Nepal (2001) | Ukraine (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti | 24 oblasti (singular - oblast'), 1 autonomous republic* (avtomnaya respublika), and 2 municipalities (mista, singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkas'ka (Cherkasy), Chernihivs'ka (Chernihiv), Chernivets'ka (Chernivtsi), Dnipropetrovs'ka (Dnipropetrovs'k), Donets'ka (Donets'k), Ivano-Frankivs'ka (Ivano-Frankivs'k), Kharkivs'ka (Kharkiv), Khersons'ka (Kherson), Khmel'nyts'ka (Khmel'nyts'kyy), Kirovohrads'ka (Kirovohrad), Kyyiv**, Kyyivs'ka (Kiev), Luhans'ka (Luhans'k), L'vivs'ka (L'viv), Mykolayivs'ka (Mykolayiv), Odes'ka (Odesa), Poltavs'ka (Poltava), Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol'), Rivnens'ka (Rivne), Sevastopol'**, Sums'ka (Sumy), Ternopil's'ka (Ternopil'), Vinnyts'ka (Vinnytsya), Volyns'ka (Luts'k), Zakarpats'ka (Uzhhorod), Zaporiz'ka (Zaporizhzhya), Zhytomyrs'ka (Zhytomyr); note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending "s'ka" or "z'ka," the word Oblast' should be added to the place name
note: oblasts have the administrative center name following in parentheses |
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: 16.3% (male 4,004,948; female 3,832,931)
15-64 years: 68.7% (male 15,779,735; female 17,225,103) 65 years and over: 15% (male 2,419,612; female 4,793,110) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat | grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables; beef, milk |
Airports | 45 (2000 est.) | 790 (2002) |
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: 182
over 3,047 m: 13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 81 (2002) |
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: 608
over 3,047 m: 14 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 466 (2002) |
Area | total:
140,800 sq km land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
total: 603,700 sq km
land: 603,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Arkansas | slightly smaller than Texas |
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. | Ukraine was the center of the first Slavic state, Kievan Rus, which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kievan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kievan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state, the Cossack Hetmanate, was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure, the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century, most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917, Ukraine was able to bring about a short-lived period of independence (1917-1920), but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two artificial famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II, German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although independence was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR, true freedom remains elusive, as many of the former Soviet elite remain entrenched, stalling efforts at economic reform, privatization, and civil liberties. |
Birth rate | 33.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.89 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$536 million expenditures: $818 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97 est.) |
revenues: $10.2 billion
expenditures: $11.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Kathmandu | Kiev (Kyyiv) |
Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south | temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,782 km |
Constitution | 9 November 1990 | adopted 28 June 1996 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Nepal conventional short form: Nepal |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ukraine local long form: none local short form: Ukrayina former: Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian State, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | Nepalese rupee (NPR) | hryvnia (UAH) |
Death rate | 10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 16.39 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.4 billion (1997) | $14.2 billion (2002) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos E. PASCUAL
embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynskyi Street, Kiev 01901 mailing address: 5850 Kiev Place, Washington, DC 20521-5850 telephone: [380] (44) 490-4000 FAX: [380] (44) 244-7350 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Sergiy KORSUNSKYI
chancery: 3350 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 349-2920 FAX: [1] (202) 333-0817 consulate(s) general: Chicago and New York |
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 | 1997 boundary treaty with Belarus remains unratified over unresolved financial claims, preventing demarcation and encouraging illegal cross-border activities; land delimitation of boundary with Russia is complete, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved; difficulties in the Transnistria region of Moldova complicate border crossing and customs, facilitating smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities; has not resolved Romanian claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years |
Economic aid - recipient | $411 million (FY97/98) | $637.7 million (1995); IMF Extended Funds Facility $2.2 billion (1998) |
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. | After Russia, the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union, producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output, and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat, milk, grain, and vegetables to other republics. Likewise, its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example, large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Ukraine depends on imports of energy, especially natural gas, to meet some 85% of its annual energy requirements. Shortly after independence in December 1991, the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization, but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Loose monetary policies pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels in late 1993. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Now in his second term, President KUCHMA has pledged to reduce the number of government agencies, streamline the regulatory process, create a legal environment to encourage entrepreneurs, and enact a comprehensive tax overhaul. Reforms in the more politically sensitive areas of structural reform and land privatization are still lagging. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. GDP in 2000 showed strong export-based growth of 6% - the first growth since independence - and industrial production grew 12.9%. The economy continued to expand in 2001 as real GDP rose 9% and industrial output grew by over 14%. Growth of 4.1% in 2002 was more moderate, in part a reflection of faltering growth in the developed world. In general, growth has been undergirded by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and solid consumer and investor confidence. Growth was a sturdy 6% in 2003 despite a loss of mementum in needed economic reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.309 billion kWh (1999) | 152.4 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 68 million kWh (1999) | 800 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 210 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 1.255 billion kWh (1999) | 164.7 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
9.56% hydro: 90.44% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 48.6%
hydro: 7.9% nuclear: 43.5% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Kanchan Kalan 70 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.) |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant |
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 |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) | Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001) |
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) | hryvnia per US dollar - 5.33 (2002), 5.37 (2001), 5.44 (2000), 4.13 (1999), 2.45 (1998) |
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: President Leonid D. KUCHMA (since 19 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Viktor YANUKOVYCH (since 21 November 2002); First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola AZAROV (since 26 November 2002) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council, but significantly revamped and strengthened under President KUCHMA; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration that helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president; and a Council of Regions that serves as an advisory body created by President KUCHMA in September 1994 that includes chairmen of the Kiev (Kyyiv) and Sevastopol' municipalities and chairmen of the oblasti elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 October and 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and approved by the Supreme Council election results: Leonid D. KUCHMA elected president; percent of vote - Leonid KUCHMA 57.7%, Petro SYMONENKO 38.8% |
Exports | $485 million (f.o.b., 1998), but does not include unrecorded border trade with India | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain | ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products |
Exports - partners | India 33%, US 26%, Germany 25% (FY97/98) | Russia 18.6%, Italy 7.4%, Turkey 5.6%, Germany 4.1%, China 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 16 July - 15 July | calendar year |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grainfields under a blue sky |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $33.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $218 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
41% industry: 22% services: 37% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 23%
industry: 42% services: 35% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,360 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2000 est.) | 4.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E | 49 00 N, 32 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks | strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe |
Highways | total:
13,223 km paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (April 1999) |
total: 169,491 km
paved: 163,898 km unpaved: 5,593 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.2% highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96) |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.2% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West | limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa, Latin America, and Turkey to Europe and Russia; drug-related money laundering a minor, but growing, problem; lax anti-money-laundering regime |
Imports | $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer | energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Imports - partners | India 31%, China/Hong Kong 16%, Singapore 14% (FY97/98) | Russia 32.3%, Germany 11.7%, Turkmenistan 7.4%, Poland 6%, Italy 4% (2002) |
Independence | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) | 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production | coal, electric power, ferrous and nonferrous metals, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, food processing (especially sugar) |
Infant mortality rate | 74.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 20.87 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (FY99/00 est.) | -1.2% (2002 est.) |
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) | BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNMOVIC, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | 260 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 8,500 sq km (1993 est.) | 24,540 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court |
Labor force | 10 million (1996 est.)
note: severe lack of skilled labor |
22.8 million (yearend 1997) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% | industry 32%, agriculture 24%, services 44% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,926 km border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
total: 4,663 km
border countries: Belarus 891 km, Hungary 103 km, Moldova 939 km, Poland 526 km, Romania (south) 169 km, Romania (west) 362 km, Russia 1,576 km, Slovakia 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
17% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 42% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 57.1%
permanent crops: 1.73% other: 41.17% (1998 est.) |
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) | Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian |
Legal system | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
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 Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; under Ukraine's new election law, 225 of the Supreme Council's seats are allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 4% or more of the national electoral vote; the other 225 members are elected by popular vote in single-mandate constituencies; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Our Ukraine 24%, CPU 20%, United Ukraine 12%, United Social Democratic Party 6%, SPU 7%, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 7%, other 24%; seats by party - Our Ukraine 102, CPU 60, Regions of Ukraine 42, Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs 41, United Social Democratic Party 39, Democratic Initiatives 22, SPU 20, People's Power 19, European Choice 18, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc 18, Agrarian Party 17, People's Democratic Party 16, People's Choice 15, others 21 note: following the election, United Ukraine splintered into the Agrarian Party, European Choice, People's Choice, People's Democratic Party, Regions of Ukraine, and Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
58.22 years male: 58.65 years female: 57.77 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 66.5 years
male: 61.1 years female: 72.17 years (2003 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: 99.7% male: 99.8% female: 99.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, between China and India | Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland and Russia |
Map references | Asia | Asia, Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | continental shelf: 200-m or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 131 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 633,932 GRT/640,743 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 89, container 5, liquefied gas 2, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 2, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 1, Greece 1, Panama 1, Russia 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Interior Troops, Border Troops |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $44 million (FY96/97) | $617.9 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY96/97) | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
6,295,990 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 12,236,811 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
3,272,077 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 9,597,172 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
292,589 (2001 est.) |
males: 389,499 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) | Independence Day, 24 August (1991); the date of 22 January (1918), the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia), is now celebrated as Unity Day |
Nationality | noun:
Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective: Nepalese |
noun: Ukrainian(s)
adjective: Ukrainian |
Natural hazards | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons | NA |
Natural resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 20,069 km; oil 4,435 km; refined products 4,098 km (2003) |
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] | Agrarian Party [Kateryna VASHCHUK]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; Democratic Initiatives [Stepan HAVRYSH]; European Choice [Volodymyr STASYUK]; Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; People's Choice [Mykola HAPOCHKA]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Valeriy PUSTOVOYTENKO, chairman]; People's Power [Bohdan HUBSKYY]; Regions of Ukraine [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ, chairman]; United Social Democratic Party [Leonid KRAVCHUK]; Working Ukraine-Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Ihor SHAROV]; Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]
note: and numerous smaller parties |
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.) | 48,055,439 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 42% (FY95/96 est.) | 29% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.32% (2001 est.) | -0.69% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none | Berdyans'k, Feodosiya, Illichivs'k, Izmayil, Kerch, Kherson, Kiev (Kyyiv), Kiliya, Mariupol', Mykolayiv, Odesa, Reni, Sevastopol', Yalta, Yuzhnyy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) | AM 134, FM 289, shortwave 4 (1998) |
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) |
total: 22,473 km
broad gauge: 22,473 km 1.524-m gauge (9,250 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (1995) |
Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate, Ukrainian Orthodox - Kiev Patriarchate, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic (Uniate), Protestant, Jewish |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.5 male(s)/female total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2003 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: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan, running through 2005, emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international connections, and the mobile cellular system
domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is now rising slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate international: two new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and three Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project which connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems |
Telephones - main lines in use | 236,816 (January 2000) | 9.45 million (April 1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 236,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) | at least 33 (plus 21 repeaters that relay broadcasts from Russia) (1997) |
Terrain | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north | most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south |
Total fertility rate | 4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.34 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA%; substantial underemployment (1999) | 3.8% officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers (2002) |
Waterways | none | 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister) (1990) |