_#_Disputes: claimed by Haiti
_#_Climate: marine, tropical
_#_Terrain: raised coral and limestone plateau, flat to undulating;
ringed by vertical white cliffs (9 to 15 meters high)
_#_Natural resources: guano
_#_Land use: arable land 0%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures
10%; forest and woodland 0%; other 90%
_#_Environment: mostly exposed rock, but enough grassland to support
goat herds; dense stands of fig-like trees, scattered cactus
_#_Note: strategic location between Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica in the
Caribbean Sea; 160 km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo, Cuba
_*_People
_#_Population: uninhabited; transient Haitian fishermen and others
camp on the island
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: none (territory of the US)
_#_Type: unincorporated territory of the US administered by the US
Coast Guard
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: no economic activity
_*_Communications
_#_Ports: none; offshore anchorage only
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
_%_
_@_Nepal
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 140,800 km2; land area: 136,800 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than Arkansas
_#_Land boundaries: 2,926 km total; China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km
_#_Coastline: none--landlocked
_#_Maritime claims: none--landlocked
_#_Climate: varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to
subtropical summers and mild winter in south
_#_Terrain: Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central
hill region, rugged Himalayas in north
_#_Natural resources: quartz, water, timber, hydroelectric potential,
scenic beauty; small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore
_#_Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 13%; forest and woodland 33%; other 37%; includes irrigated 2%
_#_Environment: contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks;
deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution
_#_Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India
_*_People
_#_Population: 19,611,900 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 39 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 15 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 98 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 51 years male, 50 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 5.5 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun--Nepalese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Nepalese
_#_Ethnic divisions: Newars, Indians, Tibetans, Gurungs, Magars,
Tamangs, Bhotias, Rais, Limbus, Sherpas, as well as many smaller groups
_#_Religion: only official Hindu state in world, although no sharp
distinction between many Hindu (about 90% of population) and Buddhist
groups (about 5% of population); Muslims 3%, other 2% (1981)
_#_Language: Nepali (official); 20 languages divided into numerous
dialects
_#_Literacy: 26% (male 38%, female 13%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1990 est.)
_#_Labor force: 4,100,000; agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry 2%;
severe lack of skilled labor
_#_Organized labor: Teachers' Union and many other nonofficially
recognized unions
_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Kingdom of Nepal
_#_Type: constitutional monarchy
_#_Capital: Kathmandu
_#_Administrative divisions: 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural);
Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur,
Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi,
Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti
_#_Independence: 1768, unified by Prithyi Narayan Shah
_#_Constitution: 9 November 1990
_#_Legal system: based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
_#_National holiday: Birthday of His Majesty the King, 28 December
(1945)
_#_Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Council of Ministers
_#_Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of
an upper house or National Council and a lower house or House of
Representatives
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State--King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev (since 31 January
1972, crowned King 24 February 1985); Heir Apparent Crown Prince DIPENDRA
Bir Bikram Shah Dev, son of the King (born 21 June 1971);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since
29 May 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
ruling party--Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Girija Prasad KOIRALA,
Ganesh Man SINGH, Krishna Prasad BHATTARAI;
center--the NDP has two factions: National Democratic
Party/Chand (NDP/Chand), Lokinra Bahadur CHAND, and
National Democratic Party/Thapa (NDP/Thapa), Surya Bahadur THAPA;
Terai Rights Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party, G. N. Naryan SINGH;
Communist--Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist and
Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan ADIKHARY;
United People's Front (UPF), N. K. PRASAI;
Rohit Party, N. M. BIJUKCHHE;
Democratic Party, leader NA
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 12 May 1991 (next to be
held May 1996);
results--NCP 38%, CPN/UML 28%, NDP/Chand 6%, UPF 5%, NDP/Thapa
5%, Terai Rights Sadbhavana Party 4%, Rohit 2%, CPN (Democratic) 1%,
independent 4%, other 7%;
seats--(205 total) NCP 110, CPN/UML 69, UPF 9, Terai Rights
Sadbhavana Party 6, NDP/Chand 3, Rohit 2, CPN (Democratic) 2,
NDP/Thapa 1, independent 3;
note--the new Constitution of 9 November 1990 gives Nepal a multiparty
democracy system for the first time in 32 years
_#_Communists: Communist Party of Nepal (CPN)
_#_Other political or pressure groups: numerous small, left-leaning
student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese
antimonarchist groups
_#_Member of: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Mohan Man SAINJU; Chancery at
2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 667-4550; there
is a Nepalese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Julia Chang BLOCH; Embassy at Pani Pokhari,
Kathmandu; telephone [977] (1) 411179 or 412718, 411601, 411613, 413890
_#_Flag: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two
overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white
stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries
in the world with a per capita income of less than $200. Real growth
averaged 4% in the 1980s until FY89, when it plunged to 1.5% because of
a trade/transit dispute with India. Though the impasse is over,
political turmoil and inflated energy costs will probably constrain
growth to under 4%. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy,
providing a livelihood for over 90% of the population and
accounting for 60% of GDP. Industrial activity is limited, mainly
involving the processing of agricultural produce (jute, sugarcane,
tobacco, and grain). Production of textiles and carpets has expanded
recently and accounted for 87% of foreign exchange earnings in FY89.
Apart from agricultural land and forests, the only other exploitable
natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural
production in the late 1980s grew by about 5%, compared
with a population growth of 2.6%. Forty percent or more of the
population is undernourished partly because of poor distribution.
Economic prospects for the 1990s are poor, with economic growth
probably outpacing population growth only slightly.
_#_GDP: $3.0 billion, per capita $160; real growth rate 2.1% (FY90)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10.0% (FY90 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 5%; underemployment estimated at 25-40% (1987)
_#_Budget: revenues $316.5 million; expenditures $618.5 million,
including capital expenditures of $398 (FY91 est.)
_#_Exports: $125 million (f.o.b., FY90), but does not include
unrecorded border trade with India;
commodities--clothing, carpets, leather goods, grain;
partners--India 38%, US 23%, UK 6%, other Europe 9% (FY88)
_#_Imports: $454.3illion (c.i.f., FY90 est.);
commodities--petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%;
partners--India 36%, Japan 13%, Europe 4%, US 1% (FY88)
_#_External debt: $2.5 billion (April 1990 est.)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate 6% (FY90 est.); accounts
for 7% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 280,000 kW capacity; 540 million kWh produced,
30 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette,
textiles, carpets, cement, brick; tourism
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 60% of GDP and 90% of work force; farm
products--rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, buffalo meat;
not self-sufficient in food, particularly in drought years
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and
international drug markets
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1980-88), $2.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $286 million
_#_Currency: Nepalese rupee (plural--rupees);
1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa
_#_Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1--30.805 (January
1991), 29.370 (1990), 27.189 (1989), 23.289 (1988), 21.819 (1987), 21.230
(1986), 18.246 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 16 July-15 July
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 52 km (1990), all 0.762-meter narrow gauge; all in
Terai close to Indian border; 10 km from Raxaul to Birganj is
government owned
_#_Highways: 7,080 km total (1990); 2,898 km paved, 1,660 km gravel
or crushed stone; also 2,522 km of seasonally motorable tracks
_#_Civil air: 5 major and 11 minor transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 37 total, 37 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 8 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair
radio communication and broadcast service; international radio
communication service is poor; 50,000 telephones (1990); stations--88
AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service,
Nepalese Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,669,421; 2,420,398 fit for
military service; 233,404 reach military age (17) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $38 million, 2% of GDP (FY91)
_%_
_@_Netherlands
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 37,290 km2; land area: 33,940 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey
_#_Land boundaries: 1,027 km total; Belgium 450 km, Germany 577 km
_#_Coastline: 451 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;