British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Nepal (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 38.7% (male 5,648,959/female 5,291,447)
15-64 years: 57.6% (male 8,365,526/female 7,925,941) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 513,777/female 541,497) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 48 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 38
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 29 (2006) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 147,181 sq km
land: 143,181 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Arkansas |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | 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, has gained traction and is threatening 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. |
Birth rate | - | 30.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $1.153 billion
expenditures: $1.789 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (FY05/06) |
Capital | - | name: Kathmandu
geographic coordinates: 27 43 N, 85 19 E time difference: UTC+5.75 (10.75 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south |
Coastline | 698 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | 9 November 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long and short form: Nepal
local long and short form: Nepal |
Death rate | - | 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $3.34 billion (March 2005) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador James F. MORIARTY
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411-1179 FAX: [977] (1) 441-9963 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $424 million (FY00/01) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 1.85 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 111 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 241 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 2.565 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | - | 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) |
Exchange rates | - | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 71.368 (2005), 73.674 (2004), 76.141 (2003), 77.877 (2002), 74.949 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (since 4 June 2001)
head of government: 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: 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 elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; note - following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition historically has been appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain |
Exports - partners | - | India 53.7%, US 17.4%, Germany 7.1% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | 16 July - 15 July |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | 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 |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 38%
industry: 21% services: 41% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 2.7% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 28 00 N, 84 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | 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 |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 39.1% (2003-2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West |
Imports | - | 11,760 bbl/day NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer |
Imports - partners | - | India 47.5%, UAE 11.2%, China 10.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | - | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3.8% (FY04/05) |
Industries | - | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 65.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 63.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 7.8% (October 2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | AsDB, BIMSTEC, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 11,700 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | 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) |
Labor force | - | 10.4 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 76%
industry: 6% services: 18% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 83.08% (2005) |
Languages | - | 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)
note: many in government and business also speak English |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held in May 1999; note - Parliament was dissolved in May 2002 but was finally reconvened in April 2006 with most of the members that were elected in 1999 election results: House of Representatives (for 1999 parliament) - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP (RPP) 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1; note - NC, NSP, and NDP have since each split into two parties |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 60.18 years
male: 60.43 years female: 59.91 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.6% male: 62.7% female: 34.9% (2000-2004 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southern Asia, between China and India |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service); Nepalese Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $104.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.5% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | - | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) |
Nationality | - | noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
Natural hazards | NA | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
Net migration rate | - | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Pashupati Shumsher RANA, chairman]; Nepali Congress-Democratic [Sher Bahadur DEUBA, president]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Sushil KOIRALA, vice president]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP - Mandal [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, party president]; Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Ananda Devi [Ananda DEVI, president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chairman]; People's Front Nepal (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Amik SHERCHAN, chairman]; Rastriya Janashakti Party or RJP [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; note - split from RPP in March 2005; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [leader NA]; note - merged with People's Front Nepal or PFN in 2002 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | 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 |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
28,287,147 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 31% (2003-2004) |
Population growth rate | - | 2.17% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | - | total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | - | Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
note: only official Hindu state in the world |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 448,600 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 248,800 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | - | 4.1 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 42% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |