Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia bordered by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Sikkim, and in north by Tibet. The multiethnic, multilingual, multi-religious country, is situated north of India in the Himalayas, in the region where, about 40 to 50 million years ago, the Indian subcontinent has crashed into Asia. Because of that accident, Nepal has some of the world's highest mountains including Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest, 8848m, which it shares with Tibet (by now a province of China). The country along the southern slopes of the Himalayan mountain range is host to eight of the 10 highest peaks in the world, including Mount Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Kanchenjunga (on the border to Sikkim).
With an area of 147,181 km² Nepal is slightly larger than 1.5 times the size of Portugal, or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Arkansas.
Nepal has a population 31 million (2016 est.). Largest city and national capital is Kathmandu.
Spoken languages: about half of the population speaks the official language Nepali, the rest is using one of the several other Tibeto-Burman languages.
Nepal can be divided broadly into three ecological zones: the lowland, the midland and the highland. The altitude of the Himalayan Region (the highland) ranges between 4877 m - 8848 m, It includes 8 of the highest 14 summits in the world, which exceed altitude of 8000 meters including Mount Everest.
border countries: China (Tibet Autonomous Region (Xizang), India
other countries close to Nepal: Bhutan, Bangladesh
Capital City: Kathmandu (pop 1.5 million)
Other Cities: Biratnagar, Patan, Pokhara, Birganj, Dharan, Nepalganj.
Government: Type: Republic
Geography: Location: Southern Asia, between China and India Area: 147,181 km² (56,826 sq.mi.)
Climate: The climate in Nepal varies with elevation, tropical in the lower southern part Tarai, mid-hills alpine and the high mountains polar; elevation ranges from 90 to 8848 meters.
People: Nationality: noun: Nepalese (singular and plural), adjective: Nepalese or Nepali. Population: 31 million (2016) Refugee Population: Bhutanese (94 000), Tibetans (20 000 approx.) Ethnic Groups: sixty ethnic groups, major groups are Sherpas, Kirats or Limbus, Rais, Magars, Newars, Tamangs, Gurungs, the Bahuns and Chhetries and the Tharus the inhabitants of the Tarai. Religions: Hinduism (predominant 86%), Buddhism 8%, Tibetan Lamaism (Bon) Languages: Nepali (official and lingua franca of the country), sixty ethnic groups, who speak seventy different dialects and eleven major languages like Tibeto-Burman, Lhotsamkha, Nepalbhasa, Tamang languages. Literacy: 40%
Natural resources: Quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore.
Industries: Tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production.
Exports - commodities: clothing, pulses, carpets, textiles, juice, jute goods Exports - partners: India 61.3%, USA 9.4% (2015)
Imports - commodities: petroleum products, machinery and equipment, gold, electrical goods, medicine Imports - partners: India 61.5%, China 15.4% (2015)