.)

Birth Rate

19.1 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Children Under The Age Of 5 Years Underweight

27.2% (2016)

Contraceptive Prevalence Rate

52.6% (2016/17)

Current Health Expenditure

6.3% (2016)

Death Rate

5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Dependency Ratios

Elderly Dependency Ratio: 8.8 (2015 est.)
Potential Support Ratio: 11.3 (2015 est.)
Total Dependency Ratio: 61.4 (2015 est.)
Youth Dependency Ratio: 52.5 (2015 est.)

Drinking Water Source

Improved Rural: 91.8% of population
Improved Total: 91.6% of population
Improved Urban: 90.9% of population
Unimproved Rural: 8.2% of population
Unimproved Total: 8.4% of population (2015 est.)
Unimproved Urban: 9.1% of population

Education Expenditures

5.2% of GDP (2018)

Ethnic Groups

Chhettri 16.6%, Brahman-Hill 12.2%, Magar 7.1%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.8%, Newar 5%, Kami 4.8%, Muslim 4.4%, Yadav 4%, Rai 2.3%, Gurung 2%, Damai/Dholii 1.8%, Thakuri 1.6%, Limbu 1.5%, Sarki 1.4%, Teli 1.4%, Chamar/Harijan/Ram 1.3%, Koiri/Kushwaha 1.2%, other 19% (2011 est.)

HIV/AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate

0.1% (2018 est.)

HIV/AIDS Deaths

900 (2018 est.)

HIV/AIDS People Living With HIV/AIDS

30,000 (2018 est.)

Hospital Bed Density

3 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Infant Mortality Rate

Female: 25.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 28.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Total: 26.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Languages

Nepali (official) 44.6%, Maithali 11.7%, Bhojpuri 6%, Tharu 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.2%, Bajjika 3%, Magar 3%, Doteli 3%, Urdu 2.6%, Avadhi 1.9%, Limbu 1.3%, Gurung 1.2%, Baitadeli 1%, other 6.4%, unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Female: 72 years
Male: 70.6 years
Total Population: 71.3 years (2018 est.)

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Female: 53.1% (2015)
Male: 76.4%
Total Population: 63.9%

Major Infectious Diseases

Degree Of Risk: high (2016)
Food Or Waterborne Diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever (2016)
Vectorborne Diseases: Japanese encephalitis, malaria, and dengue fever (2016)

Major Urban Areas Population

1.376 million KATHMANDU (capital) (2019)

Maternal Mortality Rate

186 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Median Age

Female: 25.8 years
Male: 23.2 years
Total: 24.5 years (2018 est.)

Mother's Mean Age at First Birth

20.8 years (2016 est.)

Nationality

Adjective: Nepali
Noun: Nepali (singular and plural)

Net Migration Rate

-2.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Obesity Adult Prevalence Rate

4.1% (2016)

Physicians Density

0.65 physicians/1,000 population (2017)

Population

29,717,587 (July 2018 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.09% (2018 est.)

Religions

Hindu 81.3%, Buddhist 9%, Muslim 4.4%, Kirant 3.1%, Christian 1.4%, other 0.5%, unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)

Sanitation Facility Access

Improved Rural: 43.5% of population (2015 est.)
Improved Total: 45.8% of population (2015 est.)
Improved Urban: 56% of population (2015 est.)
Unimproved Rural: 56.5% of population (2015 est.)
Unimproved Total: 54.2% of population (2015 est.)
Unimproved Urban: 44% of population (2015 est.)

School Life Expectancy Primary To Tertiary Education

Female: 13 years (2017)
Male: 12 years
Total: 12 years

Sex Ratio

0 14 Years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15 24 Years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25 54 Years: 0.82 male(s)/female
55 64 Years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 Years And Over: 0.98 male(s)/female
At Birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
Total Population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Total Fertility Rate

2.07 children born/woman (2018 est.)

Urbanization

Rate Of Urbanization: 3.15% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Urban Population: 20.2% of total population (2019)

Government

Administrative Divisions

7 provinces; Gandaki Pradesh, Karnali Pradesh, Province No. One, Province No. Two, Province No. Three, Province No. Five, Sudurpashchim Pradesh

Capital

Geographic Coordinates: 27 43 N, 85 19 E
Name: Kathmandu
Time Difference: UTC+5.75 (10.75 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Citizenship

Citizenship By Birth: yes
Citizenship By Descent Only: yes
Dual Citizenship Recognized: no
Residency Requirement For Naturalization: 15 years

Constitution

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; last amended 2016 (2019)
History: several previous; latest approved by the Second Constituent Assembly 16 September 2015, signed by the president and effective 20 September 2015

Country Name

Conventional Long Form: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Conventional 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
Local Long Form: Sanghiya Loktantrik Ganatantra Nepal
Local Short Form: Nepal

Diplomatic Representation From The Us

Chief Of Mission: Ambassador Randy BERRY (since 25 October 2018)
Embassy: Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: [977] (1) 400-7272
Mailing Address: US Embassy, Maharajgunj Chakrapath, Kathmandu, Nepal 44600
Telephone: [977] (1) 423-4000

Diplomatic Representation In The Us

Chancery: 2730 34th Place NW, Washington, DC 20007
Chief Of Mission: Ambassador Arjun Kumar KARKI (since 18 May 2015)
Consulate's General: Chicago (IL), New York
Fax: [1] (202) 667-5534
Telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550

Executive Branch

Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet dominated by the Nepal Communist Party
Election Results: Bidhya Devi BHANDARI reelected president; electoral vote - Bidhya Devi BHANDARI (CPN-UML) 39,275, Kumari Laxmi RAI (NC) 11,730
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); election last held 13 March 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister indirectly elected by the Federal Parliament
Head Of Government: Prime Minister Khadga Prasad (KP) Sharma OLI (since 15 February 2018); deputy prime ministers Ishwar POKHREL, Upendra YADAV (since 1 June 2018)
Head Of State: President Bidhya Devi BANDHARI (since 29 October 2015); Vice President Nanda Bahadar PUN (since 31 October 2015)

Flag Description

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

Government Type

federal parliamentary republic

Independence

1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)

International Law Organization Participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

International Organization Participation

ADB, BIMSTEC, CD, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSMA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial Branch

Highest Courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 20 judges)
Judge Selection And Term Of Office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, a 5-member, high-level advisory body headed by the prime minister; other judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Judicial Council, a 5-member advisory body headed by the chief justice; the chief justice serves a 6-year term; judges serve until age 65
Subordinate Courts: High Court; district courts

Legal System

English common law and Hindu legal concepts; note - new criminal and civil codes came into effect on 17 August 2018

Legislative Branch

Description: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of: National Assembly (59 seats; 56 members, including at least 3 women, 1 Dalit, 1 member with disabilities, or 1 minority indirectly elected by an electoral college of state and municipal government leaders, and 3 members, including 1 woman, nominated by the president of Nepal on the recommendation of the government; members serve 6-year terms with renewal of one-third of the membership every 2 years) House of Representatives (275 seats; 165 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 110 members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Election Results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NCP 42, NC 13, FSFN 2, RJPN 2; composition - men 37, women 22, percent of women 37.3% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NCP 174, NC 63, RJPN 17, FSFN 16, other 4, independent 1; composition - men 185, women 90, percent of women 32.7%; note - total Federal Parliament percent of women 33.5%
Elections: first election for the National Assembly held on 7 February 2018 (next to be held in 2024) first election for House of Representatives held on 26 November and 7 December 2017 (next to be held in 2022)

National Anthem

Lyrics Music: Pradeep Kumar RAI/Ambar GURUNG
Name: "Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka" (Hundreds of Flowers)

National Holiday

Constitution Day, 20 September (2015); note - marks the promulgation of Nepal’s constitution in 2015 and replaces the previous 28 May Republic Day as the official national day in Nepal; the Gregorian day fluctuates based on Nepal’s Hindu calendar

National Symbol S

rhododendron blossom; national color: red

Political Parties And Leaders

the Election Commission of Nepal granted ballot access under the proportional system to 88 political parties for the November-December 2017 House of Representatives election to the Federal Parliament; of these, the following 8 parties won seats: Federal Socialist Forum, Nepal or FSFN [Upendra YADAV] Naya Shakti Party, Nepal [Baburam BHATTARAI] Nepal Communist Party or NCP [Khadga Prasad OLI, Pushpa Kamal DAHAL] Nepali Congress or NC [Sher Bahadur DEUBA] Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE] Rastriya Janamorcha [Chitra Bahadur K.C.] Rastriya Janata Party or RJPN [Mahanta THAKUR] Rastriya Prajatantra party or RPP [Kamal THAPA]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Economy

Agriculture Products

pulses, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, jute, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat

Budget

Expenditures: 5.945 billion (2017 est.)
Revenues: 5.925 billion (2017 est.)

Budget Surplus Or Deficit

-0.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Central Bank Discount Rate

30 July 2016: 7%
30 July 2017: 7%

Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate

31 December 2016: 8.9%
31 December 2017: 11.3%

Current Account Balance

2016: $1.339 billion
2017: -$93 million

Debt External

31 December 2016: $4.321 billion
31 December 2017: $5.849 billion

Distribution Of Family Income Gini Index

2008: 47.2
2010: 32.8

Economy Overview

Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Nepal is heavily dependent on remittances, which amount to as much as 30% of GDP. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for almost two-thirds of the population but accounting for less than a third of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural products, including pulses, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain.Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower, with an estimated 42,000 MW of commercially feasible capacity. Nepal has signed trade and investment agreements with India, China, and other countries, but political uncertainty and a difficult business climate have hampered foreign investment. The United States and Nepal signed a $500 million Millennium Challenge Corporation Compact in September 2017 which will expand Nepal’s electricity infrastructure and help maintain transportation infrastructure.Massive earthquakes struck Nepal in early 2015, which damaged or destroyed infrastructure and homes and set back economic development. Although political gridlock and lack of capacity have hindered post-earthquake recovery, government-led reconstruction efforts have progressively picked up speed, although many hard hit areas still have seen little assistance. Additional challenges to Nepal's growth include its landlocked geographic location, inconsistent electricity supply, and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure.

Exchange Rates

2013: 99.53
2014: 102.41
2015: 107.38
2016: 107.38
2017: 104
Currency: Nepalese rupees (NPR) per US dollar -

Exports

2016: $761.6 million
2017: $818.7 million

Exports Commodities

clothing, pulses, carpets, textiles, juice, jute goods

Exports Partners

India 53.1%, US 11.8%, Turkey 7.2% (2017)

Fiscal Year

16 July - 15 July

GDP Composition By End Use

Exports Of Goods And Services: 9.8% (2017 est.)
Government Consumption: 11.7% (2017 est.)
Household Consumption: 78% (2017 est.)
Imports Of Goods And Services: -42% (2017 est.)
Investment In Fixed Capital: 33.8% (2017 est.)
Investment In Inventories: 8.7% (2017 est.)

GDP Composition By Sector Of Origin

Agriculture: 27% (2017 est.)
Industry: 13.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 59.5% (2017 est.)

GDP Official Exchange Rate

$24.88 billion (2017 est.)

GDP Per Capita Ppp

2015: $2,500
2016: $2,500
2017: $2,700

GDP Purchasing Power Parity

2015: $72.96 billion
2016: $73.39 billion
2017: $79.19 billion

GDP Real Growth Rate

2015: 3.3%
2016: 0.6%
2017: 7.9%

Gross National Saving

2015: 44% of GDP
2016: 40.2% of GDP
2017: 45.4% of GDP

Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share

Highest 10: 29.5% (2011)
Lowest 10: 3.2%

Imports

2016: $8.764 billion
2017: $10 billion

Imports Commodities

petroleum products, machinery and equipment, gold, electrical goods, medicine

Imports Partners

India 70.2%, China 7.5% (2017)

Industrial Production Growth Rate

12.4% (2017 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation Rate Consumer Prices

2016: 9.9%
2017: 4.5%

Labor Force

16.81 million (2017 est.)

Labor Force By Occupation

Agriculture: 69%
Industry: 12%
Services: 19% (2015 est.)

Market Value Of Publicly Traded Shares

31 October 2015: $11.37 billion
31 October 2016: $19.4 billion
31 October 2017: $17.57 billion

Population Below Poverty Line

25.2% (2011 est.)

Public Debt

2016: 27.9% of GDP
2017: 26.4% of GDP

Reserves Of Foreign Exchange And Gold

31 December 2016: $8.506 billion
31 December 2017: $9.091 billion

Stock Of Broad Money

31 December 2016: $4.857 billion
31 December 2017: $5.505 billion

Stock Of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad

Stock Of Direct Foreign Investment at Home

31 July 2013: $103 million

Stock Of Domestic Credit

31 December 2016: $17.94 billion
31 December 2017: $21.99 billion

Stock Of Narrow Money

31 December 2016: $4.857 billion
31 December 2017: $5.505 billion

Taxes And Other Revenues

23.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Unemployment Rate

2016: 3.2%
2017: 3%

Energy

Subscriptions Per 100 Inhabitants: 1 (2017 est.)
Total: 224,184

Broadcast Media

state operates 3 TV stations, as well as national and regional radio stations; 117 television channels are licensed, among those 71 are cable television channels, three are distributed through Direct-To-Home (DTH) system, and four are digital terrestrial; 736 FM radio stations are licensed and at least 314 of those radio stations are community radio stations (2019)

Internet Country Code

.np

Internet Users

Percent Of Population: 19.7% (July 2016 est.)
Total: 5,716,419

Telephone System

Domestic: mobile service has been extended to all 75 districts covering 90% of Nepal’s land area; 3G coverage is available in 20 major cities (2019); disparity between high coverage in cities and coverage available in underdeveloped rural regions; fixed-line 3 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular 109 per 100 persons (2018)
General Assessment: mountainous topography hinders development of telecom infrastructure; fair radiotelephone communication service; 20% of the market share is fixed (wired) broadband, 2% is fixed (wireless) broadband, and 78% is mobile broadband (2019); fixed broadband is low due to limited number of fixed lines and preeminence of the mobile platform; accelerated mobile broadband penetration the last five years; 90% of the population will have access to broadband by 2020 (2018)
International: country code - 977; Nepal, China and Tibet connected across borders with underground and all-dielectric self-supporting (ADSS) fiber-optic cables; radiotelephone communications; microwave and fiber landlines to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)

Telephones Fixed Lines

Subscriptions Per 100 Inhabitants: 3 (2017 est.)
Total Subscriptions: 861,299

Telephones Mobile Cellular

Subscriptions Per 100 Inhabitants: 109 (July 2016 est.)
Total Subscriptions: 32,120,305

Transportation

Airports

47 (2013)

Airports With Paved Runways

1 524 To 2 437 M: 3 (2017)
914 To 1 523 M: 6 (2017)
Over 3 047 M: 1 (2017)
Total: 11 (2017)
Under 914 M: 1 (2017)

Airports With Unpaved Runways

1 524 To 2 437 M: 1 (2013)
914 To 1 523 M: 6 (2013)
Total: 36 (2013)
Under 914 M: 29 (2013)

Civil Aircraft Registration Country Code Prefix

9N (2016)

National Air Transport System

Annual Freight Traffic On Registered Air Carriers: 4,536,371 mt-km (2015)
Annual Passenger Traffic On Registered Air Carriers: 510,341 (2015)
Inventory Of Registered Aircraft Operated By Air Carriers: 15 (2015)
Number Of Registered Air Carriers: 4 (2015)

Railways

Narrow Gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2018)
Total: 59 km (2018)

Roadways

Paved: 11,890 km (2016)
Total: 27,990 km (2016)
Unpaved: 16,100 km (2016)

Military and Security

Military And Security Forces

Nepal Army (includes Air Wing); Nepal Armed Police Force (under the Ministry of Home Affairs; paramilitary force responsible for border and internal security, including counter-insurgency, and assisting the Army in the event of an external invasion) (2019)

Military Expenditures

2014: 1.63% of GDP
2015: 1.56% of GDP
2016: 1.7% of GDP
2017: 1.55% of GDP
2018: 1.44% of GDP

Military Service Age And Obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service (including women); no conscription (2019)

Transnational Issues

Disputes International

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

Illicit Drugs

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

Refugees And Internally Displaced Persons

Refugees Country Of Origin: 13,509 (Tibet/China), 6,626 (Bhutan) (2018)
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

Terrorism

Terrorist Groups Foreign Based

aim(s): enhance networks in Nepal to carry out attacks against Indians in Nepal and India area(s) of operation: maintains active hubs of small, loosely connected networks (2018)