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Nepal Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Kingdom of Nepal
Capital Kathmandu
Area 147,181 sq km
56,827 sq mi
Nepal: Flag and Anthem
Nepal: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 28,901,790 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 2.13 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 39,917,760 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 53,293,874 (2007 estimate)
Population density 202 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
523 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 16 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 84 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Kathmandu 671,846 (2001 estimate)
Birātnagar 166,674 (2001 estimate)
Lalitpur 162,991 (2001 estimate)
Pokhara 156,312 (2001 estimate)
Bīrganj 112,484 (2001 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Newar, Bihari, Tibetan, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Thakali, Bhutia, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa
Languages
Nepali (official), English, almost 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects
Religious affiliations
Hindu (Hinduism is the official religion) 86 percent
Buddhist 8 percent
Muslim 4 percent
Other 2 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 60.6 years (2007 estimate)
Female 60.3 years (2007 estimate)
Male 60.8 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 64 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 19,110 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 5,000 people (1999)
Literacy rate
Total 47.5 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 29.9 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 64.7 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 3.4 percent (2002-2003)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 5 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 36 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government
Constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 9 November 1990
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 69,000 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 1.9 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $7.4 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $272.40 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 38.2 percent (2005)
Industry 21 percent (2005)
Services 40.8 percent (2005)
Employment
Number of workers 10,521,581 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 79 percent (1995)
Industry 6 percent (1995)
Services 21 percent (1995)
Unemployment rate 1.1 percent (1999)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $1,244 million (2005)
Total expenditure $954 million (2005)
Monetary unit
1 Nepalese rupee (NR), consisting of 100 paisa
Major trade partners for exports
India, United States, Germany, United Kingdom, and Canada
Major trade partners for imports
India, China, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Hong Kong SAR
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 11.82 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 88.18 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 38 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 17 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 6.8 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 0.39 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 11 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people Not available
Paved road as a share of total roads 54 percent (2003)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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