Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepali Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence after the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16, and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of hereditary rule and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government.
- Capital
- Kathmandu
- Government
- federal parliamentary republic
- Population
- 31,334,402
- Area
- 147,181 sq km
- Location
- Southern Asia, between China and India
- Climate
- varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south
- Natural resources
- quartz; water; timber; hydropower; scenic beauty; small deposits of lignite…
- Languages
- Nepali (official) 44.9%; Maithali 11.1%; Bhojpuri 6.2%; Tharu 5.9%…
- Religions
- Hindu 81.2%; Buddhist 8.2%; Muslim 5.1%; Kirat 3.2%…
- Independence
- 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH)
- Administrative divisions
- 7 provinces (pradesh, singular - pradesh); Bagmati, Gandaki, Karnali, Koshi, Lumbini, Madhesh, Sudurpashchim
- Currency
- Nepalese rupees (NPR)
- Export partners
- India 67%; USA 12%; Germany 3%; China 2%…
- Import partners
- India 71%; China 17%; UAE 3%; Singapore 2%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain