Discovering the World
Nepal 🇳🇵
Basic facts
Official name: सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल (Saṅghīya Lokatāntrika Gaṇatantra Nepāla) (Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal)
Capital city: Kathmandu
Population: 30.7 million (2023)
Demonym: Nepali
Type of government: federal parliamentary republic
Head of state: Ram Chandra Poudel (President)
Head of government: K. P. Sharma Oli (Prime Minister)
Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $150.80 billion (2023)
Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 32.8% (medium) (2010)
Human Development Index: 0.602 (medium) (2022)
Currency: Nepalese rupee (NPR)
Fun fact: It has the only non-rectangular flag in the world.
Etymology
The country’s name comes from the Kathmandu Valley, known as Nepāl. According to Hindu mythology, the name derives from a sage called Ne and the Pali word pala, which means “to protect”. Therefore, it would mean “protected by Ne”.
Another theory proposes that it is a compound of Nipa (“foot of a mountain”) and -ala (short for alaya, meaning “abode”), which would make Nepal the “abode at the foot of the mountain”.
Geography
Nepal is located in South Asia and borders China to the north and India to the east, south, and west.
There are four main climates: tundra and monsoon-influenced subarctic in the north, monsoon-influenced subtropical highland in the center, and monsoon-influenced humid subtropical in the south. Temperatures range from −7 °C (19.4 °F) in winter to 39 °C (100.4 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 19.7 °C (67.4 °F).
The country is divided into seven provinces (praśāsanik vibhājana), which are further divided into 77 districts (swayatta pradeśharū). The largest cities in Nepal are Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Lalitpur, and Birgunj.
History
1700 BCE-467 CE: Magadha Empire
800 BCE-300 CE: Kirati Kingdom
700-200 BCE: Northern Black Polished Ware culture
2nd century BCE-3rd century: Kuninda Kingdom
205-305 CE: Soma dynasty
240-550: Gupta Empire
450-750: Licchavi dynasty
600-1200: Thakuri dynasty
700-1065: Karttikeyapur Kingdom
1097-1324: Karnata dynasty
1201-1769: Malla confederacy
1207-1358: Khasa Kingdom
1518-1762: Senas of Makwanpur
1559-1768: Gorkha Empire
16th century-1744: Baise Rajya; Chaubisi Rajya
1744-1816: unification of Nepal
1768-2008: Kingdom of Nepal
1948-2008: democracy movement
1960: coup d’état
1996-2006: Nepalese CIvil War
2008-present: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Economy
Nepal mainly imports from India, China, and Argentina and exports to India, the United States, and Türkiye. Its top exports are soybean oil, palm oil, and synthetic yarn.
It has small cobalt, copper, iron, and zinc deposits. Services represent 61.8% of the GDP, followed by agriculture (24.5%) and industry (13.7%).
Nepal is a member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Demographics
The largest ethnic group is the Khas Arya tribe (30.1%), followed by the Magars (6.9%), Tharu (6.2%), Tamang (5.6%), Kami (5%), Musalman (4.8%), Newar (4.6%), Yadav (4.2%), and Rai (2.2%). The main religion is Hinduism, practiced by 81.1% of the population.
It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.9 children per woman. 18.6% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 72.4 years and the median age is 21.6 years. The literacy rate is 67.9%.
Languages
The official language of the country is Nepali, spoken natively by 44.6% of the population. Other major languages include Maithili (11.7%), Bhojpuri (6%), Thary (5.8%), Tamang (5.1%), Newar (3.2%), Magar (3%), Doteli (3%), Urdu (2.6%), and Awadhi (1.8%).
Culture
Nepali society is defined by its caste system. Arranged and child marriages are very common.
Men traditionally wear a loose shirt (daura), loose pants (suruwal), and a tall cloth hat. Women wear a blouse (choli) and a sari.
Architecture
Traditional houses in Nepal have stone and mud brick walls, wooden porches, and thatched or slate roofs.
Cuisine
The Nepali diet is based on fish, meat, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include choila (grilled water buffalo with spices), jhol momo (dumpling soup), samay baji (a dish of black soybeans, boiled egg, buffalo meat, greens, lentil and rice pancakes, and rice), sel roti (a ring-shaped, sweet fried dough made from rice flour), and tarua (deep-fried vegetables).
Holidays and festivals
Like other Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim countries, Nepal celebrates Buddha Jayanti, Christmas Day, Maha Shivaratri, Holi, Ram Nawami, Raksha Bandhan, Krishna Janmashtami, Dashain, Vijayadashami, Laxmi Puka, Chhath, and Mawlid. It also commemorates New Year’s Day, International Women’s Day, and Labor Day.
Specific Nepali holidays include Prithvi Jayanti on January 11, Martyrs’ Day on January 30, Democracy Day on February 19, Republic Day on May 29, and Constitution Day on September 19, as well as the different New Year’s days celebrated by the different ethnic groups.
Prithvi Jayanti
Other celebrations include the Gadhimai festival, which involves large-scale sacrificial slaughter of animals to please the goddess of power; Maghi, which features ritual bathing, and Teej, which celebrates the arrival of monsoon season with dance, fasting, prayers, and songs.
Teej
Landmarks
There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Chitwan National Park, Kathmandu Valley, Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Budda, and Sagarmatha National Park.
Chitwan National Park
Other landmarks include the Gorkha Palace, the Mustang Caves, the Ram Janaki Temple, the Pokhara Valley, and the Swayambhunath Stupa.
Ram Janaki Temple
Famous people
Ani Chovina Drolma - monk and singer
Araniko - painter
Baburam Acharya - writer
Jhamak Ghimire - writer
Manisha Koirala - actress
Mira Rai - athlete
Paras Khadka - cricket player
Pramila Giri - painter and sculptor
Rajesh Hamal - actor
Tenzing Norgay - mountain climber, one of the first two people to climb Mount Everest
Paras Khadka
You can find out more about life in Nepal in this article and this video.