(Nepāl Adhirājya). State of Central Asia (147,181 km²). Capital: Kathmandu. Administrative division: administrative areas (14). Population: 26,494,504 (2011). Language: Nepali (official), Tibetan dialects. Religion: Hindus 80.6%, Buddhists 10.7%, Muslims 4.2%, Kirat 3.6%, Christians 0.4%, others 0.5%. Currency unit: Nepalese rupee (100 paisa). Human Development Index: 0.530 (145th place). Borders: Tibet (China) (N), India (W, S and E) (Sikkim). Member of: UN and WTO.
ECONOMY: AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND FORESTS
The limited extension of arable land and the difficult morphological and climatic conditions allow only a modest subsistence agriculture and impose the need to practice a dense terracing of the mountain slopes as well as to resort to irrigation in arid areas. However, a significant boost to agricultural expansion was obtained with the enhancement of the southern flat belt, the terai, thanks above all to the grandiose barrier of the Sun Kosi, built with the help of India which benefits in part from it; The implementation of the land reform which partially abolished land ownership also had positive effects. However, the sector is poorly modernized and exposed to natural disasters. Agriculture is practiced with very different criteria from area to area in relation to the considerable environmental differences in Nepal. Below 1800 m, that is, in the terai and in the intermontane valleys, rice prevails, summer cultivation alternates with winter cultivation of legumes, wheat and millet; beyond rice cultivation, in the terai certain industrial crops such as sugar cane, tobacco, jute, rapeseed and other oil crops are spreading. The second important cereal is maize, cultivated up to 2500-2800 m; further on, up to 3500 m, only the cultivation of barley, buckwheat and potatoes is possible and only in summer. The forests, rich in precious tropical, broad-leaved and coniferous essences, now occupy less than a third of the territorial surface; it follows a discreet exploitation, facilitated for the transport by the frequent recourse to the floating. Over the last decade, the authorities have adopted important reforestation programs to avoid the total loss of a heritage, also due to its use as fuel and felling aimed at increasing arable space. Breeding is widespread throughout the country, especially cattle, which is usually practiced through seasonal transhumance, but, while in the lowland it is complementary or subordinated to agriculture, above 3000 m it becomes the basic economic activity (the yack predominates here, which, in addition to providing wool, skins, meat and milk, is used as a pack and saddle animal). Furthermore, buffaloes, sheep and goats and poultry are bred.
ECONOMY: INDUSTRY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
According to cheeroutdoor, Nepal has only modest deposits of mica, iron, lignite and copper; the country can partially make up for the lack of energy minerals thanks to the large water potential of its rivers. Nepal, in fact, produces a huge amount of electricity and owns 3.5% of the planet’s hydroelectric potential, but still exploits a small part of it and, above all, is unable to extend its benefits to the entire population: in some areas solar energy is the only source. In 2004, the hydroelectric power plant on the Kali Gandakī River came into operation and numerous smaller projects are underway. In addition, the authorities have decided for the future to increase the use of renewable energy sources such as biogas, solar and wind energy. The industrial sector is based on the processing of local products; industries, concentrated in the areas of Kathmandu,
ECONOMY: TRADE AND COMMUNICATIONS
Tourism represents an important source of foreign currency but the precarious political situation compromises a real development of the sector. The necessary infrastructures for the sector are still lacking and only the valley around the capital is equipped for tourist hospitality. Trade is fairly modest, both domestic and foreign; the latter is burdened by very heavy liabilities. Exports consist of cereals, hides and other livestock products, carpets, jute, timber etc. and cover approx. one third of imports, mainly represented by basic industrial equipment, machinery and means of transport, fuels, etc. The largest trading partner is India, which accounts for about 60% of trade in both directions; the rest of the imports come from China and Indonesia while the export is also directed to the United States and Germany. The network of communication routes is lacking, just as the means of transport and much of the efforts of the authorities in the last years of the twentieth century remain absolutely inadequate to modern needs. they went in the direction of filling these gaps. The road network, which has a total development of 17,380 km (of which only 5214 are asphalted), revolves around Kathmandu; the capital is quite well connected both to the N with Tibet and to the S with India and is touched by the longitudinal road axis, which towards the E reaches Sikkim (India), towards W a just as absolutely inadequate to modern needs remain the means of transport and much of the efforts of the authorities in the last years of the twentieth century. they went in the direction of filling these gaps. The road network, which has a total development of 17,380 km (of which only 5214 are asphalted), revolves around Kathmandu; the capital is quite well connected both to the N with Tibet and to the S with India and is touched by the longitudinal road axis, which towards the E reaches Sikkim (India), towards W a just as absolutely inadequate to modern needs remain the means of transport and much of the efforts of the authorities in the last years of the twentieth century. they went in the direction of filling these gaps. The road network, which has a total development of 17,380 km (of which only 5214 are asphalted), revolves around Kathmandu; the capital is quite well connected both to the N with Tibet and to the S with India and is touched by the longitudinal road axis, which towards the E reaches Sikkim (India), towards W a Pokharā, whence a branch for the Indian border departs; in western Nepal various road sections are under construction to shortly make the cross-link of the entire country. Two short branches of the Indian railway network penetrate Nepalese territory. More efficient are the air services (the national airline is the Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation), which connect Kathmandu, home to an international airport, with various centers in Nepal as well as with India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Dubai, Japan, as well as some countries of European Union.
