Official Name:
Sanghiya Loktāntrik Ganatantra Nepāl
(Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal)
Short form: Nepal
Formerly: Kingdom of Nepal (Nepal Adhirajya)
ISO Country Code: np
Time:
Local Time = UTC + 5:45h
Actual Time: Mon-Dec-9 12:52
Country Calling Code: +977
Capital City: Kathmandu (pop 1.5 million)
Other Cities:
Biratnagar, Patan, Pokhara, Birganj, Dharan, Nepalganj. Government:
Type: Republic
Geography:
Location: Southern Asia, between China and India
Area: 147,181 km² (56,826 sq.mi.) Climate: The climate in Nepal varies with elevation, tropical in the lower southern part Tarai, mid-hills alpine and the high mountains polar; elevation ranges from 90 to 8848 meters. People:
Nationality: noun: Nepalese (singular and plural), adjective: Nepalese or Nepali. Population: 26.6 million (2011 census)
Refugee Population: Bhutanese (94 000), Tibetans (20 000 approx.) Ethnic Groups: sixty ethnic groups, major groups are Sherpas, Kirats or Limbus, Rais, Magars, Newars, Tamangs, Gurungs, the Bahuns and Chhetries and the Tharus the inhabitants of the Tarai. Religions: Hinduism (predominant 86%), Buddhism 8%, Tibetan Lamaism (Bon)
Languages: Nepali (official and lingua franca of the country), sixty ethnic groups, who speak seventy different dialects and eleven major languages like Tibeto-Burman, Lhotsamkha, Nepalbhasa, Tamang languages. Literacy: 40%
Natural resources: Quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore. Agriculture products: Rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat. Industries: Tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production.