Facts about Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Language: Nepali (offi cial) & 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects.
Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali is related to the Indian language, Hindi, and is
spoken by about 90 percent of the populati on in either nati ve or second language
fl uency. Many Nepalese in government and business also speak English.

Time Zone: 5 hrs 45 min ahead of GMT

Currency: 1 Nepalese Rupee (NR) divided into 100 paise Exchange Rate: 74.5 NR =
1 US Dollar

Internati onal Calling Code: 977 + city codes (Kathmandu 1, Pokhara 61)

Nati onal Calendar: The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12
months: Baisakh, Jestha, Asadh, Shrawan, Bhadra, Aswin, Karti k, Marga, Poush,
Phalgun, Chaitra. Saturday is the offi cial weekly holiday.

Unifi cati on Day: 1768 (by Prithvi Narayan Shah - First King)

Consti tuti on Birth: November 9, 1990

Nati onal Anthem: "May Glory Crown Our Illustrious Sovereign"

Nati onal Mott o: "The Motherland Is Worth More than the Kingdom of Heaven."

Nati onal Bird: Danphe

Nati onal Flower: the spectacular rhododendron 'gras' in Nepali

Land:

Area Total: 140,800 km2, Area Land: 136,800 km2

Land use: arable land: 17% permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 42%

Geography: landlocked; strategic locati on between India and Chinese-occupied

Tibet; extremely diverse terrain ranging from ferti le plains and broad valleys to
containing eight of the world's ten highest peaks.

Climate: Nepal has a climate that ranges from subtropical summers with mild
winters in the southern lowlands to an alpine climate with cool summers as well as
severe winters in the mountains. Average annual precipitati on decreases from
1,778 mm (70 inches) in the east to 899 mm (35 inches) in the west.

People:

Ethnic Groups: Among the earliest inhabitants were the Newars of the Kathmandu
Valley and aboriginal Tharus in the southern Terai region. The Indo-Nepalese
migrated from India and are ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups,
which account for nearly 80% of the populati on. The Tibeto-Nepalese account for
the remainder and trace their origins to central Asia and Tibet, including the
Gurungs, Magars and Tamang in the west, Rais and Limbus in the east, and Sherpas
and Bhoti as in the north.

Religion: 90% Hindu (offi cial state religion) 5% Buddhist, 3% Muslim, 2% Other
(Christi an, indigenous & animisti c practi ces) While Nepal is the only Hindu country
in the world, Hinduism has synthesized with Buddhism in Nepal. As a result,
Buddhist and Hindu shrines and festi vals are respected and celebrated by all.

Populati on: 23,200,000 (2001 census)

Populati on growth rate: 2.27% (2001 census)

Kathmandu Valley Populati on Growth: 6%+ (2001 census)

Birth rate: 33.83 births/1,000 populati on (2000 est.)

Death rate: 10.41 deaths/1,000 populati on (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 75.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total: 57.84 years

male: 58.3 years, female: 57.35 years (2000 est.)

Total ferti lity rate: 4.68 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Sex Distributi on: 49.5% male, 50.5% female (2001 census)

Distributi on: 15% Urban, 85% Rural (2001 census)

Note: refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 96,500 Bhutanese
refugees, 90% of whom are in 7 United Nati ons Offi ce of the High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) camps

Issues: Illegal traffi cking in women is one of the biggest issues facing Nepal today.
Lured by promises of employment in big Indian citi es like New Delhi, Mumbia and
Kolkatt a, large numbers of Nepali young girls are smuggled by fl esh traders and
forced into prosti tuti on. The fl esh trade is made simpler due to the open border
ensuring free movement of people. Nepali NGOs esti mate that hundreds of
thousands of Nepali women, mostly teenagers are forced to work in brothels in
India. The United Nati ons has expressed concern over the growing traffi cking and
urged the Nepali and Indian authoriti es to initi ate acti on to curb this trade.

Economy:

GDP: $US 27.2 billion Rank: 77 / 191 countries (2000)

'Real' GDP per capita: $1,101 Rank: 159 / 191 (2000)

GDP Compositi on: agriculture: 41% industry: 22% services: 37%

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly
half of its populati on living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of
the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the populati on and accounti ng
for 40% of GDP. Industrial acti vity mainly involves the processing of agricultural
produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco and grain. Producti on of texti les and
carpets has expanded recently and accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange
earnings in the past three years. Apart from agricultural land and forests,
exploitable natural resources are mica, hydropower and tourism. Agricultural
producti on is growing by about fi ve percent on average as compared with annual
populati on growth of 2.5%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving
forward with economic reforms parti cularly those that encourage trade and
foreign investment.

The government has also been cutti ng expenditures by reducing subsidies,

privati zing state industries and laying off civil servants. More recently, however,
politi cal instability—fi ve diff erent governments over the past few years—has
hampered Kathmandu’s ability to forge consensus to implement key economic
reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerati ng economic growth by
exploiti ng its potenti al in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign
investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors
remain poor due to the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness,
its remoteness, its landlocked geographic locati on, and its suscepti bility to natural
disaster. The internati onal community funds more than 60% of the development
budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures. Remitt ances from
Nepalese working abroad, nearly $1 billion in 1997, conti nue to be a signifi cant
source of foreign exchange.

Economic Performance: Nepal experienced positi ve upswings in most economic

sectors during the past fi scal year of 1999/2000, growth of just under 11%, and
projected to achieve a growth rate of six% in 2000/01. Much of this growth was
spawned by the growth in the agriculture sector. Infl ati on declined in the fi rst half
of 1999/2000 reaching 2% in Dec 2000 as food prices stabilized.
Trade: Exports rose 28.6% between 1999 and 2000 while imports also rose 27.64%,
the largest rise in many years.

Infl ati on rate (consumer prices): 11.8% (98/99 est.)

The agriculture sector in Nepal contributes 41% of the GDP and employs an
esti mated 81.2% of labor. The primary food crops produced are barley, coconuts,
coff ee, maize, potatoes, rice,
soybeans, sugar cane and wheat. The primary meat products are beef and veal,
buff alo, chicken, duck, lamb and pork. The largest agricultural exports in 1998
were sugar cane, lenti ls, pulses, oilseed and nutmeg, mace and cardamon.
Agricultural exports in 1998 was $72.2 million, while agricultural imports in 1998
was $156.5

Labor force: 10 million (1996 est.) severe lack of skilled labor

Labor by occupati on: agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3%

Unemployment rate: substanti al underemployment (1999)

Energy

Nepal has no reserves of oil or gas, and only small coal reserves. Commercial
energy consumpti on in Nepal is made up of hydroelectricity, coal, and oil
products. Noncommercial energy sources, such as wood, animal wastes, and crop
residues, account for a signifi cant share of the country's total energy
consumpti on. Nepal is a net energy importer. Oil is the main import and in 1998 it
is esti mated that Nepal imported 10,000 barrels of oil per day for products such as
kerosene, diesel, jet fuel, gasoline.

Swift rivers fl owing south through the Himalayas have massive hydroelectricity
potenti al to service domesti c needs and the growing demand from India.
Hydropower exports are one of the major domesti c resources which can fuel
economic growth in Nepal, but development of these resources requires
signifi cant capital investment. Nepal's installed electric generati ng currently is
around 300 megawatt s (MW). Only a small share (around 1%) of Nepal's potenti al
hydroelectric power capacity currently is being exploited. Potenti ally, Nepal could
be a large net power producer and exporter and private investment in hydropower
development is growing rapidly. Hydro projects currently under constructi on in
Nepal should nearly double the country's total generati ng capacity over the next
two years. At present, however, the country faces frequent power outages and
shortages (yet another obstacle to economic growth), while only around 15% of
the country's populati on has access to electricity.

Renewable energy, including micro-hydro, biomass, solar energy, etc. are gaining
popularity in Nepal, parti cularly in remote regions of the country. Rural
electrifi cati on is a main priority of Nepal's current Five-Year Plan. This will involve
expanding the country's transmission and distributi on grid, and possibly installing
thousands of solar power units -- parti cularly in remote areas of the country --
over the next several years.

Environment

Nepal's environmental challenges are largely a consequence of its dependence on

fuel derived from wood, and the expansion of agricultural lands through non-
sustainable development methods. This includes removing trees without measures
for replanti ng, which results in widespread deforestati on and soil erosion. Water
polluti on and contaminated water also presents human health risks.

Major natural hazards in Nepal include severe thunderstorms, fl ooding, landslides,

drought, as well as famine resulti ng from the ti ming, intensity, and durati on of the
summer monsoons. Nepal is also an earthquake prone area due to the Himalayas.

Government:

Executi ve branch
Chief of State: King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev

Born in 1947, Gyanendra is the younger brother of the late King Birendra, who
died in a shooti ng incident at the royal palace on 1 June 2001. He was crowned
king on the 4th aft er Birendra's son, Dipendra, who had been declared king
immediately following Birendra's death, died of injuries sustained during the
palace shooti ng. Gyanendra is thought to be a more forceful man than the late
Birendra, even, some say, an advocate of a return to absolute monarchy. However,
shortly aft er his ascension to the throne, he has declared his support for the
conti nuity of Nepal's consti tuti onal monarchy.

Educated in India and Nepal, Gyanendra is well known in Nepal for his
conservati on work. He is also interested in developing the kingdom's tourism
potenti al. A successful businessman, he has interests many ventures throughout
the kingdom. Most will be divested in the near future to avoid any appearance of
impropriety.

Gyanendra is married and has two children. His youngest son, Paras, who is now
considered the crown prince, leads a controversial lifestyle and has been at the
center of numerous DUI fataliti es including a very popular singer who died last
year.

The late King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev succeeded to the throne 31 January
1972 following the death of his father King MAHENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev, and
crowned king 24 February 1975. The late Crown Prince DIPENDRA, King for two
days while he lay in coma aft er the shooti ng incident, was thought to be the
gunmen who massacred nine people in his family before turning the gun on
himself.

Head of Government: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba

Cabinet: appointed by the king on the recommendati on of the PM

Legislati ve branch
Bicameral Parliament consists of the Nati onal Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by
the House of Representati ves, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral
college; 1/3 of the members elected every two yrs to serve six-yr terms) and the
House of Representati ves (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve
fi ve-yr terms)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), chief justi ce is appointed by the king on

recommendati on of the Consti tuti onal Council, the other judges are appointed by
the monarch on the recommendati on of the Judicial Council.

Politi cal parti es and leaders:

Nepali Congress (Girija Prasad Koirala, party president) Communist Party of

Nepal / United Marxist-Leninist (Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary)Marxist-
Leninist (Sahana Pradhan, chairman) Rastriya Prajantra Party (Surya
Bahadur Thapa); Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Gajendra Narayan Singh, president)
Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (Narayan Man Bijukchhe, party chair) Rastriya
Jana Morcha (Chitra
Bahadur K. C., chairman) Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal (Lila Mani Pokharel, general
secretary)

Media

Press laws restrict reporti ng on the monarchy and nati onal security, and
journalists have reportedly been detained aft er covering alleged police abuses and
corrupti on. However, the press is considered to enjoy a fair amount of freedom. A
range of publicati ons, from Maoist to monarchist, carry criti cism of the
government. In January 2001, private FM stati ons were prohibited from airing
news broadcasts, but the decision was contested. Radio broadcasti ng started in
1951, while TV did not begin unti l 1986. Only about 10% of the populati on has
access to television - only 14% have electricity.
Newspapers: The Kathmandu Post (Eng) / Kanti pur (Nep) The Rising Nepal (Eng) /
Ghorkhapatra (Nep) state owned, Nepal's oldest newspaper, Space Time (Eng/Nep)
and numerous other Nepali dailies. Nepali Times (Eng) Weekly

Television : Nepalese Television Corporati on (NTV) and SpaceTime Network (began

satellite transmission in June 2001)

Radio: Radio Nepal (state-run) Hits FM (commercial) and Himalayan Broadcasti ng

Co. HBC 94 FM. Private FM radio stati ons include Radio Sagarmatha, Radio
Kanti pur, Image Channel, Music Channel, Classic, Good Night