Nepal in Data

GEOGRAPHY

Situated in southern flank of the Himalayas, Nepal is a landlocked country, enclosed between the Tibetan plateau and the Gangetic plains in the Central Himalayas. Geographically it lies between 800 4′ & 880 12′ East longitude and 260 22′ & 300 27′ North latitude. It is roughly rectangular in shape and has an area of 147,641.71 sq.km. (corrected recently by developing new map of Nepal from 147,181 sq. Km), extending roughly 885 km from East to West and varies from 145-241 km North-South. Out of the total area, 4,000 sq. Km is covered by water. The country is bordered by India in the east, west and south (1,930 km) while big mountains towards China segregate the north side (1,497 km). Altitude in Nepal varies from 67m above sea level at Kechana Kalan (Jhapa) in southeastern Terai to Mt. Sagarmatha 8,848 m, the highest peak in the world located at Solukhumbu in north eastern Himalayas.

Topographically, the country can be divided into four main regions starting from the North, viz. 1) The Himalayan Region and Inner Himalayas (altitude ranging 16,000 to 29,028 ft. (4878 to 8848 meters) perpetually covered with snow, 2) The Sub-Himalayas or the mountainous region (altitude ranging 6000 to 16,000 ft. (1,828 to 4,876 meters), 3) The valley basin, Dun or Inner Terai (altitude ranging 900 to 2,000 ft. (274 to 609 meters), and 4) The Low plain region – Terai (altitude ranging 300 to 900 ft. (91 to 274 meters). But for all practical purposes, the country is divided in to three broad ecological zones:

• The Mountain region, comprising 35.2% of the country’s land surface, is sparsely inhabited. The highest peaks of the Himalayas like Sagaramatha (29028ft. /8848m), Kanchanjunga (28,208 ft./8,586m), Lhotse (27,809 ft./ 8,516m) lie along the northern border.
• The Hill region comprises 41.7% of Nepal’s land area. The Mahabharat range forms this region. To the south of it lies the Churia range. The two ranges enclose between them valleys of various widths and altitudes, known as Duns or the inner Terai. Some of the valleys in this region are Kathmandu, Pokhara and Surkhet.
• The Terai comprises 23.1% of the total land area. It has a width ranging from 16 miles (25.6km) to 20 miles (32km). The terai zone ranges in altitude of less than 610 meters with most of the fertile land and dense forest the country.

Apart from the ecological divisions, administratively there are 7 Provinces, 77 Districts and 753 local governments. Local government is composed of 6 metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities, 460 sub-municipalities and 6743 wards.

The geographical features of Nepal not only manifest the diversity but also reflect distinctive patterns of settlements, population distribution, culture and economy. Out of total land area Terai comprises only 23.1 percent, whereas the share of Mountain is 41.7 percent and Hill is 35.2 percent respectively.

Nepal has many high, beautiful and attractive mountains, out of thirty one mountain peaks over 7,600 meters in the world, twenty two lie in Nepal. Further, among the fourteen snow-topped mountains over 8,000 meters in the world, eight are located in Nepal with the highest peak Sagarmatha (Everest) 8,848 meters situated in the region.

Climate

Nepal has extreme climatic variations, which is associated with the diverse nature of its topography and altitude and pronounced by dry and wet monsoon seasons. Average rainfall of between 1,400 and 2,500 mm annually predominate over most of the central Himalayan region. The percentage of annual rainfall brought by the monsoon between June and September is higher in Terai (81%) and eastern and central hills (79%) than in the western hills (67%) and in the Trans Himalayas (55%). In Terai and eastern/central hills, winters are very dry (2.4%), and the remaining rain occurs in spring (11%) and autumn (7.7%). (Shah and Singh, 2001)

Climatically, Nepal may be divided into three types

Subtropical: The Terai, the Inner Terai and lower foothills gave a sub-tropical climate. The temperature ranges from 5° c to 47° c. Rainfall in this area is between 80″ and 100″ (2000mm and 2500mm).

Temperate: The area between the Mahabharat range and Himalayas has a temperate climate, the temperature varies between 0° C and 30° C. Average rainfall is about 60″ (1500mm).

Alpine: The Himalayas and Inner Himalayas have an Alpine, Dry & Arid type of climate. The temperature is several degrees below zero during winter and never above 16° c during summer. The average rainfall is 20″ (500mms) and in the higher regions precipitation is in the form of snow.

Social and Cultural Diversity

Nepal is inhabited by multi-lingual people, there are 123 spoken languages and 125 ethnic/caste groups.With majority of population speaking Nepali (44.6%) as their mother toungue, there are many other linguistic groups like Maithili, Bhojpuri, Newari, Tharu, Tamang, Rai, Magar, etc. Ethnically the largest group is Chettri (16.6%) followed by Hilll Brahmins (12.2%), Magars (7.12%), Tharus (6.56%), Tamangs (5.81%) etc. In terms of religion, Hindu (81.3%) is predominant followed by Buddism and Islam.

Nepalese culture linked to various ethnic and social values are remarkably rich and fascinating. One of the specific features of Nepalese culture is religious harmony between the Hindu and the Buddhist. Although there is diversity in religion, ethnicity, language, customs, life-style, traditions, folklore of people there is always unity in culture. Festivals are a prominent aspect of Nepalese life style and different types of festivals are observed throughout the year. Most of the Nepalese festivals are of religious as well as of social values and either of the Hindu and Buddhist origin is celebrated in common by the people with enthusiasm.

Fast Facts of Nepal

Nepal Outlook compiles key indicators based upon recently updated research and survey documents published and endorsed by Central Bureau of Statistics, Nepal Government in a most easiest and clear format.