Asia and Oceania

Nepal
Last reviewed: 07 November 2011

Country information

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Map of Nepal

Area: Approximately 147,000 sq km, stretching 800km from east to west and from 90 to 230km north to south.
Population: 29 million (World Bank).
Capital city: Kathmandu. Population of about 990,000 in the city itself. Believed to be approximately 1.8m in the fertile Kathmandu Valley. (from World Gazetteer 2010)
Peoples: Indigenous peoples include Gurung, Limbu, Newar, Rai, Sherpa, Tamang and Tharu with diverse smaller groups. Major caste groups are the Brahmins and Chhetris. Large numbers of Indians and some Tibetans make their home in the country.
Language(s): Nepali 58% (official language), Newari 3%, mainly in Kathmandu. Tibeto- Burman languages (20%) mainly in the hill areas, and Indian-related languages (20%) mainly in the Terai areas bordering India. Nepal has over 30 Languages and over a hundred dialects.
Religion(s): Officially 90% Hindu, 8% Buddhist and 4% Muslim – but accurate figures are not available. Hinduism and Buddhism overlap considerably in Nepal. Estimates suggest that there are some 400,000 Christians in the country.
Currency: Nepalese Rupee (NPR) which is pegged to the Indian Rupee.
Major political parties: Unified Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist (Chairman – Pushpa Kamal Dahal AKA ‘Prachanda’), Nepali Congress (President - Sushil Koirala), Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) (Chairman - Jhalanath Khanal), Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic (MJF-D) (Chairman – Bijay Gachchhadar)
Government: Nepal is a parliamentary democracy with a largely ceremonial President as Head of State and a Prime Minister as Head of Government. The Prime Minister currently leads a coalition government. Elections for a 601-seat Constituent Assembly cum legislature were held on 10 April 2008. General elections will be held when a new constitution has been promulgated.
Head of State: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav (Nepali Congress)
Prime Minister: Dr Baburam Bhattarai (UCPN-Maoist)
Minister for Foreign Affairs: Narayan Kaji Shrestha (and Deputy Prime Minister)
Membership of international groupings/organisations: United Nations, South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), Council of Democracies.