INTRODUCTION

Geographical Setting

a. Location

Latitude – 26° 22’ N to 30° 27’ N
Longitude - 80° 4’ E to 88° 12’ E

b. Border

China in the North,
India in the South, East and West.

c. Size

Area = 147,181 Sq. Km.
Average Length = 885 Km. (East to West).
Average Width = 193 Km. (North to South)

Household and Population 2001

a. Total Household - 42,53,220
b. Population
Total - 2, 31,51,423
Male - 1,51,63,921
Female - 1,15,87,502

Ecological Divisions

Ecologically the country is divided into three regions, running east to west. They are the Mountain, the Hill and the Terai (Plains).

a. The Mountain Region
The region covers mountainous area of the country and lies in the north. The altitude ranges from 4877 meters to 8848 meters above the sea level. This region consists large number of magnificent snow covered mountains including the highest peak of the world, the Mount Everest. Almost all big rivers running through the country originate from this region. Because of its geography and climatic conditions it is the most sparsely populated region compared to other two. According to the 2001 census, the region accommodates 7.3 percent of the total population.

b. The Hill Region
The hill region is located between the Mountain and the Terai regions. It lies between the altitudes of 610 meters above the sea level. The region comprises several attractive peaks, fertile valley and basins such as Kathmandu and Pokhara valley. These valleys and basins are relatively densely populated. The region accounts largest share of the land area of the country. Share of population of this region is 44.3 percent.

c. The Terai Region
This region lies in the southern part of the country. The Terai, being an extension of the Gangetic palins of India, forms a low flat land. It accommodates 48.4 percent of population in 2001. This area includes most of the fertile land and dense forest of the country. Fertile land in irrigation facility areas permit the cultivation of a wide variety of crops in the Terai, such as paddy, maize, wheat, sugarcane, vegetable, tobacco and other crops. Population of this region is increasing at a faster rate compared to the other two regions, one among the reasons of faster growth is due to internal migration.

Apart from the ecological divisions, there are five Development Regions and fourteen Zones, The development regions stretch north to south across the three ecological regions.

Administrative Division
For administrative purpose, the country is divided into 75 districts. Sixteen districts in the north constitute the Mountain region, 39 districts in the middle constitute the Hill and 20 districts in the south fall in the Terai Region. Similarly development regions are made up of districts. There are 16 districts in the Eastern Development Region, 19 in the Central, 16 in the Western, 15 in the Mid-Western and 9 in the Far-Western Development Region. Districts are further divided into number of Village Development Committees (VDC). For several reasons number and size of these local units changes from time to time. Currently, there are 3915 VDCs and 58 Municipalties including one Metropolitan and four Sub-Metropolitan cities. VDC and Municipality are sub-divided into smaller units, called the Ward. There are 9 wards in each VDC and number of wards in a municipality ranges from 9 to 35. For administrative purpose each district is headed by a Chief District Officer (CDO). The CDO is mainly responsible to maintain the law and order in the district and also to co-ordinate development works conducted by different ministries and local agency at the district level.

Cultural Heritage
Nepal, in respect of cultural heritage is one of the richest members of the world cultural community. It is a homeland of several caste/ethnic groups of people. The differences in life style of these people, in aggregate, reflect varieties in culture. The culture, festivals, food habits, clothings and languages of people differ from place to place. For example – social activities and cultural practices of residents of the Mountain differ from those of the Teral. There are various types of folk dance, music and songs prevailed in the country such as Sorathis, Bhailo-Deunsi, Kakhon, Sabai etc. Several languages are spoken as mother tongue, major of them are Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, Newari. Nepali is the language of the nation. All the languages spoken as the mother tongue in the various parts of Nepal are the national languages. Nepal is very rich in arts and architects too. Nepal’s fine art, magnificent wood and stone carvings and pagoda type of architects are famous in the world. According to the Population Census 2001, 80.6 percent of her people are follower of Hindu religion, 10.7 and 4.2 percent are follower of Bauddha and Islam religion respectively.

International Affairs
Nepal is a land locked country. Her geographic location has been instrumental to shape her foreign policy. Before 1951, Nepal’s foreign relation was limited with 4 countries; namely – India, United Kingdom, USA and France. Nepal became member of the United Nations in 1955. There after democracy, extension of diplomatic relations with various countries of the world increased considerably.

The main features of Nepalese foreign policy is based on:

a. Principles of Panchasila,
b. Adherence to the United Nations charter and to the belief that all member countries should follow the charter
c. Principles of “Non Alignment”
d. The peace as a basic tenet.

Because of effectiveness of her foreign policy, Nepal has established diplomatic relation with 116 countries and maintained her reputation in the international society. Nepal’s foreign policy undertook a glorious turning when the SAARC, of which Nepal is an active member, summit 1986 unanimously, agreed to establish SAARC secretariat in Kathmandu.

Natural Resources
For the all round development of the country a careful utilization of natural resources is necessary. The economic development of a country depends upon not only on the availability of natural resources, but also on the extent of its rational utilization. Three major resources are – water, mineral and forest.

a. Water Resource
Water resource is the most important natural resource of the country. Nepal is the second richest country in the world possessing about 2.27 percent of the world natural resource. The major sources of water are glaciers, snowmelt from Himalayas, rainfall and ground water. It is estimated that there are altogether 6,000 rivers (including rivulets and tributaries) having about 45,000 Kms length. Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali are the main river systems getting major part of their water supply from the snow, glaciers and small tributaries. Other important rivers are Babai, Kamala, Narayani, Bagmati, Rapti, Seti and Mahakali.

b. Mineral Resource
In the lack of scientific and geological survey of the country, reliable statistics on mineral resources are not yet available. Whatever is available is bsed on simple preliminary surveys. Studies on mineral resources indicate that iron, copper, mica, gold, lead and zinc, lime-stone, slate, mineral oil and gas, coal, nickel, sulphur, graphite, dolomite are available in the country. But the proper exploitation of these minerals require financial resource, technical know – how and a good system of transportation facility.

c. Forest Resource
Another major natural resource of the country is the forest resource. It provides more than 50 percent of fodder to the livestock. Several industries in the country are based on forest products for their raw materials. The benefits and the beauty that are derived from the forest and its usefulness to maintain natural and ecological balance cannot be measured in the economic term.

People and Development
Nepal is one of the least developed country of the world. Among 23.1 million people of the country as per the census of 2001, 85.80 percent of people live in the rural areas. Estimated per capita GDP for the year 2006/2007 is US$ 383. Population which is growing at the rate of 2.25 percent per annum had produced a broad base, increased dependency ratio. Literacy rate for the year 2001 is 54.1 percent, which is however increasing but still much lower to upgrade the pace of development by making optimum use of human resource. 31 percent of the population still lives below poverty line. Keeping in view of the challenge, efforts are under way to improve the quality of life of Nepalese people.