General Information :

Facts & Figures about Nepal

Location
Latitude	26°22'N to 30°27'N
Longitude	80°04'E to 88°12'E
Size
Area	147181 Sq. Km.
Length	885 Km. [East to West]
Width	Non-uniform, Mean width of 193 Km. [North to South]
Altitude:	305 meters to 8824 meters
Capital:	Kathmandu
Government:	Parliamentary Democracy
Language:	Religion Secular State
Currency:	Nepalese Rupee
Fiscal Year:	Nepalese Fiscal Year starts from Mid July

Administrative and Physical Division
Administratively, the country is divided into five development regions, i.e., Eastern, Central, Western, Midwestern and Far Western. The regions are further divided into a total of 75 Districts with a total of 3,915 village development committees (VDCs) and 58 municipalities. A VDC is the smallest administrative unit, which is further divided into nine wards, each of which elects a representative to the VDC. VDCs are considered as grassroots political institutions, through which the people are expected to participate directly in the planning, programming, and implementation of development programs and projects at the local level. The municipalities are also divided into wards, which range from 9 - 35. The number of wards varies as per the size of the town.

The next level in the administration is composed of the District Development Committees (DDCs). With the passing of the New Act on Local Self Governance (1998), the DDCs are supposed to undertake planning and programming exercises within districts and implement them. Only national level projects fall under the authority of the Central Government.

Climate
Nepal has huge variance in attitude and topography, hence diversity of weather and climate. The country experiences tropical, meso thermal, micro thermal, taiga and tundra type of climate. There are four climatic seasons in Nepal namely- spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring and Autumn are the most pleasant seasons. The Terai is hot and humid in summer with temperature going up to 40o C. The mid-mountain regions are pleasant all round the year. The Northern Himalayan region has an alpine climate. In Kathmandu the maximum temperature in winter is normally 18° C to 20°C and in summer it goes to about 30°C- 32°C.

Nepal receives most of its rains during the three summer months Mid June - Mid September. The annual rainfall in Katmandu generally exceeds 1300 mm. The mean annual precipitation ranges from more than 6000 mm along the southern slopes of the Annapurna range in central Nepal to less than the 250 mm in the north central portion near the Tibetan plateau. Amounts varying between 1500 and 2500 mm predominate over most of the country. On an average, about 80% of the precipitation is confined to the monsoon period (June-September). The highest annual rainfall recorded so far is 4217 mm at Pokhara in 1993.

Geographic Division
Nepal is a landlocked country, which is bordering between the two most populous countries in the world. India in the East, South and West and China in the North. Ecologically Nepal can be divided into three ecological regions.

Mountain Region:
The altitude of this region ranges between 4877 meters and 8848 meters with the snow line running around 8848 meters. It includes 8 of the existing 14 summits in the world, which exceed the altitude of 8000 meters. They are: (1) Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) - 8848 m (2) Kangchenjunga - 8586 m, (3) Lhotse - 8516 m, (4) Makalu - 8463 m, (5) Cho Oyo - 8201 m, (6) Dhaulagiri - 8167 m, (7) Manaslu - 8163 m, and (8) Annapurna - 8091 m.

Hill Region:
This region accounts for about 64 percent of total land area. The Mahabharat range that raises up to 4877 meters forms it. To its south lies the lower Churia range whose altitude varies from 610 meters to 1524 meters.

Terai Region:
The lowland Terai region, which has a width of about 26 to 32 kilometers and an altitude maximum of 305 meters, occupies about 17 percent of total land area of the country. Kechanakawal, the lowest point of the country with an altitude of 70 meters lies in Jhapa District of the eastern Terai.

Population
Nepal's population was 23.15 million as per the 2001 Census and is growing at a rate of 2.25 percent per annum. The urban population is 14.2 percent of the total and is growing rapidly at 5.4 percent per annum, one of the fastest rates in South East Asia.

Vital Statistics

	1991 Census	2001 Census	2006 Estimated
Male	9220974	11563921	12963722
Female	9270123	11587502	12923014
Total	18491097	23151423	25886736
Average Annual Population Growth rate	2.1%	2.24%	2.17%
Number of Households	3328721	4253220
Population density per Sq. Km.	125.6	157
Average No. Household size	5.6	5.44
Crude Birth Rate (per 1000 population)		33.1	30.00
Crude Death Rate (per 1000 population)		9.6	8.7
Total Fertility Rate (per woman)		4.1	3.5
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1000 live birth)		64.4	--
Child Mortality Rate (per 1000 live birth)		91.2	--
Life Expectancy (Yrs.) at Birth	--	60.4	63.3
Male Life Expectancy at Birth	--	60.1	62.9
Female Life Expectancy at Birth	--	60.7	63.7

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*Population projection was made on the assumption of zero net migration. It results in sex ratio more than 100 after 2001. ** Dependency ratio is a ratio of Population less than 15 and more than 65 years divided by Population 15-65 years.

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Education

Number of Students in Higher Education

					In numbers
Education Insitutes	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06*	2006/07**
1. Technical	23390	24295	20913	30431	31124
i) Engineering	6732	6734	4573	668	676
ii) Agriculture  & Animal Husbandry	564	570	643	2226	1719
iii) Medicine	1954	2271	2175	373	489
iv) Forestry	358	441	437	13441	14120
v) Science and Technology	13782	14279	13085	13723	14120
2. General	126151	102733	120114	136850	108160
i) Law	1509	898	830	1214	1052
ii) Management	39919	33525	37954	44215	33311
iii) Education	23027	18942	28125	34351	24165
iv) Humanities and Social Sciences	61696	49512	53205	57070	49632
3. Sanskrit	3001	3610	2958	2667	NA
Total	152542	130782	143985	169948	139284

Note:
* Data includes only of Tribhuvan University and Eastern University.
** Estimated and data includes only of Tribhuvan University.
*** Data includes only of Mahendra Sanskrit University.
NA implies not available.

1. Higher Education means education after 10 years of schooling.
2. Private Campuses are not included in some cases.
3. Includes students enrolled under Tribhuvan University, Mahendra Sanskrit University, Kathmandu
   University, Eastern University and Pokhara University.

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Health

Extension of Health Services

					In numbers
Description	2002/03	2003/04	2004/05	2005/06	2006/07
Hospitals	83	83	87	87	87
Hospital Beds	5250	5250	6796	6796	6944
Doctors	1259	1259	1257	1259	1361
Nurses	9146	10099	11637	11637	11637

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Note : Figures for 2006/07 are estimated and eight months only. The figures are for government sector only.

Compiled by Research & Information Division of FNCCI from Economic Survey.