Region: Southern Asia

Capital: Kathmandu

Population: 29,519,114 (July 2008 est.)

Surface area: 147,181 sq km

Currency: Nepalese rupee (NPR)

GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity US $1,200 (2007 est.)

Background:

In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, gained traction and threatened to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency and corruption, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, imprisoned party leaders, and assumed power. The king's government subsequently released party leaders and officially ended the state of emergency in May 2005, but the monarch retained absolute power until April 2006. After nearly three weeks of mass protests organized by the seven-party opposition and the Maoists, the king allowed parliament to reconvene in April 2006. Following a November 2006 peace accord between the government and the Maoists, an interim constitution was promulgated and the Maoists were allowed to enter parliament in January 2007. The peace accord calls for the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly elections, twice delayed, were held 10 April 2008. The Assembly will meet for the first time on 28 May 2008.
Economy – Overview:

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population and accounting for 38% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Security concerns relating to the Maoist conflict have led to a decrease in tourism, a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, its civil strife, and its susceptibility to natural disaster.
Major Export Commodities: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain

Remittances: US $1,374 million (2006)

Human Development Index 2007/2008 ranking: 142 out of 177

Official Development Assistance and Major Development Partners: Net ODA in 2006 was US $317.56 million. Major development partners include Japan, the Asian Development Fund, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Total External Debt: US $3.07 billion (March 2006)

United Nations membership date: 14 December 1955

New York Mission:

Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Nepal to the United Nations,
820 2nd Avenue, Suite 17B, New York, N.Y. 10017
Telephone: 212-370-3988 / 3989
Fax: 212-953-2038
Website: http://nepal.un.int

Sources:

CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. www.cia.gov 

World Development Indicators. World Bank www.worldbank.org

Development, Recipient Aid Charts. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. www.oecd.org

Human Development Report 2007/2008.United Nations Development Programme. www.undp.org

Updated June 2008