Nepal

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

Highways

total: 7,080 km paved: 2,898 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 1,660 km; seasonally motorable tracks 2,522 km (1990)

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 5,003,661; fit for military service 2,598,507; reach military age (17) annually 241,405 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 60% of GDP and 93% 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: $457 million expenditures: $725 million, including capital expenditures of $427 million (FY93 est.)

Currency

1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $2.23 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $286 million

Electricity

capacity: 300,000 kW production: 1 billion kWh consumption per capita: 50 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates

Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1 - 49.240 (January 1994), 48.607 (1993), 42.742 (1992), 37.255 (1991), 29.370 (1990), 27.189 (1989)

Exports

$369 million (f.o.b., FY93) 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 (FY93 est.)

Fiscal year

16 July - 15 July

Illicit drugs

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

Imports

$789 million (c.i.f., FY93 est.) commodities: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10% partners: India, Singapore, Japan, Germany

Industrial production

growth rate 6% (FY91 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9% (September 1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $20.5 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$1,000 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

2.9% (FY93)

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 FY94. 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. 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 subsidies, 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, its remoteness, and susceptibility to natural disaster. Nepal experienced severe flooding in August 1993 which caused at least $50 million in damage to the country's infrastructure.

Unemployment rate

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

Area

total area: 140,800 sq km land area: 136,800 sq km 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

current issues: the almost total dependence on wood for fuel and cutting down trees to expand agricultural land without replanting has resulted in widespread deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution (use of contaminated water presents human health risks) natural hazards: vulnerable to severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

9,430 sq km (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

Southern 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; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks

Terrain

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

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Kathmandu

Constitution

9 November 1990

Digraph

NP

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: (vacant) chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 667-4550 consulate(s) general: New York

Executive branch

head of government: Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 29 May 1991) 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) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the king on recommendation of the prime minister

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

House of Representatives

elections 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

Member of

AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Names

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

National Council

consists of a 60-member body, 50 appointed by House of Representatives and 10 by the King

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

Nepali Congress Party (NCP), president Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI, Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA, Supreme Leader Ganesh Man SINGH; The Conservative National Democratic Party (NDP/Thapa), Surya Bahadur THAPA; Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist and Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan ADHIKARI; Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, Gajendra Narayan SINGH; United People's Front (UPF), Lila Mani POKHREL; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP), Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE; National Democratic Party/Chand (NDP/Chand), Lokendra Bahadur CHAND; Rohit Party, N. M. BIJUKCHHE; Communist Party of Nepal (Democratic-Manandhar), B. B. MANANDHAR

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy as of 12 May 1991

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Sandra VOGELGESANG embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 or 412718, 411613, 413890

Birth rate

37.63 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

13.28 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

83.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 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: 52.53 years male: 52.35 years female: 52.73 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

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

Nationality

noun: Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

21,041,527 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.44% (1994 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

5.24 children born/woman (1994 est.)