Nepal




                                 Geography


Location:
     Southern Asia, in the Himalayas, between China and India
Map references:
     Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     140,800 sq km
land area:
     136,800 sq km
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 sq km (1989)
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
Note:
     landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight
     of world's 10 highest peaks


                                  People


Population:
     21,041,527 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     2.44% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     37.63 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     13.28 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     83.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     52.53 years
male:
     52.35 years
female:
     52.73 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     5.24 children born/woman (1994 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 est.)
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


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form:
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)
National holiday:
     Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December (1945)
Constitution:
     9 November 1990
Legal system:
     based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted
     compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
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
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Parliament
National Council:
     consists of a 60-member body, 50 appointed by House of Representatives
     and 10 by the King




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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat)
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
Other political or pressure groups:
     numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several
     small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
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
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
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
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




                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $20.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     2.9% (FY93)
National product per capita:
     $1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     9% (September 1993)
Unemployment rate:
     5%; underemployment estimated at 25%-40% (1987)
Budget:
revenues:
     $457 million
expenditures:
     $725 million, including capital expenditures of $427 million (FY93
     est.)
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
Imports:
     $789 million (c.i.f., FY93 est.)
commodities:
     petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
partners:
     India, Singapore, Japan, Germany
External debt:
     $2 billion (FY93 est.)




Industrial production:
     growth rate 6% (FY91 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     300,000 kW
production:
     1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     50 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette, textile,
     carpet, cement, and brick production; tourism
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
Illicit drugs:
     illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug
     markets; transit point for heroin from Southeast Asia to the West
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
Currency:
     1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa
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)
Fiscal year:
     16 July - 15 July


                              Communications


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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police
     Force
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.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $34 million, 2% of GDP (FY91/92)