"text":"During the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the principality of Gorkha united many of the other principalities and states of the sub-Himalayan region into a Nepalese Kingdom. Nepal retained its independence following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16 and the subsequent peace treaty laid the foundations for two centuries of amicable relations between Britain and Nepal. (The Brigade of Gurkas continues to serve in the British Army to the present day.) In 1951, the Nepali monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system that brought political parties into the government. That arrangement lasted until 1960, when political parties were again banned, but was reinstated in 1990 with the establishment of a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. ++ An insurgency led by Maoists broke out in 1996. The ensuing 10-year civil war between Maoist and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and the re-assumption of absolute power by the king in 2002. A peace accord in 2006 led to the promulgation of an interim constitution in 2007. Following a nationwide Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, the newly formed CA declared Nepal a federal democratic republic, abolished the monarchy, and elected the country's first president. After the CA failed to draft a constitution by a May 2012 deadline set by the Supreme Court, then-Prime Minister Baburam BHATTARAI dissolved the CA. Months of negotiations ensued until March 2013 when the major political parties agreed to create an interim government headed by then-Chief Justice Khil Raj REGMI with a mandate to hold elections for a new CA. Elections were held in November 2013, in which the Nepali Congress won the largest share of seats in the CA and in February 2014 formed a coalition government with the second place Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and with Nepali Congress President Sushil KOIRALA as prime minister. Nepal's new constitution came into effect in September 2015."
"text":"severe thunderstorms; flooding; landslides; drought and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons"
},
"Environment - current issues":{
"text":"deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"Marine Life Conservation"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest mountains - on the borders with China and India respectively"
"text":"the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas apparently gave their name to the country; the terms \"Nepal,\" \"Newar,\" \"Nepar,\" and \"Newal\" are phonetically different forms of the same word"
"text":"Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister; cabinet dominated by the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist"
"text":"president indirectly elected by the Constituency Assembly; term extends until the new constitution is promulgated; president elected on 29 October 2015 (next election NA); prime minister indirectly elected by the Constituent Assembly"
"text":"unicameral Constituent Assembly or Sambidhan Sabha (601 seats; 240 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 335 directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation (PR) vote and 26 appointed by the cabinet (Council of Ministers); note - political parties allocated more than 30 percent of the PR seats are obliged to follow specified quotas for ethnic groups and within them equal percentages of men and women"
},
"elections":{
"text":"last held on 19 November 2013 (next to be held NA)"
"text":"percent of vote by party - NC 26%, CPN-UML 24%, Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) 15%, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal 7%; other 28%; seats by party - NC 196, CPN-UML 175, UCPN(M) 80, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal 24, other smaller parties 100"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 14 judges)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"the Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council; other judges appointed by the prime minister on the recommendation of the Judicial Council; judges serve until age 65"
"text":"122 political parties participated in the 19 November 2013 election and the 30 parties listed below were elected to serve in the Constituent Assembly ++ Akhanda Nepal Party [Kumar KHADKA] ++ Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist or CPN-ML [C.P. MAINALI] ++ Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist or CPN-UML [Jhala Nath KHANAL] ++ Communist Party of Nepal (United) or CPN (United) [Jaydev JOSHI] ++ Dalit Janajati Party [Bishwendra PASHWAN] ++ Federal Socialist Party [Ashok RAI] ++ Jana Jagaran Party Nepal (Awareness Party Nepal) [Lok Mani DHAKAL] ++ Khambuwan Rastriya Morcha-Nepal [Ram Kumar RAI] ++ Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Democratic [Bijay Kumar GACHCHADAR] ++ Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Nepal [Upendra YADAV] ++ Madhesi People's Rights Forum-Republican ++ Madhesh Samata Party Nepal [Meghraj SAHANI] ++ National Madhes Socialist Party [Sharat Singh BHANDARI] ++ Nepal Rastriya Party [Keshav Man SHAKYA] ++ Nepal Pariwar Dal [Ek Nath DHAKAL] ++ Nepal Workers and Peasants Party [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE] ++ Nepali Congress or NC [Sushil KOIRALA] ++ Nepali Janata Dal [Hari Charan SHAH] ++ Rastriya Janamorcha Nepal [Chitra Bahadur K.C.] ++ Rastriya Janamukti Party [Malwar Singh THAPA] ++ Rastriya Prajatantra Party ++ Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal [Kamal THAPA] ++ Sadbhavana Party [Rajendra MAHATO] ++ Samajbadi Prajatanytrik Janata Party Nepal [Prem Bahadur SINGH] ++ Sanghiya Sadbhavana Party [Anil Kumar JHA] ++ Sanghiye Loktantrik Rastriya Manch [Rukmini CHAUDHARY] ++ Terai Madhesh Democratic Party [Mahantha THAKUR] ++ Terai-Madhesh Sadbhavana Party-Nepal [Mahendra YADAV] ++ Tharuhat Terai Party Nepal [Bhanuram CHAUDARY] ++ Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) or UCPN(M) [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as Comrade PRACHANDA]"
"text":"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 displays a white 12-pointed sun; the color red represents the rhododendron (Nepal's national flower) and is a sign of victory and bravery, the blue border signifies peace and harmony; the two right triangles are a combination of two single pennons (pennants) that originally symbolized the Himalaya Mountains while their charges represented the families of the king (upper) and the prime minister, but today they are understood to denote Hinduism and Buddhism, the country's two main religions; the moon represents the serenity of the Nepalese people and the shade and cool weather in the Himalayas, while the sun depicts the heat and higher temperatures of the lower parts of Nepal; the moon and the sun are also said to express the hope that the nation will endure as long as these heavenly bodies",
"note":{
"text":"Nepal is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular or square"
}
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"rhododendron blossom; national color: red"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka\" (Hundreds of Flowers)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Pradeep Kumar RAI/Ambar GURUNG"
},
"note":{
"text":"adopted 2007; after the abolition of the monarchy in 2006, a new anthem was required because of the previous anthem's praise for the king"
"text":"Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with about one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Nepal is heavily dependent on remittances, which amount to as much as 29% of GDP. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for almost 70% of the population and accounting for about one-third of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural products, including pulses, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. ++ ++ Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower, with an estimated 42,000 MW of commercially feasible capacity. Nepal and India signed trade and investment agreements in 2014 that increase Nepal’s hydropower potential, but political uncertainty and a difficult business climate have hampered foreign investment. ++ ++ Nepal was hit by massive earthquakes in early 2015, which damaged or destroyed infrastructure and homes and set back economic development. Political gridlock in the past several years and recent public protests, predominantly in the southern Tarai region, have hindered post-earthquake recovery and prevented much-needed economic reform. Additional challenges to Nepal's growth include its landlocked geographic location, persistent power shortages, and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure."
"text":"state operates 2 TV stations, as well as national and regional radio stations; roughly 30 independent TV channels are registered with only about half in regular operation; nearly 400 FM radio stations are licensed with roughly 300 operational (2007)"
"text":"joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 sq km dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities"
"text":"40,700 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; figure does not include people displaced since 2007 by inter-communal violence and insecurity in the Terai region; 2015 earthquakes) (2015)"
"text":"undetermined (2015); note - the UNHCR is working with the Nepali Government to address the large number of individuals lacking citizenship certificates in Nepal; smaller numbers of Bhutanese Hindu refugees of Nepali origin (the Lhotsampa) who were stripped of Bhutanese nationality and forced to flee their country in the late 1980s and early 1990s - and undocumented Tibetan refugees who arrived in Nepal prior to the 1990s - are considered stateless"
"text":"illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West"
