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                                                               
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Kingdom of Nepal                                                
                                                                                
Type: constitutional monarchy                                                   
                                                                                
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 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                                                           
                                                                                
Member of: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,                    
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM,             
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO                    
                                                                                
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)                
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.0% (FY90 est.)                             
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 5%; underemployment estimated at 25-40% (1987)               
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $316.5 million; expenditures $618.5 million,                   
including capital expenditures of $398 (FY91 est.)                              
                                                                                
Exports: $125 million (f.o.b., FY90), but does not include                      
unrecorded border trade with India;                                             
                                                                                
commodities--clothing, carpets, leather goods, grain;                           
                                                                                
partners--India 38%, US 23%, UK 6%, other Europe 9% (FY88)                      
                                                                                
Imports: $454.3illion (c.i.f., FY90 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%;             
                                                                                
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                                     
                                                                                
Currency: Nepalese rupee (plural--rupees);                                      
1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa                                               
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1--30.805 (January                 
1991), 29.370 (1990), 27.189 (1989), 23.289 (1988), 21.819 (1987), 21.230       
(1986), 18.246 (1985)                                                           
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: 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)                             
                                                                                
