]! ^! 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 on 28 April 2006. Following the November 2006 peace accord between the government and the Maoists, an interim constitution was promulgated and the Maoists were allowed to enter parliament in mid-January 2007. Constituent elections are planned for June 2007. 
]" ^" Southern Asia, between China and India ^# 28 00 N, 84 00 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 147,181 sq km `" 143,181 sq km `# 4,000 sq km ^& slightly larger than Arkansas ^' `! 2,926 km `Y China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south ^+ Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north ^, `% Kanchan Kalan 70 m `& Mount Everest 8,850 m ^- quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore ^. `' 16.07% `( 0.85% `) 83.08% (2005) ^/ 11,700 sq km (2003) ^0 severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons ^1 deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands `Q Marine Life Conservation ^2 landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest - on the borders with China and India respectively 
]# ^3 28,901,790 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 38.3% (male 5,721,720/female 5,360,391) `, 57.9% (male 8,597,037/female 8,134,115) `- 3.8% (male 528,113/female 560,414) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 20.5 years `. 20.3 years `/ 20.6 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.132% (2007 est.) ^7 30.46 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.067 male(s)/female `, 1.057 male(s)/female `- 0.942 male(s)/female `2 1.056 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 63.66 deaths/1,000 live births `. 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 65.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 60.56 years `. 60.78 years `/ 60.33 years (2007 est.) ^= 4.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.5% (2001 est.) ^? 61,000 (2001 est.) ^@ 3,100 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Nepalese (singular and plural) `4 Nepalese ^B Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8% (2001 census) ^C Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census) `* only official Hindu state in the world ^D Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census) `* many in government and business also speak English ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 48.6% `. 62.7% `/ 34.9% (2000-2004 est.) 
]$ ^F conventional long and short form: Nepal local long and short form: Nepal ^H parliamentary democracy ^I `8 Kathmandu `9 27 43 N, 85 19 E `: UTC+5.75 (10.75 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti ^K 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH) ^L in 2006 Parliament abolished the birthday of King GYANENDRA (7 July) and Constitution Day (9 November) as national holidays ^M 9 November 1990; the government began working on an interim constitution in May 2006 ^N based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006) `< Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Khadga Prasad OLI (since 2 May 2006) and Amik SHERCHAN since June 2006) `= Cabinet historically appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; note - the prime minister selected the Cabinet in May 2006 in consultation with the political parties `> following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition historically has been appointed prime minister by the monarch ^Q an Interim Parliament was formed on 15 January 2007 following the promulgation of an interim constitution `> elections are planned for June 2007 `? Interim Parliament seats by party - NC 85, CPN/M 83, CPN/UML 83, NC/D 48, RPP 9, NSP/AD 5, NWPP 4, People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group) 4, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group) 3, UFL 3, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group) 2, NSP 1 ^R Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) ^S Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Pashupati Shumsher RANA] (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP); Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP - Mandal [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL]; Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Ananda Devi [Ananda DEVI]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]; Nepali Congress-Democratic [Sher Bahadur DEUBA]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA]; People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group); People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group); People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group); Rastriya Janashakti Party or RJP [Surya Bahadur THAPA] (split from RPP in March 2005); Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal (merged with People's Front Nepal or PFN in 2002); United Leftist Front or UFL [C.P. MAINALI] ^T Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as PRACHANDA, chairman; Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI]; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups ^U AsDB, BIMSTEC, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador (vacant) `S 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 667-4550 `U [1] (202) 667-5534 `V New York ^W `R Ambassador James F. MORIARTY `_ Panipokhari, Kathmandu `` use embassy street address `T [977] (1) 411-1179 `U [977] (1) 441-9963 ^X red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $42.84 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $7.154 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 2.4% (2006 est.) ^] $1,500 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 38% `A 20% `B 42% (FY05/06 est.) ^_ 11.11 million `* severe lack of skilled labor (2006 est.) ^` `@ 76% `A 6% `B 18% (2004 est.) ^a 42% (2004 est.) _! 31% (FY03/04) _" `C 2.6% `D 39.1% (2003-2004) _d 37.7 (FY04/05) _# 8.6% (November 2006 est.) _$ `E $1.153 billion `F $1.927 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY06/07) _& rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, jute, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat _' tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production _( 2.2% (FY05/06) _) 2.511 billion kWh (2006) _* 1.96 billion kWh (2006) _+ 101 million kWh (2006) _, 266 million kWh (2006) _- 0 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 11,550 bbl/day (2006 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 11,530 bbl/day (2006 est.) _1 0 cu m (2006 est.) _2 0 cu m (2006 est.) _3 $822 million f.o.b.; note - does not include unrecorded border trade with India (2005 est.) _4 carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain _5 India 53.7%, US 17.4%, Germany 7.1% (2005) _6 $2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) _7 gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer _8 India 47.7%, UAE 11.2%, China 10.8%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.2% (2005) _9 $3.07 billion (March 2006) _: $533 million (FY04/05) _; Nepalese rupee (NPR) _< Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 72.446 (2006), 72.16 (2005), 73.674 (2004), 76.141 (2003), 77.877 (2002) _= 16 July - 15 July 
]& _> 448,600 (2005) _? 248,800 (2005) _@ `G poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network `H NA `I country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) _A AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) _B 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) _C .np _D 17,789 (2006) _E 175,000 (2005) 
]' _F 48 (2006) _G `! 10 `a 1 `c 7 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 38 `b 1 `c 8 `W 29 (2006) _e `! 59 km `n 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2005) _H `! 17,380 km `K 9,886 km `L 7,494 km (2004) 
]( _J Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service); Nepalese Police Force _T 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2001) _K males age 18-49: 6,107,091 females age 18-49: 5,744,989 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 4.193 million females age 18-49: 3,853,102 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 308,031 females age 18-49: 286,604 (2005 est.) _U 1.7% (2006 est.) 
]) _N joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities; approximately 106,000 Bhutanese Lhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps in southeastern Nepal since 1990 _c `o 106,248 (Bhutan), 20,153 (Tibet/China) `k 100,000-200,000 (ongoing conflict between government forces and Maoist rebels; displacement spread across the country) (2006) _O illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West 