Nepal

Full name of country: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal

Region: South Asia

Official language: Nepali

Population: 31,122,387 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Nepali (singular and plural) (noun), Nepali (adjective)

Land area: 143,351 sq km (55,348 sq miles)

Water area: 3,830 sq km (1,479 sq miles)

Capital: Kathmandu

National anthem: "Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka" (Hundreds of Flowers), by Pradeep Kumar Rai/Ambar Gurung

National holiday: Republic Day, May 29

Population growth: 0.7% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +5.75

Flag: Nepal's flag differs from other nations in that it does not have four sides. Instead, the flag of Nepal is the shape of two merged pennants, one atop the other. The flag is solid red with the smaller pennant on top emblazoned with a sun resting in a crescent moon; the lower pennant, which is slightly larger, features a sun. A blue border surrounds the flag, symbolizing peace and harmony. The red signifies bravery.

Motto: "Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi" (Mother and Motherland are Dearer than Heaven)

Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah)

Government type: federal democratic republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, along the Himalaya mountain range, is perhaps best known as the home of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. The landlocked country, similar in size and shape to the American state of Tennessee, is situated between Tibet and India.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: A large percentage of Nepal's population lives along the border with India. The rest live mainly on farmland in the mountains. The overwhelming majority of the population is rural, living in small villages. Only about 21.9 percent of Nepal's people live in cities and towns (2023 estimate).

The capital, Kathmandu, had an estimated population of 1.571 million in 2023. Other major cities include Biratnagar, Pokhara, and Birganj.

Nepal is a linguistically diverse nation. Nepali, the official language, is spoken by 44.9 percent of the population, and is a second language for most others (2021 estimate). It is related to the languages of northern India. Other major languages spoken in Nepal include Maithali and Bhojpuri, and many people involved in business and government also speak English.

According to 2021 estimates, Nepal is home to a variety of ethnic groups, the largest being the Chhettri (16.5 percent) and the Brahman-Hill (11.3 percent). Other groups include the Magar (6.9 percent), Tharu (6.2 percent), Tamang (5.6 percent), Bishwokarma (5 percent), Musalman (4.9 percent), Newar (4.6 percent), and Yadav (4.2 percent). Smaller minorities include the Rai, Gurung, and others.

Nepal's mountainous terrain and deep river gorges keep its people isolated from each other and hamper development. Though castes are officially outlawed, social organization and discrimination based on caste persists. Some analysts have reported that this has worked against efforts aimed at improving Nepal's economy.

Hinduism was long the state religion and is followed by more than 81.2 percent of the population (2021 estimate). However, the 2015 constitution made the country officially secular. In Nepal, Hindu beliefs are often combined with Buddhism. Shrines and temples of both religions are considered sacred. About 8.2 percent of Nepalese are Buddhist.

Other religions include Islam and Kirant, a local traditional belief. Many Hindus and Buddhists also follow traditional beliefs and local gods and spirits.

Indigenous People: Throughout Nepal's long history, groups of nomads, refugees, and conquerors entered the country from India, Tibet, and Central Asia. These peoples became the ancestors of the modern Nepalese. One of the country's oldest ethnic groups, the Kirati, arrived in the region as early as the seventh century BCE.

Today, Nepal's many ethnic groups are kept separated by the rugged terrain. The Nepalese are closely related to the northern Indian peoples. Many others are Tibetan and mixed Indian-Tibetan. Sherpas, both men and women, are known to Westerners as guides for mountain climbers. Gurkhas often serve in the British and Indian armies.

Humanitarian groups generally consider Nepal a difficult place for women. Traditionally many women are often forced into early marriages by their parents. Some are tricked into marriage and then sold into sex work by their husbands. Mothers of children with disabilities are often blamed for the disabilities, and are shunned by their families and society.

Education: Free and compulsory school attendance for children between the ages of six and eleven is guaranteed in Nepal's constitution, and in 2016 basic education was made compulsory through grade eight. Still, many adult Nepalese have had little formal schooling. Calls and plans for further education reform remained ongoing.

Tribhuvan University was for a long time the only university in the country. Now, other state universities include Nepal Sanskrit University, Purbanchal University, and Pokhara University. There is also a private university in Banepa.

In 2021, the literacy rate for citizens older than age fifteen was estimated at 71.2 percent, though it was 81 percent for males and only 63.3 percent for females.

Health Care: Generally, Nepalese believe that some illness is caused by spirits. People tend to treat themselves with home remedies, or turn to traditional healers, known as dhami or jhankri.

Hygiene and sanitation are poor. Diseases such as cholera, leprosy, and tuberculosis are common. Malnutrition is also prevalent. Major causes of death include infectious and parasitic diseases, respiratory diseases, and diseases of the nervous system.

Life expectancy is 73 years overall, and 72.2 years for men and 73.7 years for women (2024 estimates). Health expenditures comprised 5.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020. Nepal placed 146 out of 193 countries and territories on the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index.

Food: Hindus are vegetarians, so Nepalese food consists of mostly vegetable products; very few animal products are consumed. Both Hinduism and Buddhism prohibit eating beef. Buffalo and goat are eaten by some, but no female animal is ever killed for food.

The staple dish of Nepal is dal bhat, a spicy lentil sauce or soup (dal) served over rice (bhat), with tarkari (curried vegetables) on the side. Momo, a type of Tibetan dumpling, is also popular in Nepal. Other popular dishes include sukula (spicy, dried meat), sanya khuna (jellied fish soup), baji samay (flattened rice), and palu (sliced ginger).

Juju dhau, or yogurt, often serves as dessert. Potatoes, introduced to Nepal more than one hundred years ago, grow at high elevations and have become a staple food among the Sherpas.

Food is usually eaten with the fingers (using the right hand only). Nepalese do not eat from a common pot. In fact, if someone eats from another person's plate, the plate is considered unclean.

Tourism has introduced international cuisine to Nepal, including Chinese, Japanese, Indian and other foreign foods.

Arts & Entertainment: Traditional Nepalese art, including architecture, wood-carving, sculpture and historic palm-leaf manuscripts, is religious. Many of these art forms were used to decorate temples or to create representations of deities. Stone, copper, and bronze sculptures from the Lichchhavi period are so carefully created that they do not show chisel marks.

Historically, art in Nepal was modeled on Indian forms. In the nineteenth century, however, Nepali artists turned to the raiput and mughal styles, which are more closely related to Tibetan art.

Nepalese music often employs the saringhi, a four-stringed instrument, or the flute. Traditional folk musicians, called gaines, often provide entertainment for evening social gatherings. Modern musical ensembles, known as damai, are present at virtually every wedding. Jazz is becoming popular, and aficionados hold an annual jazz festival in Kathmandu.

The most popular sports in Nepal are football (soccer) and cricket. However, it was the national taekwondo team who won Nepal's first-ever gold medals in the 1999 South Asia Federation Games.

Holidays: Official holidays include National Unity Day (January 11), Martyrs' Day (January), National Democracy Day (February 19), King Gayahendra's Birthday (July 7), Constitution Day (November 9), and King Birenda's Birthday (December 29).

Since Nepal uses several different calendars, including the lunar calendar, the dates or religious holidays vary from year to year. All major Buddhist and Hindu holidays are celebrated, including the birthdays of Buddha and Krishna.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Nepal is a small, landlocked country in the Himalayas. It shares a border with Tibet on the north and with India on the east, south and west.

The highest elevation is Sagarmatha, or Mount Everest, rising an official 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) above sea level, though Nepal and China have at times disputed the mountain's actual height. The lowest point is Kanchan Kalan, 70 meters (229 feet) above sea level.

Nepal has three topographical regions: the Himalayas, the central hills and valleys, and the Terai lowlands. The first two regions account for 80 percent of the country's area.

The Himalayas cross the northern part of the country from east to west. They are characterized by steep, river-cut valleys, glaciers and snow. Forests cover the mountain slopes. Mountain people herd sheep and yaks (long-haired oxen). According to legend, the Yeti (or "abominable snowman") lives in this region.

South of the mountains stretch the hills and valleys, again from east to west. Many crops are grown in this area. Farmers also herd goats, sheep and cattle. The Terai, along Nepal's southern border with India, is a lowland area of rainforests, swamps and fertile farmland.

Nepal's most prominent river is the Karnal, 180 kilometers (111 miles) long. It rises in Tibet and flows through western Nepal into the Terai and finally joins the Ganges River and the Bay of Bengal.

The Marsayangdi (raging river) is a favorite among expert whitewater rafters. The river rises in the northern Annapurna Himalayas, and then flows east and south, joining the Trisuli River at Muingling. Another good rafting and kayaking river is the Sun Kosi (river of gold), the watershed for eastern Nepal. The Sun Kosi rises in Tibet and runs east, joining the Ganges in India.

Natural Resources: Nepal's natural resources include its extensive forests and its swift rivers, which produce hydroelectricity. Mica is mined, as are small deposits of copper, lignite, iron ore, and cobalt.

Deforestation is a problem, particularly in the lowlands, where land clearance and overgrazing have destroyed most of the tropical forests which used to cover the area. Mountain forests remain, but they have suffered degradation. Villagers collect large amounts of leaf fodder for animal feed and gather wood for fuel, increasing the damage.

Plants & Animals: Nepal boasts surprising biodiversity for such a small country. Wildlife in the Himalaya area includes mountain sheep, snow leopards, musk deer, kyangs (wild horses), tahrs (mountain goat-antelopes), Danfe pheasants (the national bird), blood pheasants, ravens, Tibetan snowcocks, protected Tibetan black-necked cranes, bearded vultures, and Himalayan griffons (eagles).

The Terai is home to numerous species including royal Bengal tigers, hog and spotted deer, tigers, leopards, wild elephants, fresh-water dolphins, wild boars, blue bulls, and a variety of snakes. Endangered animals in this region include gharials (crocodiles), native one-horned rhinoceroses, and wild buffalo.

More than 400 species of birds are also found, especially in parks and reserves, including ibises, storks, egrets, herons, endangered swamp partridges, Bengal floricans (critically endangered), many migratory birds and more than twenty species of ducks.

Nepal is home to more than 10,000 plant species, 5 percent of which are endemic (growing naturally only in Nepal). Of these, roughly 1,600 species are medicinal or aromatic plants, which are used frequently in Nepal. The country also boasts many species of orchids, rhododendrons, oaks, and primroses. Many plants are protected in national parks and conservation areas.

The Terai is home to such trees as teak and sal (Shorea robusta). Savanna (grasslands) and khair-sissoo (scrub forest) are also common in this area. Higher elevations host forests of rhododendron, pine, fir, birch, and bamboo. Grasses, juniper and herbs grow in mountain pastures.

Climate: Nepal's climate varies according to altitude. The higher peaks have a permanent snow cover while Kathmandu, in the central valley, experiences humid, warm and sunny summer weather. The Terai lowland area has a tropical climate.

Kathmandu's temperature ranges from about 2° Celsius (35° Fahrenheit) in winter to 30° Celsius (86° Fahrenheit) in summer. Average temperatures in the Terai vary from 19° Celsius (66° Fahrenheit) in winter to 28° Celsius (82° Fahrenheit) in the summer.

The Terai also experiences the tropical monsoon. Rainfall in the western lowlands ranges from 760 millimeters (30 inches) to 1,000 millimeters (39 inches) annually. In the east, annual rainfall of 1,800 millimeters (70 inches) to 4,000 millimeters (157 inches) is normal.

Experts noted that Nepal, like other countries across the world, had already begun to, and would continue to at a more frequent rate, experience climate change impacts that included flooding, landslides, and droughts.

Economy

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The economy has been adversely affected by the civil war that was fought in the country from 1996 to 2006. Disasters such as the April 2015 earthquake have also set back the nation's development.

The per capita GDP was an estimated US$4,700 in 2023. The unemployment rate was estimated at 10.69 percent in 2023. A significant percentage of Nepalese laborers make their living by agriculture, including subsistence farming. The salaries and pensions of Gurkha soldiers are important to the national economy, along with other remittances.

Industry: Industrial products include textiles (particularly carpets), cigarettes, jute (for rope), cement and bricks, and sugar. Traditional cottage industries involving the production of baskets, cooking oils, and cotton fabrics are also important.

The main products exported include clothing (such as pashminas, a kind of scarf or wrap), carpets, palm and soybean oils, and nutmeg.

Agriculture: Most farming in Nepal is on the subsistence level, and some farms are too small even for that. Many people are landless.

Principal crops grown in Nepal include pulses, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, and root crops.

Livestock products include milk and water buffalo meat.

Tourism: The Himalayas are Nepal's greatest draw for tourists. Climbers, trekkers (hikers), kayakers and rafters visit the country in great numbers.

Other tourist attractions include mountain scenery, wildlife parks, religious sites, historical sites, and, in Kathmandu, even gambling casinos. Violence against travelers rarely occurs.

Tourism declined between 1996 and 2006 because of the Nepali Civil War. Numbers improved after the signing of a peace agreement, but labor strikes and continued political frictions have continued to negatively impact tourism revenues. A sharp dip in tourist visits was also seen in 2015 following the major earthquake that year, but numbers soon increased again. Over 1.19 million international tourists visited Nepal in 2019. This number sharply dropped to 230,000 arrivals in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began that same year. However, the industry had begun to rebound by 2022, with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation reporting 614,869 tourist arrivals that year.

Government

In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) attempted to overthrow the government and install a socialist system in its place. This sparked a civil war (or "Nepalese People's War") that lasted until 2006.

In 2001, as the Maoist insurgents became increasingly violent, the government was thrown into chaos when most of the royal family was shot to death. The official explanation was that the crown prince killed his parents and several siblings, and then shot himself, over a dispute about his chosen bride.

Nepal was briefly a constitutional monarchy, with the king as head of state and the prime minister as head of government. However, Nepal's fragile hold on democracy was broken in February 2005, when the new King Gayanendra dissolved the multi-party system and made himself the executive head of government, creating an absolute monarchy.

The king's stated purpose was to put an end to the Maoist insurgency. Immediately after the king's seizure of power, the European Union expressed concern over political and civil repression in Nepal. A comprehensive peace agreement was signed in 2006 and the monarchy was abolished, though the situation remained fractious. The country declared itself a republic in 2008 and attempts were made to draft a constitution under an interim government. In September 2015, Nepal adopted a new secular constitution, the first in Asia to explicitly protect gay rights.

The president of Nepal is the chief of state and is indirectly elected by the legislature. The prime minister, head of government, is also indirectly elected by the legislature. The prime minister appoints the Council of Ministers to serve as a cabinet.

Nepal's bicameral parliament, first in session in 2018 to fulfill the mandates of the 2015 constitution, is made up of a National Assembly and a House of Representatives. The 59 members of the National Assembly serve six-year terms while the 275 members of the House of Representatives serve five-year terms.

The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court as well as subordinate appellate and district courts.

The veteran political campaigner Ram Chandra Paudel was elected as Nepal's president in March 2023. Khadga Prasad Oli, the leader of Nepal's largest communist party, became prime minister in July 2024 following the collapse of a previous coalition government.

Interesting Facts

• The British Army defeated the Gurkhas in 1817. The British were so impressed with the fighting ability of this small group that the British army has recruited Gurkha soldiers ever since.
• It is believed that spiritual leader Lord Gautama Buddha was born in Nepal in 563 BCE.
• In 2023, Nepalese Sherpa Kami Rita again set the world record for the most climbings of Mount of Everest when he made it to the top of the mountain for a twenty-eighth time.

Bibliography

Human Development Report. United Nations Development Programme, 13 Mar. 2024, hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf‗1.pdf. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Nepal." The World Bank, data.worldbank.org/country/nepal. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Nepal." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2 Jan. 2025., www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Nepal." World Health Organization, www.who.int/countries/npl/en/. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.

"Nepal Country Profile." BBC News, 15 Jul. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12511455. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

Nepal Tourism: Statistics 2022. Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation, May 2023, www.tourism.gov.np/files/NOTICE%20MANAGER‗FILES/Setting‗Nepal%20Tourism%20Statistic‗2022.pdf. Accessed 14 Nov. 2023.