Nepal (2001) | British Virgin Islands (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
40.35% (male 5,267,234; female 4,933,910) 15-64 years: 56.16% (male 7,264,575; female 6,934,384) 65 years and over: 3.49% (male 437,813; female 446,547) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish |
Airports | 45 (2000 est.) | 3 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
8 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 29 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
140,800 sq km land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arkansas | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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. The refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved; 90% of these displaced persons are housed in seven United Nations Offices of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps. | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. |
Birth rate | 33.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$536 million expenditures: $818 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97 est.) |
revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million; including capital expenditures of $33.8 million (1997) |
Capital | Kathmandu | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 80 km |
Constitution | 9 November 1990 | 1 June 1977, amended in 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Nepal conventional short form: Nepal |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
Currency | Nepalese rupee (NPR) | - |
Death rate | 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion (1997) | $36.1 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ralph FRANK embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179, 410531 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Damodar Prasad GAUTAM chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 98,700 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $411 million (FY97/98) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with nearly half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past three years. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.3%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements in order to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years - has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by 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, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.309 billion kWh (1999) | 32.13 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 68 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 210 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.255 billion kWh (1999) | 34.55 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
9.56% hydro: 90.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Kanchan Kalan 70 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
- |
Ethnic groups | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed |
Exchange rates | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 74.129 (January 2001), 71.104 (2000), 68.239 (1999), 65.976 (1998), 58.010 (1997), 56.692 (1996) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state:
King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah) head of government: Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 22 March 2000) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
Exports | $485 million (f.o.b., 1998), but does not include unrecorded border trade with India | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand |
Exports - partners | India 33%, US 26%, Germany 25% (FY97/98) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) |
Fiscal year | 16 July - 15 July | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $33.7 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
41% industry: 22% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,360 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2000 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E | 18 30 N, 64 30 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico |
Highways | total:
13,223 km paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.2% highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery |
Imports - partners | India 31%, China/Hong Kong 16%, Singapore 14% (FY97/98) | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) |
Independence | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center |
Infant mortality rate | 74.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (FY99/00 est.) | 2% (2005) |
International organization participation | AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 8,500 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
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) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction |
Labor force | 10 million (1996 est.)
note: severe lack of skilled labor |
12,770 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,926 km border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
17% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 42% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
Languages | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) | English (official) |
Legal system | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
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 3 and 17 May 1999 (next to be held NA May 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
58.22 years male: 58.65 years female: 57.77 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years female: 77.84 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 27.5% male: 40.9% female: 14% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $44 million (FY96/97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY96/97) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,295,990 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,272,077 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
292,589 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) | Territory Day, 1 July |
Nationality | noun:
Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese |
noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
Natural hazards | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
Natural resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.22 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) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Gajendra Narayan SINGH, president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chair]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Rastriya Jana Morcha [Chitra Bahadur K. C., chairman]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups | NA |
Population | 25,284,463 (July 2001 est.) | 23,098 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42% (FY95/96 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.32% (2001 est.) | 1.97% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 840,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
59 km; note - all in Kosi close to Indian border narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2000) |
- |
Religions | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
Telephones - main lines in use | 236,816 (January 2000) | 11,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 8,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) |
Terrain | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly |
Total fertility rate | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA%; substantial underemployment (1999) | 3.6% (1997) |
Waterways | none | - |