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Nepal (Nepali[ne' pal]), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. With an estimated population of 26.4 million, it is the 48th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It borders China in the north and India in the south, east and west while Bangladesh is located within only 27 km (17 mi) of its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic country with Nepali as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient India when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture. By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy. The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms Nepal as a secular federal

Etymology
Before the unification of Nepal, the Kathmandu valley was known as Nepal Rajya. The precise origin of the term Nepal is uncertain. A number of plausible theories are found in religious as well as academic texts. Nepal appears in ancient Indian literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century BC. However, an absolute chronology can not be established, as even the oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the early modern period. On the other hand, academic attempts to provide a plausible theory suffers from lack of a complete picture of history, and insufficient understanding of linguistics or of relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages. According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi. According to Pashupati Purana, as a place protected by Ne, the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as Nepal. According to Nepal Mahatmya, Nemi was charged with the protection of the country by Pashupati. According to Buddhist mythology, Manjushri Bodhisattva drained a primordial lake of serpents to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that Adi-Buddha Ne would take care of the community that would settle it. As the cherished of Ne, the valley would be called Nepal. According to Gopalarajvamshavali, the genealogy of the ancient Gopala dynasty compiled circa in the 1380s, Nepal is named after Nepa the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras. In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which Nepa discovered the Jyotirlinga of Pashupatinath upon investigation, was also named Ne. Norwegian Indologist Christian Lassen proposed that Nepala was a compound of Nipa (foot of a mountain) and -ala (short suffix for Alaya which means abode), and therefore, Nepali meant "abode at the foot of the mountain". He considered Ne Muni to be a fabrication. Indologist Sylvain Levi found Lassen's theory untenable but had no theories of his own, only suggesting that either Newark is a vulgarism of Sanskritic Nepali, or Nepali is Sanskritisation of the local ethnic. Levi's view has some support in later works. The idea that Nepal is a polished form of Newar, the name of the indigenous people of Kathmandu valley

History
Ancient Nepal
Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least eleven thousand years. Nepal is mentioned in the late Vedic Atharvaveda Parisi??a and in the post-Vedic Atharvashirsha Upanishad. Nepal is also mentioned in Hindu texts such as the Narayana Puja and the regional text "Nepal Mahatmya" which claims to be a part of Skanda Purana. The Gopal Bansa was likely one of the earliest inhabitants of Kathmandu valley. The earliest rulers of Nepal were the Kiratas (Kirata Kingdom), peoples often mentioned in Hindu texts, who ruled Nepal for many centuries. Various sources mention up to 32 Kirati kings ruling over 16 centuries. Around 500 BCE, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya polity, arose a prince who later renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded Buddhism and came to be known as Gautama Buddha (traditionally dated 563–483 BCE). By 250 BCE, the southern regions had come under the influence of the Maurya Empire of North India and later became a vassal state under the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE. In Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar it is mentioned as a border country.

The kings of the Lichhavi dynasty have been found to have ruled Nepal after the Kirat monarchical dynasty. The context that "Suryavansi Kshatriyas had established a new regime by defeating the Kirats" can be found in some genealogies and Puranas. It is not clear yet when the Lichhavi dynasty was established in Nepal. According to the opinion of Baburam Acharya, the prominent historian of Nepal, Lichhavies established their independent rule by abolishing the Kirati state that prevailed in Nepal around 250 CE.

The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by a Newar or Thakuri era. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 12th century CE; King Raghav Dev is said to have founded the ruling dynasty in October 869 CE. King Raghav Dev also started the Nepal Sambat.



Unification of Nepal
In the mid-18th century, Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha king, set out to put together what would become present-day Nepal. He embarked on his mission by securing the neutrality of the bordering mountain kingdoms. After several bloody battles and sieges, notably the Battle of Kirtipur, he managed to conquer the Kathmandu Valley in 1769. A detailed account of Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory was written by Father Giuseppe, an eyewitness to the war. The Gorkha control reached its height when the North Indian territories of the Kumaon and Garhwal Kingdoms in the west to Sikkim in the east came under Nepalese control. A dispute with Tibet over the control of mountain passes and inner Tingri valleys of Tibet forced the Qing Emperor of China to start the Sino-Nepali War compelling the Nepali to retreat and pay heavy reparations to Peking.

The rivalry between the Kingdom of Nepal and the East India Company over the control of states bordering Nepal eventually led to the Anglo-Nepali War (1815–16). At first, the British underestimated the Nepali and were soundly defeated until committing more military resources than they had anticipated needing. Thus began the reputation of Gurkhas as fierce and ruthless soldiers. The war ended in the Sugauli Treaty, under which Nepal ceded recently captured lands as well as the right to recruit soldiers. Madhesis, having supported the East India Company during the war, had their lands gifted to Nepal.

Rana autocratic regime
Factionalism inside the royal family led to a period of instability. In 1846, a plot was discovered revealing that the reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Bahadur Kunwar, a fast-rising military leader. This led to the Kot massacre; armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Jung Bahadur Kunwar emerged victoriously and founded the Rana dynasty, later known as Jung Bahadur Rana. The king was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British and assisted them during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (and later in both World Wars). Some parts of the Terai region populated with non-Nepali peoples were gifted to Nepal by the British as a friendly gesture because of her military help to sustain British control in India during the rebellion. In 1923, the United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship that superseded the Sugauli Treaty of 1816. Legalized slavery was abolished in Nepal in 1924. Rana's rule was marked by tyranny, debauchery, economic exploitation, and religious persecution.

Democratic Nepal
In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Meanwhile, with the invasion of Tibet by China in the 1950s, India sought to counterbalance the perceived military threat from its northern neighbor by taking pre-emptive steps to assert more influence in Nepal. India sponsored both King Tribhuvan (ruled 1911–1955) as Nepal's new ruler in 1951 and a new government, mostly comprising the Nepali Congress, thus terminating Rana hegemony in the kingdom. After years of power wrangling between the king and the government, King Mahendra (ruled 1955–1972) scrapped the democratic experiment in 1959, and a "partyless" Panchayat system was made to govern Nepal until 1989, when the "Jan Andolan" (People's Movement) forced King Birendra (ruled 1972–2001) to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty parliament that took seat in May 1991. In 1991–92, Bhutan expelled roughly 100,000 Bhutanese citizens of Nepali descent, most of whom have been living in seven refugee camps in eastern Nepal ever since.

In 1996, the Communist Party of Nepal started a violent bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's republic. This led to the long Nepali Civil War and more than 12,000 deaths. On 1 June 2001, there was a massacre in the royal palace. King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and seven other members of the royal family were killed. The alleged perpetrator Crown Prince Dipendra, who allegedly committed suicide shortly thereafter, was briefly declared king for three days while he was in a coma. Following the carnage, King Birendra's brother Gyanendra inherited the throne. On 1 February 2005, King Gyanendra dismissed the elected government and legislature, assuming full executive powers to quash the violent Maoist movement. But this initiative was unsuccessful because a stalemate had developed in which the Maoists were firmly entrenched in large expanses of the countryside but could not yet dislodge the military from numerous towns and the largest cities. In September 2005, the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire to negotiate.



Following the declaration of the federal republic, an election was held for the Constituent Assembly that would draft a new constitution. A period of instability followed; with changing governments, and various nationalist movements and popular protests demanding for ethnic autonomy; the political deadlock meant the constituent assembly failed to adopt a constitution within the stipulated time. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved in May 2012. A second election for a new Constituent Assembly was held in 2013 under a non-partisan government led by former Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi. On 25 April 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal followed by a 7.3 magnitude aftershock two weeks later, causing a combined death toll of 8,500, about 21,000 injuries and material loss amounting to a third of the country's annual Gross Domestic Product. The Constitution of Nepal, passed with a 90% majority was announced in 20 September 2015 making Nepal a federal democratic republic divided into seven unnamed provinces. It was, however, rejected by the Madhesi nationalist parties, who intensified their protests, leading to an unofficial economic blockade by the Government of India. By February 2016, an amendment had been agreed between India and Nepal, and the Madhesis slowly backed down after it was passed by parliament. The elections for the local, provincial and federal levels of government were held in 2017 and Nepal Communist Party emerged as the ruling party with a strong majority at the federal level, as well as six of the seven provinces.

Geography
Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, about 800 kilometers (500 mi) long and 200 kilometers (120 mi) wide, with an area of 147,181 km2 (56,827 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 26° and 31°N, and longitudes 80° and 89°E. Nepal's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east. Simultaneously, the vast Tethyan oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian plate. These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle, both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas. Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Nepal lies almost completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the 2,400 km (1,500 mi)-long the Himalayas, with a small strip of southernmost Nepal stretching into the Indo-Gangetic plain and two districts in the northwest stretching up to the Tibetan plateau.

Nepal is divided into three principal physiographic belts known as Himal-Pahad-Terai. Himal is the mountain region containing snow and situated in the Great Himalayan Range; it makes up the northern part of Nepal. It contains the highest elevations in the world including 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali) on the border with China. Seven other of the world's "eight-thousanders" are in Nepal or on its border with China: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, and Manaslu. Pahad is the mountain region that does not generally contain snow. The mountains vary from 800 to 4,000 metres (2,600 to 13,100 ft) in altitude, with progression from subtropical climates below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) to alpine climates above 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). The Lower Himalayan Range, reaching 1,500 to 3,000 meters (4,900 to 9,800 ft), is the southern limit of this region, with subtropical river valleys and "hills" alternating to the north of this range. Population density is high in valleys but notably less above 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) and very low above 2,500 meters (8,200 ft), where snow occasionally falls in winter. The southern lowland plains or Terai bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Terai is the lowland region containing some hill ranges. The plains were formed and are fed by three major Himalayan rivers: the Koshi, the Narayani, and the Karnali as well as smaller rivers rising below the permanent snowline. This region has a subtropical to tropical climate. The outermost range of the foothills called Sivalik Hills or Churia Range, cresting at 700 to 1,000 meters (2,300 to 3,280 ft), marks the limits of the Gangetic Plain; however broad, low valleys called Inner Terai Valleys (Bhitri Tarai Upatyaka) lie north of these foothills in several places.

The Indian plate continues to move north relative to Asia at about 50 mm (2.0 in) per year. This makes Nepal an earthquake-prone zone, and periodic earthquakes that have devastating consequences present a significant hurdle to development. Erosion of the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows to the Indian Ocean. Satoshi, in particular, carries a huge amount of silt out of Nepal but sees an extreme drop in Gradient in Bihar, causing severe floods and course changes, and is, therefore, known as the sorrow of Bihar. Severe flooding and landslides cause deaths and disease, destroy farmlands and cripple the transport infrastructure of the country, during the monsoon season each year.

Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900 to 7,900 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,900 to 11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to 4,400 metres (11,800 to 14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft). Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter, and spring. The Himalayas block cold winds from Central Asia in the winter and form the northern limits of the monsoon wind patterns.

Biodiversity
Nepal contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals, relative to its size. Nepal, in its entirety, forms the western portion of the eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, with notable biocultural diversity. The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal (60 m from sea level in the Terai plains, to 8,848 m Mount Everest) result in a variety of biomes. The eastern half of Nepal is richer in biodiversity as it receives more rain, compared to western parts, where arctic desert-type conditions are more common at higher elevations. Nepal is a habitat for 4.0% of all mammal species, 8.9% of bird species, 1.0% of reptile species, 2.5% of amphibian species, 1.9% of fish species, 3.7% of butterfly species, 0.5% of moth species and 0.4% of spider species. In its 35 forest-types and 118 ecosystems, Nepal harbors 2% of the flowering plant species, 3% of pteridophytes and 6% of bryophytes. Nepal's forest cover is 59,624 km2 (23,021 sq mi), 40.36% of the country's total land area, with an additional 4.38% of scrubland, for a total forested area of 44.74%, an increase of 5% since the turn of the millennium. In the southern plains, Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion contains some of the world's tallest grasses as well as Sal forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical riverine deciduous forests. In the lower hills (700 m – 2,000 m), subtropical and temperate deciduous mixed forests containing mostly Sal (in the lower altitudes), Chilaune and Katus, as well as subtropical pine forest dominated by Chir pine are common. The middle hills (2,000 m – 3,000 m) are dominated by Oak and Rhododendron. Subalpine coniferous forests cover the 3,000 m to 3,500 m range, dominated by Oak (particularly in the west), Eastern Himalayan fir, Himalayan pine, and Himalayan hemlock; Rhododendron is common as well. Above 3,500 m in the west and 4,000 m in the east, coniferous trees give way to Rhododendron-dominated alpine shrubs and meadows. Among the notable trees, are the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in traditional herbal medicine, and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepal, which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-Daro, and under which Gautam Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment. Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. Most of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of the lower Himalayan region is descended from the Tethyan Tertiary flora. As the Indian plate collided with Eurasia forming and raising the Himalayas, the arid and semi-arid Mediterranean flora was pushed up and adapted to the more alpine climate over the next 40–50 million years. The Himalayan biodiversity hotspot was the site of mass exchange and intermingling of the Indian and Eurasian species in the Neogene. One mammal species (Himalayan field mouse), two each of bird and reptile species, nine amphibia, eight fish and 29 butterfly species are endemic to Nepal.

Nepal contains 107 IUCN-designated threatened species, 88 of the animal species, 18 plant species and one species of "fungi or protist" group. These include the endangered Bengal tiger, the Red panda, the Asiatic elephant, the Himalayan musk deer, the Wild water buffalo, and the South Asian river dolphin, as well as the critically endangered Gharial, the Bengal florican, and the White-rumped Vulture, which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle. The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Nepali wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1973 with the enactment of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, was substantially expanded. Vulture restaurants coupled with a ban on veterinary usage of diclofenac has seen a rise in the number of white-rumped vultures.

Politics and government

Politics
Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system. It has four political parties recognized in the federal parliament: Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Congress (NC), Samajbadi Party Nepal (SPN) and Rashtriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN). While all major parties officially espouse democratic socialism, NCP is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist, with most considering it center-left and some center-right. The minor party SPN is leftist and RJPN is center-right to right-wing. During most of the brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s as well as the 1990s, Nepali Congress held a majority in parliament. Following the entry of the Maoists into the political process, they were the largest party in the first constituent assembly and Nepali Congress was the largest in the second, with no party winning a majority. In the aftermath of the 2017 elections, the first one according to the new constitution, NCP has become the ruling party at the federal level as well as six out of seven provinces. While Nepali Congress has a significantly reduced representation, it is the only major opposition to the ruling communist party in all levels of government. Early politics in the Kingdom of Nepal was characterized by factionalism, conspiracies, and murders, including two major massacres. After almost a century of power-wrangling among the prominent Basnyat, Pande and Thapa families, a fast-rising military leader Bir Narsingh Kunwar emerged on top in the aftermath of the Kot massacre and established the Rana autocratic regime which consolidated powers of the King as well as prime minister and reigned for another century, with a policy of oppression and isolationism. By the 1930s, Nepali expatriates in India had started smuggling in writings on political philosophies, which gave birth to a vibrant underground political movement in the capital, birthing Nepal Praja Parishad in 1939, which was dissolved only two years later, following the execution of the four great martyrs. Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the Indian Independence Movement started organizing into political parties, leading to the birth of the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal. Following Indian Independence, Nepali Congress was successful in overthrowing the Rana regime with support from the Indian government and cooperation from the king. While communism was still trying to find its footing, Nepali Congress enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate. Following a brief ten-year exercise in democracy, another partyless autocracy was initiated, this time by the King, who deposed the democratically elected government of the Nepali Congress, imposed or exiled prominent leaders and issued a ban on party politics. Many political parties and their leaders remained underground or in exile for the next 30 years of partyless politics in Nepal. BP Koirala was released from prison in 1968 and went into exile in Benaras, returning in 1976 only to immediately be put in house arrest. Although an armed insurgency launched by the major communist faction called the Jhapa movement had failed comprehensively by 1971, it formed the foundation for the dominant communist power, CPN ML, that was officially launched in 1978. A general referendum was held in 1980, which saw the CPN ML campaign for the option of multi-party democracy, along with the Nepali Congress, but the Panchayat System was declared the winner to significant controversy. The Panchayat rule saw governments led by a group of monarchy loyalists taking turns, with Surya Bahadur Thapa, Tulsi Giri and Kirti Nidhi Bista becoming prime minister three times each, among others. It introduced a number of reforms, built infrastructures and modernized the country, while significantly curtailing political freedom, imposing the Nepali language and culture to the oppression of all others, and spreading Indophobic propaganda the effects of which are experienced to the present day.

In 1990, the joint civil resistance launched by the United left front and Nepali Congress was successful in overthrowing the Panchayat, and the country became a constitutional monarchy. The United Left Front became CPN UML. The Panchayat loyalists formed the National Democratic Party which emerged as the third major party. While Nepali Congress ran the government for most of the next ten years of democracy that followed, democracy was mostly a disappointment owing to the immature democratic culture and political infighting in the capital, as well as the civil war that followed the guerrilla insurgency launched by the Maoist Party. Following a four-year autocratic rule by King Gyanendra that failed to defeat the Maoists, a mass civil protest was launched by a coalition of the Maoists and the political parties in 2006, which forced the king to step down, brought the Maoists to the peace process, and established a democratic republic by 2008. Following the political consensus to draft the new constitution of the Republic via a constituent assembly, Nepali politics saw a rise of nationalist groups and ideologies. While the political power-wrangling caused continuous instability, maintaining the established average of nine months per government, this period saw two constituent assembly elections and the rise of Madhesi nationalist parties, especially in the Eastern Terai region. By 2015, the new constitution had been promulgated and Nepal became "a federal democratic republic striving towards democratic socialism". In 2017, a series of elections were held according to the new constitution, which established Nepal Communist Party (NCP) (formally united after the election) as the ruling party at the federal level as well as six of the seven provinces, Nepali Congress as the only significant opposition in federal and provincial levels, while the Madhesi coalition formed the provincial government in Province No. 2, but boasts negligible presence in the rest of the country.


The Government of Nepal comprises three branches:

Executive: The form of governance of Nepal is a multi-party, competitive, federal democratic republican parliamentary system based on plurality. The executive power of Nepal rests with the Council of Ministers in accordance with the Constitution and Nepali law. The President appoints the parliamentary party leader of the political party with the majority in the House of Representatives as a Prime Minister, and a Council of Ministers is formed in his/her chairmanship. The executive power of the provinces, pursuant to the Constitution and laws, is vested in the Council of Ministers of the province. The executive power of the province shall be exercised by the province Head in case of absence of the province Executive in a State of Emergency or enforcement of Federal rule. Every province has a ceremonial Head as the representative of the Federal government. The President appoints a Governor for every province. The Governor exercises the rights and duties as specified in the constitution or laws. The Governor appoints the leader of the parliamentary party with the majority in the Provincial Assembly as the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers are formed under the chairpersonship of the Chief Minister.

Legislature: The Legislature of Nepal, called the Federal Parliament, consists of two Houses, namely the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. The term of House of Representatives is five years. The House of Representatives consists of 275 members: 165 members elected through the first-past-the-post electoral system consisting of one member from each of the one hundred and sixty-five electoral constituencies; 110 elected from proportional representation electoral system where voters vote for parties while treating the whole country as a single electoral constituency. The National Assembly is a permanent house. The tenure of members of the National Assembly is six years. The National Assembly consists of 59 members: 56 members elected from an Electoral College, comprising members of provincial Assembly and chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of Village councils and Mayors and Deputy Mayors of Municipal councils, with different weights of votes for each, with eight members from each province, including at least three women, one Dalit, and one person with a disability or a member of a minority. Three members, including at least one woman, are to be nominated by the President on the recommendation of the Government of Nepal. A Provincial Assembly is the unicameral legislative assembly for a federated province. The term for the Provincial Assembly is five years.

Judiciary: Powers relating to justice in Nepal are exercised by courts and other judicial institutions in accordance with the provisions of the constitution, other laws, and recognized principles of justice. Nepal has a unitary three-tier independent judiciary that comprises the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of Nepal, 7 High Courts, and a large number of trial courts. The supreme court is the highest court in the land. The high court is the highest court in each province. There are district courts, one in each district below the high courts. The local governments may convene local judicial bodies to resolve disputes and render non-binding verdicts on cases not involving actionable crime. The actions and proceedings of the local judicial bodies may be guided and countermanded by the district courts.

Administrative divisions
Nepal is a federal republic comprising 7 provinces. Each province is composed of 8 to 14 districts. The districts, in turn, comprise local units known as urban and rural municipalities. There is a total of 753 local units which includes 6 metropolitan municipalities, 11 sub-metropolitan municipalities and 276 municipalities for a total of 293 urban municipalities, and 460 rural municipalities. Each local unit is composed of wards. There are 6,743 wards in total.

The local governments enjoy executive and legislative as well as limited judicial powers in their local jurisdiction. The provinces have a unicameral parliamentary Westminster system of governance. The local and provincial governments exercise some absolute powers and some powers shared with provincial and federal governments as applicable, as listed in the constitution of Nepal. The laws enacted by local governments may not contradict existing laws at the provincial and federal levels or the national constitution. Similarly, the provincial legislature may not enact laws contradicting federal laws or the national constitution. The powers not listed in the constitution are exercised by the federal government. The district coordination committee, a committee composed of all elected officials from the local governments in the district, has a very limited role.

Laws, law enforcement and crime
The Constitution of Nepal is the supreme law of the land, and any other laws contradicting it are automatically invalid to the extent of the contradiction. The specific legal provisions are codified as Civil Code and Criminal Code, accompanied by Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code respectively. Other laws may be enacted by the parliament at all levels of government to supplement but not supersede these laws and other laws enacted by the higher level parliaments, as applicable. The Supreme Court is the highest authority in the interpretation of laws and it can direct the parliament to amend or enact new laws as required. Nepali laws are considered generally more progressive compared to other third world countries, and in some instances, even some countries of the first world. Nepal has abolished the death penalty. It also has made progress in LGBT rights and gender equality. It recognizes marital rape and supports abortion rights; however, because of the rise in sex-selective abortion, constraints have been introduced. Nepal is a signatory to the Geneva Convention, Conventions/Treaties on the prohibition of Biological, Chemical, and Nuclear weapons, International Labour Organisation Fundamental Conventions, Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as the Paris climate accord. Some legal provisions that are guided by socio-economic, cultural and religious sensibilities remain discriminatory. There is gender-based discrimination against foreign nationals married to Nepali citizens. The paternal lineage of a person is valued and required in legal documents. Many laws remain unenforced in practice.

Nepal Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Nepal. It is an independent organization under the command of the Inspector-General of Police, who is appointed by and reports to the Home ministry. Nepal police is responsible for maintaining law and order in the country. It is also responsible for traffic management in the country, which is done by the special subdivision, the Nepal traffic police force. Nepal Armed Police Force, a separate paramilitary police organization works in cooperation with Nepal police, assisting the latter in maintaining checkpoints, border security, patrols, crowd control in case of violent protests, security of vital assets, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism actions, as well as any other internal security matter that requires use of force. The Crime Investigation Department is the special branch of Nepal Police that specializes in criminal investigation and forensic analysis, which maintains an investigative team in every district of the country and is called in when normal police procedures and investigations prove insufficient in resolving a case. The National Investigation Department of Nepal is an independent intelligence organization which gathers intelligence relevant to internal security and law enforcement, as part of its mandate. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority is an independent investigative agency that investigates and prosecutes cases related to corruption and bribery, in addition to the abuse of authority by government officials and officeholders.

A 2010 survey estimated 46,000 hard drug users in the country, with 70% of the users within the age group of 15 to 29. There has been a sharp increase in the seizure of drugs such as hashish, heroin, and opium in the past few years; and there are indications that drug traffickers are trying to establish Nepal as a transit point. Human trafficking and child labor are major problems. Nepali victims are trafficked within Nepal, to India, the Middle East, and other areas such as Malaysia and forced to become prostitutes, domestic servants, beggars, factory workers, mine workers, circus performers, child soldiers, and others. Sex trafficking is particularly rampant within Nepal and to India, with as many as 5,000 to 10,000 women and girls trafficked to India alone each year.

Foreign economic and strategic relations
Nepal pursues a policy of "balanced relations" with the two giant immediate neighbors, India and China, even though it shares unparalleled socio-cultural ties with India and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between two provides for a much closer relationship between them. Nepal and India share an open border with free movement of people, religious, cultural and marital ties, and each boasts Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimages widely visited by citizens of the other. Nepal's currency is permanently pegged to the Indian currency and most of the third-country trade of Nepal is carried out via Indian ports. Millions of people from Nepal reside in India for education and work, and vice versa. India is Nepal's largest trading partner, and Nepal imports all of its oil and gas, and almost all of a number of other essential supplies including medicine, from India. Nepalis, prominently, participated in the Indian Independence Movement, and India closely monitors and seeks to influence Nepal's internal politics, which has led to India playing indispensable roles in all of Nepal's democratic movements, while on some occasions, India's unwelcome interventions in Nepal's politics has given rise to a significant skepticism regarding India's intentions and strengthened anti-India sentiment in Nepal. Nepalis serve in the Gurkha battalions of the Indian Army and have fought in India's wars. Nepalis can own property in India, while Indians are free to live and work in Nepal. While Nepal votes independently in international forums, and India and Nepal often disagree in such votes, Nepal has made a commitment to seek India's approval on any purchase of military weapons from third countries, while India unilaterally considers smaller countries in South Asia including Nepal as under its security sphere, requiring military protection. Nepal's long-term grievances against India stem from India's interference in Nepal's internal politics, the 1950 treaty that is seen as unfair to Nepal, alleged border encroachment and harassment by Indian border security force, flooding caused by river dams controlled by India, and India's willingness to blockade Nepal to force its agenda. India has expressed concern with Nepal's apathy toward alleged cross-border terrorism carried out by Pakistani terrorists based in Nepal, Nepal's refusal to acknowledge support for India during India-China conflict and Nepal's recognition of Chinese claim over Tibet, and the alleged use of anti-India propaganda by Nepali politicians for political gain, among others.

Nepal established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on 1 August 1955, signing the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1960, and relations since have been based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. Nepal has always maintained neutrality in conflicts between China and India. It remains firmly committed to the One China Policy and is known to curb anti-China activities from the Tibetan refugees in Nepal. Citizens of both countries can cross the border and travel as far as 30 km without a visa. China is viewed favorably in Nepal because of the latter's assistance in infrastructure development, absence of any border disputes or serious interference in internal politics, aid during natural disasters, and favorability has increased since 2015 when China helped Nepal during the economic blockade imposed by India. Since then, Nepal and China have moved closer on trade and connectivity, with China granting Nepal access to its ports for third-country trade, and Nepal joining China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative with plans for expansive road and railway projects. Nepal emphasizes greater cooperation in the South Asia region and actively pushed for the establishment of SAARC, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the permanent secretariat of which, is hosted in Kathmandu. Nepal was one of the first countries to recognize an independent Bangladesh, and the two countries seek to enhance greater cooperation, on trade and water management; seaports in Bangladesh which are closer to Nepal, are seen as viable alternatives to India's monopoly on Nepal's third-country trade. Nepal's relationship with Bhutan has become acrimonious since Bhutan carried out ethnic cleansing against its citizens of Nepali origin in the early 1990s, most of whom have been resettled in third countries after decades of efforts to repatriate them failed. Nepal was the first South Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, and the countries enjoy a strong relationship. However, Nepal also recognizes the rights of the Palestinians and has voted in favor of recognizing Palestine at the UN and against the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Other countries that Nepal maintains a close relationship with, includes countries that are the most generous donors and development partners of Nepal, namely, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, and Norway, among others.

The President is the supreme commander of the Nepalese Army, although its routine management is handled by the Ministry of Defence. Nepal's military expenditure for 2018 was $398.5 million, around 1.4% of its GDP. The age of qualification for the military service which is voluntary is 18 years. Nepal Army, an almost exclusively ground infantry force, which numbers at less than one hundred thousand, has few aircraft, mainly helicopters, primarily used for transport, patrol and search and rescue. Directorate of Military Intelligence is the military intelligence agency under Nepal Army, while the National Investigation Department is the independent intelligence agency tasked with national and international intelligence gathering. As the military of an underdeveloped small country sandwiched between two superpowers, Nepal Army is not maintained as a national defense force against foreign aggression, but rather for routine security of critical assets, anti-poaching activities in national parks, internal security in times of crisis, like civil war, terrorism, etc. and for search and rescue during natural disasters. Nepal Army also undertakes construction projects. While there are no officially sanctioned discriminatory policies on recruitment, except on the basis of physical or mental fitness and age, but reservations for marginalized groups instead, the army is dominated by the elite Pahari warrior castes, women form an abysmal minority and there are allegations of discrimination against sexual minorities, in practice. Nepal mainly depends on diplomacy for national defense. Nepal has always maintained a policy of neutrality between its neighbors, has amicable relations with other countries in the region, and has pursued a policy of non-alignment at the global stage. In addition to the SAARC and the UN, Nepal is also a member of WTO, BIMSTEC and ACD, among others. It conducts joint military exercises with China, India and the United States. Nepal has bilateral diplomatic relations with 167 countries and the EU, has embassies in 30 countries and six consulates, while 25 countries maintain their embassies in Nepal, and more than 80 other countries maintain non-residential diplomatic missions. Nepal is one of the major contributors to the UN Peacekeeping Missions having contributed more than 119,000 personnel to 42 missions since 1958. Nepali people have a reputation for honesty, loyalty and bravery, which has led to Nepalese citizens serving as the legendary Gurkha warriors in the Indian and British armies for the last 200 years, who have fought in both world wars, India-Pakistan wars as well as being deployed in both Afghanistan and Iraq, even though Nepal was not directly involved in any of those conflicts, and winning the highest military awards including the Victoria Cross and the Param Vir Chakra. Many Nepali migrant workers are recruited as security guards, while Singapore Police Force also maintains a Gurkha contingent of Nepali recruits, owing to the same legendary reputation of the Nepali people.

Economy
Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018 was estimated at $28.8 billion. With an annual growth rate calculated at 6.3% in 2018, and expected to reach 7.1% in 2019, Nepal is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. However, the country ranks 165th in the world in nominal GDP per capita and 162nd in GDP per capita at PPP. Nepal has been a member of WTO since 23 April 2004. The 16.8-million-worker Nepali labor force is the 37th largest in the world, as of 2017. The primary sector makes up 27.59% of GDP, the secondary sector 14.6%, and the tertiary sector 57.81%. Nepal's foreign exchange remittances of US$8.1 billion in 2018, the 19th largest in the world and constituting 28.0% of GDP, were contributed to its economy by millions of workers primarily in India, the middle east and East Asia, almost all of them unskilled laborers. Major agricultural products include cereals (barley, maize, millet, paddy, and wheat), oilseed, potato, pulses, sugarcane, jute, tobacco, milk and water buffalo meat. Major industries include tourism, carpets, textiles, cigarettes, cement, brick, as well as small rice, jute, sugar and oilseed mills. Nepal's international trade greatly expanded in 1951 with the establishment of democracy; liberalization began in 1985 and picked up pace after 1990. By the fiscal year 2016/17, Nepal's foreign trade amounted Rs 1.06 trillion, a twenty-three folds increase from Rs 45.6 billion in 1990/91. More than 60% of Nepal's trade is with India. Major exports include readymade garment, carpet, pulses, handicrafts, leather, medicinal herbs, and paper products, which account for 90% of the total. Major imports include variously finished and semi-finished goods, raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemical fertilizers, electrical and electronic devices, petroleum products, gold, and readymade garments. Inflation was at 4.5% in 2019. Foreign exchange reserves were at US$9.5 billion in July 2019, equivalent to 7.8 months of imports. Nepal has made significant progress in poverty reduction bringing the population below the international poverty line (US$1.90 per person per day) from 15% in 2010 to just 9.3% in 2018, although vulnerability remains extremely high, with almost 32% of the population living on between US$1.90 and US$3.20 per person per day. Nepal has made improvement in sectors like nutrition, child mortality, electricity, improved flooring assets. If the progress of reducing poverty continues at this rate, then it is predicted that Nepal will halve the current poverty rate and eradicate it within the next 20 years. The income distribution remains grossly uneven. The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable as it is highly dependent on the monsoon rains, with just 28% of the arable land being irrigated, As of 2014. Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce, services 18%, and manufacturing and craft-based industry 6%. Private investment, consumption, tourism agriculture are the principal contributors to economic growth. The government's budget is about $13.71 billion (FY 2019/20), but the expenditure of infrastructure development budget usually fails to meet the target, and most of the development budget is hurriedly spent in the last months of the fiscal year when the monsoon and hurried work results in a sub-par quality of construction. The Nepali rupee has been tied to the Indian rupee at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Since the loosening of exchange rate controls in the early 1990s, the black market for foreign exchange has all but disappeared. A long-standing economic agreement underpins a close relationship with India. The country receives foreign aid from the UK, India, Japan, the US, the EU, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. Per capita income is $1,004. The distribution of wealth among the Nepalis is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest 10% of households control 39.1% of the national wealth and the lowest 10% control only 2.6%. European Union (EU) (46.13%), the US (17.4%), and Germany (7.1%) are its main export partners. The European Union has emerged as the largest buyer of Nepali ready-made garments (RMG). Exports to the EU accounted for "46.13 percent of the country's total garment exports". Nepal's import partners include India (47.5%), the United Arab Emirates (11.2%), China (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.9%), and Singapore (4%).

Besides having landlocked, rugged geography, few tangible natural resources and poor infrastructure, the ineffective post-1950 government and the long-running civil war are also factors in stunting the country's economic growth and development. Debt bondage even involving debtors' children has been a persistent social problem in the western hills and the Terai, with an estimated 234,600 people or 0.82% of the population considered as enslaved, by The Global Slavery Index in 2016.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Nepal, employing more than a million people and contributing 7.9% of the total GDP. It is also one of the fastest-growing. The number of international visitors crossed one million in 2018 for the first time (not counting Indian tourists arriving by land), a 59% increase from 736,000 in the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, despite setbacks from the devastating 2015 earthquake. Domestic tourism has witnessed a sharp increase since the earthquake, contributing 56% of the total tourism earnings in 2018. Nepal is home to four world heritage sites: Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, Sagarmatha National Park which includes Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth, seven monuments in the Kathmandu Valley collectively listed as one, and Chitwan National Park. Most of the country's tourism is confined to these destinations, in addition to Pokhara, the Annapurna trekking circuit, and other Himalayan mountains that attract mountaineers and sightseers from around the world. Although Nepal is home to eight of the fourteen eight-thousanders, all among the ten tallest mountains in the world, most of Nepal's mountaineering earnings come from Mt Everest, which is more accessible from the Nepalese side. Despite a vast potential for spiritual and cultural as well as mountaineering and eco-tourism, Nepal's share of foreign tourists visiting South Asia is only about 6%, and tourists spend much less on average, with Nepal sharing only 1.7% of the total tourism earnings of South Asia. The largest contributors of foreign tourists to Nepal are India (16%), China (12%), the United States (8%), Sri Lanka (7%) and the United Kingdom (6%).Nepal's tourism sector officially opened for westerners in 1951 but remained seriously hindered by a lack of proper planning and investment, continuous political instability. Once a popular final destination at the end of the hippie trail with legalized marijuana and hashish shops in Kathmandu, Nepali tourism was at its lowest during the civil war in the 1990s. Enthused by the upsurge since the peace process began, Nepal aims to welcome two million tourists in 2020, double the 2018 figures, via the concerted Visit Nepal 2020 initiative. With a lack of proper facilities for high-end tourism termed the "infrastructure bottleneck", the flag carrier in shambles and blacklisted by the developed countries, and with only a small number of popular destinations properly developed and marketed, the goal is considered too ambitious. The home-stay tourism, in which cultural and eco-tourists stay as paying guests in the homes of indigenous people, considered a more equitable and viable means of developing the sector, has seen some success. Lumbini and other Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimages including Pashupati temple, Swayambhu and Boudhanath in Kathmandu, Muktinath in Mustang, and Janakpurdham, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Videha and home to goddess Sita, are among the premier destinations for the development of spiritual, religious and cultural tourism. Diversifying eco-tourism by developing and marketing less popular national parks, trekking routes and mountains are considered essential for the growth of the industry.

Foreign employment
The rate of unemployment and underemployment exceeds half of the working-age population. Thus, many Nepali citizens move to other countries in search of work. Destinations include India, the GCC countries, Malaysia, South Korea, and Japan. In addition, thousands of well-educated people migrate to developed countries, like the United States, Australia and the UK for higher studies and work, half of whom never return. Most of the workers employed in India, the middle east and East Asia are unskilled laborers from very poor families. Many of them are swindled by the manpower companies and sent to exploitative employers or war-ridden countries under fraudulent contracts, in breach of government restrictions. In an extreme such case, in 2004, 12 Nepalese migrant workers traveling to an American base in Iraq through a third country, were kidnapped by terrorists and executed on video. Nepalese workers have their passports seized upon arrival by their employer and only returned when they are allowed to return by the employer's consent. Due to Nepal's failure to secure rights for its workers, most Nepalese don't get paid minimum wage, and many are forced to return without being paid all or part of the wages. Much Nepalese work in extremely unsafe conditions; an average of two Nepalese workers die each day. The proportion of women participation in foreign employment is increasing. Due to restrictions placed on women, many are forced to depend on traffickers to get out of the country and end up victims of violence and abuse. Many Nepalese are believed to be working under slavery-like conditions, and Nepal spends billions of rupees rescuing stranded workers, on remuneration to the indebted families of the dead and legal costs for those who get jailed in foreign countries. Foreign employment is the largest source of foreign exchange for Nepal. Due to millions of missing men, women have been left to attend to the farm and livestock, take care of the families, and raise children, all by themselves. Nepal's population growth rate has remained lower than projected, in part, due to the same. Although millions of families have been raised out of poverty by foreign employment, due to a lack of entrepreneurial skills, the earnings that workers bring back to Nepal are mostly spent on real estate and consumption.

Infrastructure
The bulk of energy in Nepal comes from biomass (80%) and imported fossil fuels (16%). Most of the final energy consumption goes to the residential sector (84%) followed by transport (7%) and industry (6%), but the transport and industry sectors have been expanding rapidly in recent years. Except for some lignite deposits, Nepal has no known oil, gas or coal deposits. All commercial fossil fuels (mainly oil, LPG and coal) are imported, spending 129% of the country's total export revenue. Only about 1% of the energy need is fulfilled by electricity. The perennial nature of Nepali rivers and the steep gradient of the country's topography provide ideal conditions for the development of hydroelectric projects. Estimates put Nepal's economically feasible hydropower potential at approximately 42,000 MW. However, Nepal has been able to exploit only about 1,100 MW. As most of it is generated from run-of-river (ROR) plants, the actual power produced is much lower in the dry winter months when peak demand can reach as high as 1,200 MW, and Nepal needs to import as much as 650 MW from India to meet the demands. Nepal aims to bring enough hydropower projects into operation by the end of 2019 to go into surplus, but major hydropower projects have continued to suffer delays and setbacks. Nepal's electrification rate (76%) is comparable to that of other countries in the region but there is a significant disparity between the rural (72%) and urban (97%) areas. The position of the power sector remains unsatisfactory because of high tariffs, high system losses, high generation costs, high overheads, overstaffing, and lower domestic demand. Nepal remains isolated from the world's major land, air and sea transport routes although, within the country, aviation is in a better state, with 47 airports, 11 of them with paved runways; flights are frequent and support a sizeable traffic. The hilly and mountainous terrain in the northern two-thirds of the country has made the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. As of 2016, there were just over 11,890 km (7,388 mi) of paved roads, and 16,100 km (10,004 mi) of unpaved roads, and just 59 km (37 mi) of a railway line in the south. As of 2018, all district headquarters (except Simikot) had been connected to the road network. Most of the rural roads are not operable during the rainy season; even national highways regularly become inoperable. Nepal depends almost entirely on foreign assistance from countries like China, India, and Japan, for building, maintenance and expansion of the road network. The only practical seaport of entry for goods bound for Kathmandu is Kolkata in West Bengal state of India. The national carrier, Nepal Airlines, is in poor shape due to mismanagement and corruption and has been blacklisted by the EU. Internally, the poor state of development of the road system makes access to markets, schools, and health clinics a challenge. According to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority MIS August 2019 report, the voice telephony subscription rate was at 2.70% of the total population for fixed phones and 138.59% for mobile; 98% of all voice telephony was through mobile phones. Similarly, while an estimated 14.52% had access to fixed broadband, an additional 52.71% were accessing the internet using their mobile data subscriptions; almost 15 million of them with 3G or better. The mobile voice telephony and the broadband market was dominated by two telecommunications companies, the state-owned Nepal Telecom (55%) and the private multinational, Ncell (40%). Of the 21% market share enjoyed by fixed broadband, around 25% was again shared by Nepal Telecom, with the rest going to the private Internet Service Providers. Although there is a high disparity in penetration rate between the rural and urban areas, mobile service has reached 75 districts of the country covering 90% of land area, and broadband access is expected to reach 90% of the population by 2020. As of 2019, the state operates three television stations as well as national and regional radio stations. There are 117 private TV channels and 736 FM radio stations licensed for operation, at least 314 of them, community radio stations. According to the 2011 census, the percentage of households possessing radio was 50.82%, television 36.45%, cable TV 19.33%, and computer 7.23%. According to the Press Council Nepal classification, as of 2017 of the 833 publications producing original content, ten national dailies and weeklies are rated A+ class. In 2019, Reporters Without Borders ranked Nepal at 106th in the world in terms of press freedom.

Demographics
The citizens of Nepal are known as Nepali or Nepalese. The Nepali are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet and North Burma, and the Chinese province of Yunnan via Assam. Among the earliest inhabitants were the Kirat of east mid-region, Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, aboriginal Tharus of the Terai plains and the Khas Pahari people of the far-western hills. Despite the migration of a significant section of the population to the Terai in recent years, the majority of Nepalese still live in the central highlands, and the northern mountains are sparsely populated.

Nepal is a multicultural and multiethnic country, home to 126 distinct ethnic groups, speaking 123 different mother tongues and following a number of indigenous and folk religions in addition to Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. According to the 2011 census, Nepal's population was 26.5 million, almost a threefold increase from nine million in 1950. From 2001 to 2011, the average family size declined from 5.44 to 4.9. The census also noted some 1.9 million absentee people, over a million more than in 2001; most are male laborers employed overseas. This correlated with the drop in sex ratio from 94.41 as compared to 99.80 for 2001. The annual population growth rate was 1.35% between 2001 and 2011, compared to an average of 2.25% between 1961 and 2001; also attributed to the absentee population. Nepal is one of the ten least urbanized, and the ten fastest urbanizing countries in the world. As of 2014, an estimated 18.3% of the population lived in urban areas. Urbanisation rate is high in the Terai, doon valleys of the inner Terai and valleys of the middle hills, but low in the high Himalayas. Similarly, the rate is higher in central and eastern Nepal compared to further west. The capital, Kathmandu, nicknamed the "City of temples", is the largest city in the country and the cultural and economic heart. Other large cities in Nepal include Pokhara, Biratnagar, Lalitpur, Bharatpur, Birgunj, Dharan, Hetauda and Nepalgunj. Congestion, pollution and drinking water shortage are some of the major problems facing the rapidly growing cities, most prominently the Kathmandu Valley.

Language
Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage stems from three major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, and various indigenous language isolates. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as native language) according to the 2011 census are Nepali (44.6%), Maithili (11.7%), Bhojpuri (6.0%), Tharu (5.8%), Tamang (5.1%), Nepal Bhasa (3.2%), Bajjika (3%) and Magar (3.0%), Dotel (3.0%), Urdu (2.6%), Awadhi (1.89%), and Sunwar. Nepal is home to at least four indigenous sign languages.

Descendent of Sanskrit, Nepali is written in the Devanagari script. It is the official language and serves as lingua franca among the Nepali of different ethnolinguistic groups. The regional languages Maithili, Awadhi, and Bhojpuri are spoken in the southern Terai region; Urdu is common among Nepali Muslims. Varieties of Tibetan are spoken in and north of the higher Himalaya where standard literary Tibetan is widely understood by those with religious education. Local dialects in the Terai and hills are mostly unwritten with efforts underway to develop systems for writing many in Devanagari or the Roman alphabet.

Religion
The 2011 census reported that the religion with the largest number of followers in Nepal was Hinduism (81.3% of the population), followed by Buddhism (9%); the remaining were Islam (4.4%), Kirant (3%), Christianity (1.3%) and other folk religions (0.4%). The prevalence of irreligion was reported to be at 0.5%. By percentage of the population, Nepal has the largest population of Hindus in the world. Nepal was officially the Hindu Kingdom until recently, and Shiva was considered the guardian deity of the country. Although many government policies throughout history have disregarded or marginalized minority religions, Nepalese societies generally enjoy religious tolerance and harmony among all religions, with only isolated incidents of religiously-motivated violence.

Education
Nepal entered modernity in 1951 with a literacy rate of 5% and about 10,000 students enrolled in 300 schools. By 2017, there were more than seven million students enrolled in 35,601 schools. The overall literacy rate (for the population aged 5 years and above) increased from 54.1% in 2001 to 65.9% in 2011. The male literacy rate was 75.1% compared to the female literacy rate of 57.4%. The highest literacy rate was reported in Kathmandu district (86.3%) and lowest in Rautahat (41.7%). While the net primary enrolment rate was 74% in 2005; it had reached 97% by 2017. However, increasing access to secondary education (grades 9 –12) remains a major challenge, as evidenced by the low net enrolment rate of 57.5% at this level. Tertiary gross enrolment rate was only 12.4% As of 2018. By 2017, females had overtaken males in enrolment at all levels, compared to ten years earlier when male enrolment at the tertiary level was almost double that of females. As of 2017, Nepal had eleven universities and four independent science academies. Lack of proper infrastructures and teaching materials and a high student-to-teacher ratio, as well as politicization of school management committees and partisan unionization among both students and teachers, present a significant hurdle to progress. Free basic education is guaranteed in the constitution but the program lacks funding for effective implementation. The government has scholarship programs for girls, disabled and children of martyrs, o

Health and sanitation
Public health and health care services in Nepal are provided by both the public and private sectors. Tap water is the main source of drinking water for 47.78% of households, tube well/hand pump is the main source of drinking water for about 35% of households, while spout, uncovered and covered well is the main source for 5.74%, 4.71%, and 2.45% respectively. Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 71 years as of 2017, 153rd highest in the world, up from 54 years in the 1990s. Two-thirds of all deaths are due to non-communicable diseases, 9% due to injuries and 25% due to communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutritional diseases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death; other major causes are injuries, diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory diseases, and intracerebral hemorrhage. HIV AIDS is the seventeenth leading cause of death. Of the 32,000 HIV infected, only 13,000 are receiving antiretroviral treatment, As of 2018. Diabetes and kidney disease are highly prevalent as well.

Immigrants and refugees
Nepal has a long tradition of accepting migrants and refugees. In modern times, Tibetans and Bhutanese have constituted a majority of refugees in Nepal. Tibetan refugees began arriving in Nepal in 1959, and many more cross into Nepal every year. The Bhutanese Lhotsampa refugees began arriving in Nepal in the 1980s and had reached more than 110,000 by the 2000s. Most of them have been resettled into third countries. At the end of 2018, Nepal had a total of 20,800 confirmed refugees, 64% of the Tibetan and 31% Bhutanese. Recent arrivals among the refugees and asylum seekers, who are termed "urban refugees" as they live in apartments in the cities instead of refugee camps, include Ahmaddiya Muslims of Pakistan and Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, but also some immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and other African countries, and Sri Lanka. Nepal does not recognize refugees other than the Bhutanese and Tibetans, terming them "illegal immigrants". However, the government facilitates third-country settlement for them, in cooperation with international partners. About two thousand immigrants applied for work permits in Nepal in 2018/19, half of them Chinese. Nepal does not have a record of the number of Indian immigrant workers in Nepal as they do not require work permits to live and work in Nepal. Indian government puts the number of non-resident Indians in Nepal at 600,000.

Society and culture
Society
Folklore is an integral part of Nepali society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life, tales of love, affection and battles as well as demons and ghosts and thus reflect local lifestyles, culture, and beliefs. Many Nepali folktales are enacted through the medium of dance and music.

Most houses in the rural lowlands of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs.

With 15 days a year, Nepal is the country that enjoys the least number of public holidays in the world. The Nepali year begins in 1st of Baisakh in official Hindu Calendar of the country, the Bikram Sambat, which falls in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. The main annual holidays include the Martyr's Day (18 February), and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as Dashain in autumn, Tihar in mid-autumn and Chhath in late autumn. During Swati, the Newars perform the Mha Puja ceremony to celebrate New Year's Day of the lunar calendar Nepal Sambat. Being a Secular country Nepal has a holiday on main festivals of minority religions too.