Nepal << nuh PAWL >> is a country in south-central Asia. The highest mountain range in the world—the Himalaya—and a region of hills and valleys cover about 80 percent of Nepal. The Tarai (or Terai)—a flat, fertile river plain along Nepal’s border with India—covers the rest of the country.
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and its largest city. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, rises 29,032 feet (8,849 meters) above sea level in the Himalaya on Nepal’s border with Tibet, a region in China.
About 45 percent of Nepal’s people live in the Tarai. The rest of the people live in the hills and valleys region or in the mountains. Patches of farmland lie among the mountains of Nepal. These cultivated areas account for only about 10 percent of the country’s mountainous area, but almost all of the mountain people live there. Nepal is poor and undeveloped. The country also has a high rate of disease and illiteracy.
Government.
Nepal was a monarchy for more than 200 years. Nepal’s 1990 Constitution made the country a constitutional monarchy with a king, a prime minister, and a two-house parliament. But in the early 2000’s, King Gyanendra took full executive control of the government twice. In 2006 and 2007, Nepal’s parliament stripped the king of most of his powers, and an interim (temporary) constitution was adopted. In April 2008, a Constituent Assembly was elected to write a new constitution. In May, the Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared Nepal a republic. The Assembly was unable to agree on a new constitution and was abolished in May 2012.
A new Assembly was elected in 2013. This Assembly passed a new Constitution in 2015. Under the 2015 Constitution, Nepal has a bicameral (two-house) legislature. The members of these two houses, the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, along with local government officials, elect a president. The president serves as head of state. The president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party in the House. If there is no majority, the leader of a coalition of parties becomes prime minister. The prime minister appoints a Council of Ministers to help carry out the executive functions of government.
The Supreme Court is Nepal’s highest court. Nepal is divided into seven provinces for purposes of local government.
People.
Most Nepalese are closely related to the peoples of northern India. Other Nepalese are of Tibetan descent. Still others are of mixed Indian-Tibetan descent. Most people live in small villages that consist of two-story houses made of stone or mud-brick.
Over half of Nepal’s people earn their living through farming. Most farms produce barely enough to support one family. Nepalese farmers trade any surplus crops they raise for such important items as kerosene and salt. Other Nepalese make their living as carpet weavers, clothing manufacturers, or craftworkers. Still others work as merchants, for the government, or in the tourist industry.
The Sherpas and the Gurkhas, two Nepalese groups, are known for their special skills. The Sherpas, a Himalayan people, have won fame as guides and porters for mountain-climbing expeditions. Sherpa men and women carry heavy loads up to high altitudes. Many Gurkhas serve as soldiers in the British or Indian army. See Gurkhas; Sherpas.
Most people in Nepal practice Hinduism. However, the Nepalese have combined the beliefs and practices of Hinduism with those of Buddhism. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Nepal about 563 B.C. The Nepalese people celebrate the festivals of both Buddhism and Hinduism, and Buddhist shrines and Hindu temples are considered equally sacred. Many of the people of Nepal also worship local gods and spirits and consult shamans (magical healers) in times of illness.
Nepal has few physicians, and such diseases as cholera, leprosy, and tuberculosis occur frequently. Since the early 1950’s, the government has greatly reduced malaria. This has enabled many Nepalese from the mountains to settle in the Tarai, where malaria used to be widespread.
Some Hindus in Nepal practice polygyny, a form of marriage in which a husband has more than one wife. Polyandry, the practice of a wife having more than one husband, occurs among some of the Tibetan groups in northern Nepal. In most such cases, the woman marries two or more brothers. The children who are born of such marriages regard the oldest husband as their father and his brothers as uncles.
Tribhuvan University is Nepal’s largest university. It includes a main campus in Kathmandu and many other campuses in the country. Illiteracy ranks as one of Nepal’s most serious problems.
About half of the people speak Nepali—the country’s official language—as their native tongue. Most of the rest of the people use Nepali as a second language. Nepali is related to the languages of northern India. More than 50 other languages and dialects are spoken in the country.
Land and climate.
Nepal has three principal regions: (1) the Himalaya, (2) the hills and valleys, and (3) the Tarai. Differences in altitude give each region a different climate. Each region also has its own kinds of plants and animals.
The Himalaya,
in the north, covers much of Nepal. The mountains have long, harsh winters and short, cool summers. Steep rivers cut deep valleys through the snow-clad mountains of the Himalaya. Forests cover the mountains up to the altitude of about 12,000 feet (3,660 meters) above sea level. Only grasses, lichens, and moss can grow in the cold, dry air above this altitude. See Himalaya.
Mountaineers in the Himalaya herd sheep. They also herd long-haired oxen called yaks. Some people claim that a mysterious creature called the Yeti, or Abominable Snowman, lives in the mountains. See Yeti.
The hills and valleys
lie south of the Himalaya. The valleys have a cool climate, and rain falls heavily in summer. Winters are chilly but dry. Farmers on the hillsides and in the valleys raise many crops. The region’s crops include corn, millet, rice, and wheat. The farmers of the hills and valleys tend herds of cattle, goats, and sheep. A wide variety of trees and bamboo grasses grow in thick forests in this region.
The Tarai
lies in southern Nepal. It has fertile farmland. Farmers grow corn, jute, millet, mustard, rice, sugar cane, tobacco, and other crops. Livestock raised in the region include cattle and water buffalo. The Tarai has a tropical climate. Its jungles and swamps provide a habitat for a variety of wild animal species, including crocodiles, elephants, deer, leopards, rhinoceroses, and tigers.
Economy.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Since the 1950’s, large amounts of foreign aid have helped develop Nepal’s economy. Several nations—including China, India, and Japan—have contributed money to Nepal. Remittances (money sent home) from Nepalese living abroad is also important to the economy. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Nepal annually. Money spent by tourists has helped improve economic conditions in Nepal.
Nepal’s economy depends largely on agriculture. Farmers raise cattle, goats, sheep, and water buffaloes. Leading crops include corn, potatoes, rice, sugar cane, and wheat.
Manufacturing and mining play a relatively small role in Nepal’s economy. The country manufactures carpets, cement, clothing, food products, and wood products. Nepal has deposits of such minerals as coal, copper, gold, iron, lead, and zinc. However, the country has few mines. Nepal’s greatest natural resources are its forests and rivers. Some of its swift mountain currents have been harnessed to produce hydroelectric power.
Nepal imports much more than it exports. The country’s imports include iron, machinery, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals (medicinal products), and transportation equipment. Nepal exports carpets, clothing, food products, and yarn. India is, by far, Nepal’s leading trade partner. Nepal also trades with China, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.
History.
Until the late 1700’s, Nepal consisted of a number of small, independent kingdoms. About A.D. 400, the Kathmandu Valley, where the Nepalese capital is now located, came to be called Nepal. Through the centuries, bands of conquerors, nomads, and refugees moved into Nepal. They came from Central Asia, India, and Tibet and were the ancestors of the Nepalese.
In the mid-1700’s, Prithwi Narayan Shah, a king from a small Nepalese kingdom called Gorkha, began a military campaign to unify the country. By the time of his death in 1775, he had conquered most of what is now Nepal. He took the title of king of Nepal, and his descendants have served as monarchs ever since.
In the early 1800’s, Nepal fought a war against the United Kingdom. Nepal had attempted to expand its boundaries into northern India. The British East India Company, a trading corporation, controlled much of India at that time, and British soldiers guarded India’s borders. The United Kingdom declared war on Nepal in 1814 after Nepalese troops attacked a British outpost.
The British expected an easy victory, but the Nepalese were accustomed to fighting in the mountains. Although the British initially suffered heavy losses, they defeated the Nepalese in 1816. After the war, the United Kingdom and Nepal became allies. The Gurkha soldiers of the Nepalese forces impressed the British, and the United Kingdom has recruited Gurkhas for its armies since that time.
In 1846, a political leader named Jung Bahadur seized control of Nepal’s government. He took the honorary title of Rana and declared that a member of his family would serve as prime minister from then on. The Rana family totally controlled the government until 1951. During this period, the king had no power. The Ranas dominated the army, imprisoned their opponents, and even killed rivals whom they considered dangerous.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s, opposition to Rana rule grew. A revolution began in Nepal in 1950. The revolution overthrew the government and restored the monarchy to power under King Tribhuvan Shah in 1951.
During the early 1950’s, the government attempted to create a democracy. King Tribhuvan died in 1955. He was succeeded by his son Mahendra. Mahendra criticized the rivalry among political parties in democratic systems. In 1960, he declared that Nepal needed a political system that would suit its traditions. He dissolved the elected government and took over power. Political parties were banned. In 1962, he put into effect a constitution that established the panchayat system, in which most power is held by the monarch.
Under Mahendra’s rule, the government stressed economic development, tourism, road construction, and hydroelectric power. Mahendra died in 1972, and his son Birendra succeeded him as king.
In 1979, many Nepalese staged violent demonstrations, in part to demand a more democratic government. In response to the demands, Birendra allowed a national vote on the government system. By a narrow margin, the voters chose to continue Nepal’s system.
In 1990, violent demonstrations calling for more democracy broke out again. The king lifted the ban on political parties, and an interim government was formed. In November 1990, a constitution was approved that made Nepal a constitutional monarchy. In May 1991, democratic parliamentary elections were held in Nepal for the first time since the 1950’s.
In 1996, rebels called Maoists began fighting to replace Nepal’s constitutional monarchy with a Communist government. By the early 2000’s, the Maoists controlled several districts and were active throughout much of Nepal. Both the Maoists and the national security forces used violence and intimidation against the people of Nepal. In 2001, the Maoists and the government began peace talks, though violence continued.
In June 2001, King Birendra’s son Prince Dipendra killed the king and most of the royal family, then killed himself. The king’s brother Gyanendra assumed the throne. 
From 2002 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2006, King Gyanendra took full executive control of the country after dismissing Nepal’s prime minister and cabinet. The king said the prime minister had failed to deal effectively with the Maoists.
In 2005, tens of thousands of people began pro-democracy protests. After three straight weeks of protest in April 2006, Gyanendra reinstated Nepal’s parliament, which he had dissolved in 2002. In May 2006, parliament stripped the king of most of his powers.
Also in May 2006, the government began peace talks with the Maoists. In November, the two sides signed a peace deal, and in early 2007 the Maoists joined an interim government. The deal brought an end to about 10 years of fighting, during which more than 16,000 people died.
In April 2008, voters elected a Constituent Assembly tasked with writing a new constitution. The Maoists won the most seats in the Assembly. In May, the government officially abolished the monarchy and declared the country a republic. In May 2012, the prime minister abolished the Constituent Assembly over its failure to agree on a new constitution. Elections for a new Constituent Assembly were held in November 2013.
On April 25, 2015, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck central Nepal. Magnitude is a measurement of an earthquake’s strength based on ground motion. The quake’s epicenter was about 48 miles (77 kilometers) northwest of Kathmandu. An epicenter is the point on Earth’s surface above where an earthquake originated. The quake was felt throughout Southeast Asia and triggered avalanches on Mount Everest. In the weeks that followed, numerous aftershocks—that is, smaller quakes that follow a main, larger earthquake—caused additional damage and loss of life. The largest of these tremors struck on May 12 and had a magnitude of 7.3. The April 25 earthquake and the many aftershocks killed about 9,000 people, making the disaster the deadliest in Nepal’s history. 
The Constituent Assembly approved a new Constitution in September 2015. The new Constitution divided the country into seven provinces in order to devolve (transfer) some government powers from the federal government to local governments.
In the 2020’s, leading political parties in Nepal have included the Communist Party of Nepal–Maoist Center; the Communist Party of Nepal–Unified Marxist-Leninist; and the Nepali Congress party.
