NEPAL
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 140,800 km2; land area: 136,800 km2
Comparative area: slightly larger than Arkansas
Land boundaries: 2,926 km total; China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Climate: varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to
subtropical summers and mild winter 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 NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 13%; forest and woodland 33%; other 37%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment: contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks;
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India
PEOPLE
Population: 19,611,900 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 39 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 50 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 5.5 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Nepalese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Nepalese
Ethnic divisions: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars,
Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas, as well as many smaller groups
Religion: only official Hindu state in world, although no sharp
distinction between many Hindu (about 90% of population) and Buddhist
groups (about 5% of population); Muslims 3%, other 2% (1981)
Language: Nepali (official); 20 languages divided into numerous
dialects
Literacy: 26% (male 38%, female 13%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force: 4,100,000; agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2%;
severe lack of skilled labor
Organized labor: Teachers' Union and many other nonofficially
recognized unions
Independence: 1768, unified by Prithyi 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)
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
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)
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party--Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Girija Prasad KOIRALA,
Ganesh Man SINGH, Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI;
center--the NDP has two factions: National Democratic
Party/Chand (NDP/Chand), Lokinra Bahadur CHAND, and
National Democratic Party/Thapa (NDP/Thapa), Surya Bahadur THAPA;
Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, G. N. Naryan SINGH;
Communist--Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist and
Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan ADIKHARY;
United People's Front (UPF), N. K. PRASAI;
Rohit Party, N. M. BIJUKCHHE;
Democratic Party, leader NA
Suffrage: universal at age 18
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%,
independent 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, independent 3;
note--the new Constitution of 9 November 1990 gives Nepal a multiparty
democracy system for the first time in 32 years
Communists: Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)
Other political or pressure groups: numerous small, left-leaning
student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese
antimonarchist groups
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Mohan Man SAINJU; Chancery at
2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 667-4550; there
is a Nepalese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Julia Chang BLOCH; Embassy at Pani Pokhari,
Kathmandu; telephone 977 (1) 411179 or 412718, 411601, 411613, 413890
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 with a per capita income of less than $200. Real growth
averaged 4% in the 1980s until FY89, when it plunged to 1.5% because of
a trade/transit dispute with India. Though the impasse is over,
political turmoil and inflated energy costs will probably constrain
growth to under 4%. 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 87% of foreign exchange earnings in FY89.
Apart from agricultural land and forests, the only other exploitable
natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural
production in the late 1980s grew by about 5%, compared
with a population growth of 2.6%. Forty percent or more of the
population is undernourished partly because of poor distribution.
Economic prospects for the 1990s are poor, with economic growth
probably outpacing population growth only slightly.
GDP: $3.0 billion, per capita $160; real growth rate 2.1% (FY90)
partners--India 36%, Japan 13%, Europe 4%, US 1% (FY88)
External debt: $2.5 billion (April 1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 6% (FY90 est.); accounts
for 7% of GDP
Electricity: 280,000 kW capacity; 540 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette,
textiles, carpets, cement, brick; 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
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and
international drug markets
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-88), $2.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $286 million
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: 7,080 km total (1990); 2,898 km paved, 1,660 km gravel
or crushed stone; also 2,522 km of seasonally motorable tracks
Civil air: 5 major and 11 minor transport aircraft
Airports: 37 total, 37 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 8 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair
radio communication and broadcast service; international radio
communication service is poor; 50,000 telephones (1990); 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 15-49, 4,669,421; 2,420,398 fit for
military service; 233,404 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: $38 million, 2% of GDP (FY91)
