Nepal lies in the lap of the Himalaya between latitudes 26°22' and 30°27' North and longitudes 80°4' and 88°12' East. It shares its northern border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and its eastern, southern, and western borders with India. Nepal is rectangular and averages 885 kilometres East to West and 193 kilometres North to South, covering a total land area of 147 181 square kilometres. The 2001 census preliminary report puts the population at 23.2 million, 86% of whom live in rural areas (CBS, 2001).

Climatic conditions in Nepal vary substantially with altitude. In the Terai, the temperature can rise to 44°C in the summer and fall to 5°C in the winter. The corresponding temperatures for the hill and mountain areas are 41°C and 30°C respectively in the summer, and 3°C and far below 0°C respectively in the winter. The mean annual rainfall is about 1500 millimetres (CBS, 1996).

For administrative purposes, Nepal is divided into 5 development regions, 14 zones, and 75 districts. Districts are further divided into Village Development Committees (VDCs) and urban municipalities. A VDC consists of nine wards, while the number of wards in an urban municipality depends on the size of the population as well as on political decisions. At present, there are 3914 VDCs and 58 municipalities.

Nepal is a multiethnic and multilingual society. The 2001 Census identified 103 castes or ethnic groups and subgroups. Major groups include: Chhetri (15.3%), Brahmin (12.7%), Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), Kami (5.7%), Tamang (5.6%), Newar (5.5%), Muslim (4.3%), Yadav (3.9%), Rai (2.8%), and Gurung (2.4%). The 2001 Census lists 92 prevalent languages or dialects (CBS, 2001). These originated from two major groups: Indo-Aryans, who constitute about 80% of the population, and Tibeto-Burmans, who constitute about 17% (CBS, 1995). As the kingdom's official language, Nepali is the mother tongue of about half the population, although it is understood and used by most. Two other major languages are Maithili and Bhojpuri, spoken by 12% and 8% of the population respectively.

Nepal is a Hindu kingdom and Hinduism is practised by over 80% of its people. The second largest religious group is Buddhist (10.7%). Muslims constitute 4.3% of the population (CBS, 2001).

Since 1990, Nepal has been a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy. Nepal's people exercise rights of adult franchise and the executive, legislative and judiciary bodies function and exercise their rights independently. The legislature has a two-tier system. The Upper House (the Rajya Sabha) has 60 members and the Lower House (the Pratinidhi Sabha) is a House of Representatives whose members are elected from 205 electoral constituencies. The elected Prime Minister heads the government. The constitution, promulgated in 1990, guarantees basic human rights to every citizen. Major among these are :

The right to equality and equal opportunities for employment, including equality before the law, and prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religion, ethnicity, or sex.

The right to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, union, movement, residence, and the practice of any profession or occupation.

The right to freedom from exploitation, prohibiting all forms of forced labour, child labour and trafficking in human beings.

The right to constitutional remedy for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights. Almost all aspects of life have been affected by the current Maoist insurrection. Apart from the direct effects of violence on children, food security has been compromised in many areas, health service delivery has been affected, there are limitations on travel for consultation, and there are growing concerns for the health and development of child soldiers.

The estimated per capita GDP was US$ 240 for the year 2000-2001. Although the proportion of people below the poverty line has shown a decline from 42% to 38% over the last five years, poverty reduction remains a major challenge for Nepal. The GDP growth rate at current prices is estimated to be 8.6% (Economic Survey, 2001/2002). About 80% of the population continue to rely on agriculture for their livelihood, but the recent HDI report shows marginal growth in agricultural productivity. This is due to fragmentation of land ownership, poor access to technology, and poor rural accessibility (UNDP, 2001). The contribution of the agricultural sector to GDP was 37.9% in 2000/2001. On the other hand, growth in the non-agricultural sector - largely driven by growth in the urban service sector - has been notable. The non-agricultural sector is therefore the primary driver of economic growth, whose contribution to GDP has risen from 40 to 60% over the last 20 years (UNDP, 2001).

Table 1.1 summarises growth in GDP (estimated at factor cost on the constant price) over the last five years. Growth has tended to fluctuate about an annual average of 3.9%: 2.9% for the agricultural and 4.6% for the non-agricultural sectors. Government expenditure as a percentage of GDP has increased from 18.6% to 19.4%, and government revenue as a percentage of GDP has increased from 10.9% to 11.9%. The average gap between expenditure and revenue is 7.0%.

Because of variations in climate, topography, and rainfall, agricultural production varies with ecological zone. The major crops are rice, followed by wheat and corn in the Terai; corn and rice, followed by wheat in the hills; and corn, rice, and wheat in the mountains (CBS, 1995). Although people have often sought work outside Nepal, the last decade has seen an increase in expatriate numbers and earnings, a source of revenue that has contributed substantially to the economy.

Figure 1.1 shows that significant improvements have been seen in literacy rates, which more than doubled in the 20 years between 1981 and 2001 (from 23.5%. to 53.7%, an average annual increase of about 1.5%)

Source: Population Monograph 1995; Figure in Nepal 2002,CBS.
The change in female literacy has been even more dramatic (a trebling from 11.5% to 42.5%) and bears witness to the increase in school enrolment (Table 1.2)

Table 1.2 School enrolment and primary school dropout

Sources: ^a BCHIMES 2001; NLSS 1996; CBS. ^b Nepal Multiple Indicator Surveillance Second Cycle 1995, Primary Education; BCHIMES 2001, CBS.

Note that percentages may exceed 100 as they are calculated with a denominator (6-10 years).

There remain, however, disparities between male and female literacy and enrolment rates. Enrolment also has to be seen in the context of subsequent school dropout (Table 1.2). Primary school dropout rates remain higher for girls than for boys, and the figures have changed little over the last five years. 

Population

Table 1.3 provides a summary of selected demographic indicators over the last four censuses. The population has doubled in the last 30 years (to 23.2 million in 2001), as has its density, which currently stands at 157 per square kilometre. However, the population growth rate has shown a fall from 2.6 to 2.24%. Despite its predominantly rural population distribution, Nepal does show a tendency toward urbanisation, with an increase in the urban proportion of the population from 4% to 14% over 30 years.

Table 1.3 Selected demographic indicators and population projections

Sources: ^a Census, Central Bureau of Statistics, 1995; ^b Census, Central Bureau of Statistics, 2001; ^c Population projections for Nepal (1996-2016) Vol. 1 MOPE. 

A burden of disease study estimated that 7.7 million DALYs were lost to the Nepalese population in 1996, and that over half of the burden (51%) was accrued in children under five (SLTHP, 1999). This underlines the need for aggressive intervention in childhood. The age structure of the population is summarised in Table 1.3. The trend toward a shrinking of the childhood population is obvious, although over the next 15 years it is primarily the younger child group that will shrink in relative terms, with an increase in the adolescent contribution. The proportion of children under five has decreased gradually to its current level of 15%. This underlines the success of Nepal’s family planning programme. For planning purposes, however, the Child Health Division of the Department of Health Services has been using a projected figure of 15.8% (MOPE, 1998).

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