The Kingdom of Nepal, lying along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain ranges, is a landlocked country located between India to the east, south, and west and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China to the north.

Nepal contains some of the most rugged and difficult mountain terrain in the world. From the south to the north, Nepal can be divided into four main physical belts, each of which extends east to west across the country. These are, first, the Tarai, a low, flat, fertile land adjacent to the border of India; second, the forested Churia foothills and the Inner Tarai zone, rising from the Tarai plain to the rugged Mahabharata Range; third, the mid-mountain region between the Mahabharata Range and the Great Himalayas and, fourth, the Great Himalaya Range.

Kathmandu is the capital city.

Basic Facts                                 

• Official name:      Nepal
• Capital:                Kathmandu

People      

• Population: 26,469,569 (2003 estimate)

Population growth

• Population growth rate: 2.26 percent (2003 estimate)
• Projected population in 2025 39,917,760 (2025 estimate)
• Projected population in 2050 53,293,874 (2050 estimate)
• Population density 180 persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
• 466 persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)

Urban/rural distribution

• Share urban: 12 percent (2001 estimate)
• Share rural: 88 percent (2001 estimate)
• Largest cities, with population: Kathmandu 1,093,414 (2001)
• Ethnic groups: Newar, Bihari, Tibetan, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Thakali, Bhutia, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa

Languages

• Nepali (official), English, almost 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects

Religious affiliations

• Hindu (Hinduism is the official religion): 86 percent
• Buddhist: 8 percent
• Muslim: 4 percent
• Other: 2 percent

Health and Education

Life expectancy:

• Total: 59 years (2003 estimate)
• Female: 58.6 years (2003 estimate)
• Male: 59.4 years (2003 estimate)
• Infant mortality rate: 71 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
• Population per physician: 24,764 people (1998)
• Population per hospital bed: 5,794 people (1997)

Literacy rate:

• Total: 45.2 percent (2003 estimate)
• Female: 27.6 percent (2003 estimate)
• Male: 62.7 percent (2003 estimate)
• Education expenditure as a share of gross national product(GNP): 2.9 percent (1999-2000)
• Number of years of compulsory schooling: 5 years (1998)
• Number of students per teacher, primary school: 38 students per teacher (1999-2000)

Government

• Form of government: Government of Nepal
• Voting qualifications: Universal at age 18
• Constitution: 9 November 1990

Armed forces

• Total number of military personnel: 51,000 (2001)
• Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP): 2.7 percent (2001)

Economy

• Gross domestic product (GDP, in US $): $5.6 billion (2001)
• GDP per capita (US $): $240 (2001)
• GDP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing: 39.1 percent (2001)
• Industry: 22 percent (2001)
• Services: 38.9 percent (2001)

Employment

• Number of workers: 10,983,397 (2001)
• Workforce share of economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing: 79 percent (1995)
• Industry: 6 percent (1995)
• Services: 21 percent (1995)
• Unemployment rate: 1.1 percent (1999)

National budget (U.S. $)

• Total revenue: $567 million (2000)
• Total expenditure: $855 million (2000)

Monetary unit

• 1 Nepalese rupee (NR), consisting of 100 paisa

Time zone

• NPT (UTC+5:45)

Internet TLD

• .np

International calling code

• 977

STD code