View source for Nepal

{{Short description|Country in South Asia}}
{{About|the country}}
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{{Use British English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
| common_name            = Nepal
| native_name            = {{native name|ne|सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल}}<br/>{{small|{{IAST|Saṅghīya Lokatāntrika Gaṇatantra Nepāla}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of Nepal.svg
| flag_type              = [[Flag of Nepal|Flag]]
| alt_flag               = Two united crimson pennants with blue borders, top one containing a stylised symbol for the moon and the bottom one the sun
| flag_border            = no
| flag_size              = 95px
| image_coat             = Emblem of Nepal.svg
| alt_coat               = In the background, blue-white snowy himalayas, green forested hills and yellowish fertile plains from top to bottom; in the foreground, two male and female hands joined and a plain white map of Nepal, supported by a wreath of red rhododendrons, seven on each side, with the flag of Nepal at the crest, and at the bottom, the motto of Nepal in Devanagari script
| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of Nepal|Emblem]]
| coa_size               = 120px
| national_motto         = {{native phrase|sa|जननी जन्मभूमिश्च स्वर्गादपि गरीयसी|italics=off}} <br/> {{native phrase|sa|[[Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi]]|paren=omit}}<br/>"Mother and Motherland are Greater Than Heaven"
| national_anthem        = {{native phrase|ne|सयौँ थुँगा फूलका|italics=off}}<br/> {{native phrase|ne|[[Sayaun Thunga Phulka]]|paren=omit}}<br/>"Hundreds of Flowers"<br/><div style="padding-top:0.5em;"class="center">[[File:Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka (instrumental).ogg]]</div>
| image_map              = {{switcher|[[File:Nepal (orthographic projection).svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]{{Legend|#336830|Location of Nepal}}
{{Legend|#61E760|[[Kalapani territory|Territory claimed but not controlled]]}}|Nepal on the globe|[[File:Map of Nepal (Political and Administrative).jpg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Administrative map of Nepal}}
| map_width              = 220px
| alt_map                = Image of a globe centred on Nepal, with Nepal highlighted
| map_caption            = 
| capital                = [[Kathmandu]]<ref name="Fact Monster Nepal">{{cite web |title=Nepal {{!}} Facts, History & News |url=https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/nepal |website=www.infoplease.com |access-date=29 June 2020 |language=en |archive-date=7 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607190120/https://www.infoplease.com/world/countries/nepal |url-status=live }}</ref>
| largest_city           = capital
| coordinates            = {{Coord|28|10|N|84|15|E|region:NP_type:country|display=it}}
| official_languages     = [[Nepali language|Nepali]]<ref name="Britannica Nepal">{{cite web |title=Nepal {{!}} Culture, History, & People |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nepal |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=29 June 2020 |language=en |archive-date=12 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312210525/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/409152/Nepal/23651/Health-and-education |url-status=live }}</ref>
| national_languages     = All mother-tongues<ref name=con15>{{cite web|title=नेपालको संविधान २०७२|trans-title=Constitution of Nepal 2015|url=https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/np/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8-1.pdf|via=[[Nepal Law Commission]]|access-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808043521/https://www.lawcommission.gov.np/np/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%8B-%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8-1.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2019|url-status=dead|date=20 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/66852/|title=Why English?|last1=Mandal|first1=Bidhi|last2=Nayak|first2=Ravi|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]|language=en|date=9 June 2019|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923072720/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/66852/|url-status=live}}</ref><br/>{{small|(see [[Languages of Nepal]])}}
| ethnic_groups          = {{tree list}}
* 30.12% [[Khas people|Khas Arya]]
**16.45% [[Chhetri]]
**11.29% [[Bahun]]
**1.7% [[Thakuri]]
**0.68% [[Sannyasa|Sanyasi]]
*6.9% [[Magars]]
*6.2% [[Tharu people|Tharu]]
*5.62% [[Tamang people|Tamang]]
*5.04% [[Kami (caste)|Kami]]
*4.86% [[Nepalese Muslims|Musalman]]
*4.6% [[Newar people|Newar]]
*4.21% [[Yadav]] 
*2.2% [[Rai people|Rai]]
*32.63% [[Ethnic groups in Nepal|other]]
{{tree list/end}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref>{{cite report |date=2021 |title=National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report |author=National Statistics Office |work=Government of Nepal |url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/downloads/caste-ethnicity |access-date=26 April 2024 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014072320/https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Caste%20Ethnicity_report_NPHC_2021.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
| religion               = {{ublist|list_style=line-height:1.3em; |class=nowrap | 81.19% [[Hinduism in Nepal|Hinduism]]|8.21% [[Buddhism in Nepal|Buddhism]]|5.09% [[Islam in Nepal|Islam]]|3.17% [[Kirat Mundhum|Kirant]]|1.76% [[Christianity in Nepal|Christianity]]|0.35% [[Nature worship|Prakriti]]|0.23% [[Bon]]|0.01% [[Jainism]]}}
| religion_year          = 2021
| religion_ref           = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2023/06/03/number-of-caste-ethnicity-in-nepal-increases-to-142 |title=Number of castes, ethnicities in Nepal increases to 142 |date=3 June 2023 |access-date=12 July 2023 |website=[[The Kathmandu Post]] |archive-date=12 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712100804/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2023/06/03/number-of-caste-ethnicity-in-nepal-increases-to-142 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| demonym                = {{hlist|[[Nepalis|Nepali]]|[[:wikt:Nepalese|Nepalese]]}}
| government_type        = Federal [[parliamentary republic]] under an [[Karki interim cabinet|interim government]]
| leader_title1          = [[President of Nepal|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Ram Chandra Poudel]]
| leader_title2          = [[Vice President of Nepal|Vice President]]
| leader_name2           = [[Ram Sahaya Yadav]]
| leader_title3          = [[Prime Minister of Nepal|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Sushila Karki]] (interim)
| leader_title4          = [[Chief Justice of Nepal|Chief Justice]]
| leader_name4           = [[Prakash Man Singh Raut]]
| legislature            = [[Federal Parliament of Nepal|Federal Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[National Assembly (Nepal)|National Assembly]]
| lower_house            = [[House of Representatives (Nepal)|House of Representatives]] (currently dissolved)
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Nepal|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[unification of Nepal|Unification]]
| established_date1      = 25 September 1768<ref>{{cite web|last=Subba|first=Sanghamitra|date=20 December 2019|title=A future written in the stars|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-future-written-in-the-stars/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131123714/https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-future-written-in-the-stars/|archive-date=31 January 2021|access-date=31 January 2021|website=Nepali Times|language=en-US}}</ref>
| established_event2     = [[Treaty of Sugauli]]<ref>The Sugauli Treaty of 1816 rendered moot the degree of independence of Nepal. The sixth point of the treaty directly questions the degree of independence of Nepal. The fact that any differences between Nepal and Sikkim will be "referred to the arbitration of the East India Company" sees Nepal as a semi-independent or a vassal state or tributary of the British empire.</ref>
| established_date2      = 4 March 1816
| established_event3     = [[Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923]]<ref>Formal recognition of Nepal as an independent and sovereign state by Great Britain.</ref>
| established_date3      = 21 December 1923
| established_event4     = [[Republic Day (Nepal)|Federal Republic]]
| established_date4      = 28 May 2008
| established_event5     = [[Constitution of Nepal|Current constitution]]
| established_date5      = 20 September 2015
| area_km2               = 147,516
| area_rank              = 93rd <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 56,956 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| percent_water          = 2.8%
| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 31,122,387<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Nepal|access-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>
| population_estimate_rank = 49th
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_density_km2 = 180
| population_density_sq_mi = 518 <!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->
| population_density_rank = 72nd
| GDP_PPP                = {{increase}} $169.120 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.NP">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=558,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Nepal) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 October 2023 |access-date=14 October 2023 |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031142904/https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/October/weo-report?c=558,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2020&ey=2028&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 85th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{increase}}$5,348<ref name="IMFWEO.NP" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 151st
| GDP_nominal            = {{increase}} $43.673 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.NP" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 100th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $1,381<ref name="IMFWEO.NP" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 161st
| Gini                   = 30.0 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2022
| Gini_change            = 
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="wb-gini">{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=NP |title=Gini Index (World Bank Estimate) – Nepal|publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=20 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130172632/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI |archive-date=30 November 2024 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| HDI                    = 0.622 <!-- number only -->
| HDI_year               = 2023 <!--Please use the year to which the HDI data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{cite web|url=https://hdr.undp.org/en/content/2023-human-development-index-ranking|title=Human Development Report 2023|language=en|publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]|year=2023}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 145th
| currency               = [[Nepalese rupee]] (Rs, {{lang|ne|रू}})
| currency_code          = NPR
| time_zone              = [[Nepal Standard Time]]
| utc_offset             = [[UTC+05:45|+05:45]]
| date_format            = YYYY/MM/DD
| drives_on              = left
| calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Nepal|+977]]
| cctld                  = [[.np]]
| today                  = 
}}

'''Nepal''',{{efn|{{IPAc-en|lang|n|ɪ|ˈ|p|ɔː|l}} {{respell|nih|PAWL}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Nepal {{!}} Definition of Nepal by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com also meaning of Nepal|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/nepal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817054047/https://www.lexico.com/definition/nepal|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2021|access-date=23 July 2020|website=Lexico Dictionaries {{!}} English|language=en}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|alsous|-|ˈ|p|ɑː|l}} {{respell|-|PAHL}};<ref>{{cite dictionary|date=2010 |title=NEPAL definition and meaning |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nepal |dictionary=[[Webster's New World College Dictionary]] |edition=4 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218125547/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nepal |archive-date=18 February 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=9 August 2025}}</ref> {{langx|ne|[[:ne:नेपाल|नेपाल]]}} {{IPA|ne|nepal|audio=LL-Q33823 (nep)-Rau6590-नेपाल.wav}}}} officially the '''Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal''',{{efn|{{langx|ne|संघीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल|Saṅghīya Lokatāntrika Gaṇatantra Nepāla|engvar=gb}}}} is a [[landlocked country]] in [[South Asia]]. It is mainly situated in the [[Himalayas]], but also includes parts of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]. It borders the [[Tibet Autonomous Region]] of China [[China–Nepal border|to the north]], and India [[India–Nepal border|to the south, east, and west]], while it is narrowly separated from [[Bangladesh]] by the [[Siliguri Corridor]], and from [[Bhutan]] by the [[States and union territories of India|Indian state]] of [[Sikkim]]. Nepal has a [[Geography of Nepal|diverse geography]], including [[Terai|fertile plains]], subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten [[List of highest mountains#List|highest mountains]], including [[Mount Everest]], the highest point above mean sea level on Earth.<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |title=What is the highest point on Earth as measured from Earth's center? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/highestpoint.html |website=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (oceanservice.noaa.gov) |publisher=US Department of Commerce |access-date=11 September 2025 |language=EN-US}}</ref> [[Kathmandu]] is the nation's capital and [[List of cities in Nepal|its largest city]]. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural state, with [[Nepali language|Nepali]] as the official language.

The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the [[Vedic period]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]], the era in [[ancient Nepal]] when [[Hinduism]] was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, [[Gautama Buddha]], the founder of [[Buddhism]], was born in [[Lumbini]] in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of [[Tibet]]. The centrally located [[Kathmandu Valley]] is intertwined with the culture of [[Indo-Aryan people|Indo-Aryan]]s, and was the seat of the prosperous [[Newar people|Newar]] confederacy known as [[Nepal Mandala]]. The Himalayan branch of the ancient [[Silk Road]] was dominated by the [[Lhasa Newar|valley's traders]]. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional [[Newa art|art]] and [[Architecture of Nepal|architecture]]. By the 18th century, the [[Gorkha Kingdom]] achieved the [[unification of Nepal]]. The [[Shah dynasty]] established the [[Kingdom of Nepal]] and later formed an alliance with the [[British Empire]], under its [[Rana dynasty]] of [[Prime Minister of Nepal|premiers]]. The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between [[Qing dynasty|Imperial China]] and [[British India]]. [[Parliamentary democracy]] was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The [[Nepalese Civil War]] in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a [[secular]] [[republic]] in 2008, ending the world's last [[Hinduism|Hindu]] monarchy. The [[Constitution of Nepal]], adopted in 2015, affirms the country as a federal [[parliamentary republic]] divided into [[Provinces of Nepal|seven provinces]]. In September 2025, [[2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests|protests against a social media ban and economic inequality]] caused riots, resulting in casualties and resignation of the prime minister.

[[Foreign relations of Nepal|Nepal's foreign policy]] focuses on neutrality, sovereignty, and multilateral cooperation. Nepal was admitted to the [[United Nations]] in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] and the [[Bay of Bengal Initiative]]. Nepal's foreign relations also emphasise development assistance, trade partnerships, and promoting peace and stability in [[South Asia]].

== Etymology ==
{{Main|Name of Nepal}}

Before the [[unification of Nepal]], the [[Kathmandu Valley]] was known as ''Nepal''.{{efn|The entire territory controlled by the monarch seated in Kathmandu at any given time would also be referred to as ''Nepal''. Thus, at times, only the Kathmandu valley was considered ''Nepal'' while at other times, ''Nepal'' would encompass an area comparable to and largely overlapping with the modern state of Nepal.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A history of ancient and early medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|year=2008|location=New Delhi|publisher=Pearson Longman|isbn=9788131716779|page=477}}</ref>}} The precise origin of the term ''Nepāl'' is uncertain. ''Nepal'' appears in [[ancient Indian]] literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century AD.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Michaels |first= Axel |year= 2024 |title= Nepal: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present |location= New York, NY |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |isbn= 978-0-197-65093-6 }} p.&nbsp;10. The word first appears an inscription of [[Samudragupta]].</ref> An absolute chronology can not be established, as even the oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the [[early modern period]]. Academic attempts to provide a plausible theory are hindered by the lack of a complete picture of history and insufficient understanding of linguistics or relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages.<ref name=Malla>{{cite conference |title=Nepāla: Archaeology of the Word|last=Malla|first=Kamal P.|author-link=Kamal P. Malla|work=The Nepal Heritage Society Souvenir for PATA Conference|pages=33–39|conference=3rd PATA International Tourism & Heritage Conservation Conference (1–4 November)|location=Kathmandu|year=1983|url=https://www.kpmalla.com/?attachment_id=285|access-date=5 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322214352/https://www.kpmalla.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Nepala.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref>

According to [[Hindu mythology]], Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called ''Ne'', referred to variously as ''Ne Muni'' or ''Nemi''. According to ''Pashupati Purāna'', as a place protected by ''Ne'', the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as ''Nepāl''.<ref name="Shreshta">{{cite book|author=Nanda R. Shrestha| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZapDQAAQBAJ| title=Historical Dictionary of Nepal| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=1917|isbn=9781442277700|page=19}}</ref><ref name="Wright">{{cite book|author=Daniel Wright| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHE5hkHc7kcC| title=History of Nepāl|publisher=University Press|year=1877|page=107}}</ref>{{efn|The word ''pala'' in [[Pali]] language means ''to protect''. Consequently, ''Nepala'' translates to ''protected by Ne''.}} According to ''Nepāl Mahātmya'',{{efn|''Nepalamahatmya'', of 30 chapters about the Nepal ''Tirtha'' (pilgrimage) region, is a regional text that claims to be a part of the ''[[Skanda Purana]]'', the largest ''[[Puranas#Mahapuranas|Mahāpurāṇa]]''.}} ''Nemi'' was charged with protection of the country by [[Pashupati]].<ref name=Prasad>{{Cite book |title=The Life and Times of Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal|last=Prasad|first=Ishwari|year=1996|publisher=Ashish Publishing House|location=New Delhi|isbn=817024756X|via=Google Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEvbH8Fv-boC}}</ref> According to [[Buddhist mythology]], [[Manjushri]] [[Bodhisattva]] drained a primordial lake of [[Nāga|serpents]] to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that ''[[Adi-Buddha]]'' ''Ne'' would take care of the community that would settle it. As the cherished of ''Ne'', the valley would be called ''Nepāl''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of Nepal: As told by its own and contemporary chroniclers|last=Hasrat|first=Bikram Jit|year=1970|location=Hoshiarpur|page=7}}</ref> According to ''Gopalarājvamshāvali'', the [[genealogy]] of ancient [[Gopal Bansa|Gopala dynasty]] compiled {{circa|1380s}}, Nepal is named after ''Nepa'' the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the [[Abhira tribe|Abhiras]]. In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which ''Nepa'' discovered the ''[[Jyotirlinga]]'' of [[Pashupatinath Temple|''Pashupatināth'']] upon investigation, was also named ''Ne''.<ref name=Malla/>

The ''Ne Muni'' etymology was rightly dismissed by the early European visitors.<ref>For example, [[William Kirkpatrick (East India Company officer)|William Kirkpatrick]], who visited Nepal in 1793, for whom it was based on "fairy tales", and [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], who concurred with him. {{Cite book |last= Kirkpatrick |first= Col. William |year=1811 |title= An Account of the Kingdom of Nepaul |url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49850/mode/ |location= New Delhi |publisher= Manjusri Publishing House |page= 169 |postscript= none }}; {{Cite book |last= Hamilton (Buchanan) |first= Francis |year= 1819 |title= An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |location= Edinburgh |publisher= Archibald Constable & Co. |page= 187 }}</ref> Norwegian [[Indology|indologist]] [[Christian Lassen]] proposed that ''Nepāla'' was a compound of ''Nipa'' (foot of a mountain) and ''-ala'' (short suffix for ''alaya'' meaning abode), and so ''Nepāla'' meant "abode at the foot of the mountain".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Indische Alterthumskunde|url=https://archive.org/details/indischealterth08lassgoog|trans-title=Indian Archaeology|last=Lassen|first=Christian|author-link=Christian Lassen|year=1847–1861|publisher=Bonn, H.B. Koenig; [etc., etc.] }}</ref> Indologist [[Sylvain Levi]] found Lassen's theory untenable but had no theories of his own, only suggesting that either ''[[Newar people|Newara]]'' is a [[vulgarism]] of [[sanskrit]]ic ''Nepala,'' or ''Nepala'' is [[Sanskritisation]] of the local ethnic;<ref>{{Cite book |title=Le Nepal : Etude Historique d'Un Royaume Hindou|last=Levi|first=Sylvain|author-link=Sylvain Lévi|location=Paris|publisher=Ernest Leroux|year=1905|volume=1|pages=222–223}}</ref> his view has found some support though it does not answer the question of etymology.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Majupuria |first1=Trilok Chandra |last2=Majupuria |first2=Indra |year=1979 |title=Glimpses of Nepal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDNuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=Maha Devi |page=8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Turner |first=Ralph L. |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.1.turner.1333792 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714053644/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/contextualize.pl?p.1.turner.1333792 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 July 2012 |title=A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language |publisher=London: Routledge and Kegan Paul |year=1931 |access-date=8 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hodgson |first=Brian H. |url=https://archive.org/details/essaysonlanguage00hodg |title=Essays on the Languages, Literature and Religion of Nepal and Tibet |publisher=London: Trübner & Co |year=1874 |access-date=8 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111204021/https://archive.org/details/essaysonlanguage00hodg |archive-date=11 November 2012 |url-status=live }} Page 51.</ref><ref name=Malla/> It has also been proposed that ''Nepa'' is a [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] stem consisting of ''Ne'' (cattle) and ''Pa'' (keeper), reflecting the fact that early inhabitants of the valley were ''Gopalas'' (cowherds) and ''[[Mahisapala dynasty|Mahispalas]]'' (buffalo-herds).<ref name=Malla/> [[Suniti Kumar Chatterji]] believed ''Nepal'' originated from Tibeto-Burman roots – ''Ne,'' of uncertain meaning (as multiple possibilities exist), and ''pala'' or ''bal'', whose meaning is lost entirely.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Kirata-Jana-Krti: The Indo-Mongoloids: Their Contribution to the History and Culture of India|last=Chatterji|first=Suniti Kumar|author-link=Suniti Kumar Chatterji|year=1974|location=Calcutta|publisher=The Asiatic Society|edition=2|page=64}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of Nepal}}

=== Ancient Nepal ===
[[File:Birth of Buddha at Lumbini.jpg|thumb|left|This painting in a [[Laos|Laotian]] temple depicts a legend surrounding the birth of [[The Buddha|Gautama Buddha]] {{circa|563}} BC in [[Lumbini]], Western Nepal.]]

By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from [[Africa]], where they had earlier evolved.<ref name="Dyson2018">{{cite book |last=Dyson|first=Tim |title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1|year=2018 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=1}} Quote: "Modern human beings—''Homo sapiens''—originated in Africa. Then, intermittently, sometime between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, tiny groups of them began to enter the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It seems likely that initially, they came by way of the coast. ... it is virtually certain that there were ''Homo sapiens'' in the subcontinent 55,000 years ago, even though the earliest fossils that have been found of them date to only about 30,000 years before the present. (page 1)"</ref><ref name="PetragliaAllchin">{{cite book |author1=Michael D. Petraglia |author2=Bridget Allchin |author-link2=Bridget Allchin |title=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA10 |publisher=[[Springer Science + Business Media]] |page=6 |isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1|date=22 May 2007 }} Quote: "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka."</ref><ref name="Fisher2018">{{cite book |last=Fisher|first=Michael H.|title=An Environmental History of India: From Earliest Times to the Twenty-First Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZVuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23|year=2018|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-107-11162-2|page=23}} Quote: "Scholars estimate that the first successful expansion of the ''Homo sapiens'' range beyond Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula occurred from as early as 80,000 years ago to as late as 40,000 years ago, although there may have been prior unsuccessful emigrations. Some of their descendants extended the human range ever further in each generation, spreading into each habitable land they encountered. One human channel was along with the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and the northern Indian Ocean. Eventually, various bands entered India between 75,000 years ago and 35,000 years ago (page 23)"</ref> The earliest known modern human remains in [[South Asia]] date to about 30,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Petraglia|first1=Michael D.|last2=Allchin|first2=Bridget|author-link2=Bridget Allchin|editor=Michael Petraglia|editor2=Bridget Allchin|title=The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA6|year=2007|publisher=[[Springer Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-4020-5562-1|chapter=Human evolution and culture change in the Indian subcontinent|page=6|access-date=7 October 2020|archive-date=29 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329124221/https://books.google.com/books?id=Qm9GfjNlnRwC&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest discovered archaeological evidence of human settlements in Nepal dates to around the same time.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Corvinus |first=Gudrun |author-link=Gudrun Corvinus |title=The Prehistory of Nepal (A summary of the results of 10 years research) |publisher=[[Department of Archaeology (Nepal)|Department of Archaeology]] |journal=Ancient Nepal |location=Kathmandu |number=154 |date=March 2004 |via=[[University of Cambridge]] |url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_154_02.pdf |access-date=3 March 2020 |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603155105/https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_154_02.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

After 6500 BC, evidence for the domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in [[Mehrgarh]] and other sites in what is now [[Balochistan]].<ref name=coni>{{cite book|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c. 6500 BC – 200 AD|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hB5TCgAAQBAJ|year=2015|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-84697-4|pages=104–5|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=29 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329124236/https://books.google.com/books?id=hB5TCgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> These gradually developed into the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kulke|first1=H.|last2=Rothermund|first2=D.|author1-link=Hermann Kulke|date=1 August 2004|title=A History of India|series=4th|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-415-32920-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC|pages=21–3|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=29 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329124238/https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=coni/> the first urban culture in South Asia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Singh|first=U.|author-link=Upinder Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|year=2009|publisher=[[Longman]]|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-317-1677-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC|page=181|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328162240/https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC|url-status=live}}</ref> Prehistoric sites of [[Paleolithic|palaeolithic]], [[mesolithic]] and [[neolithic]] origins have been discovered in the [[Sivalik Hills|Siwalik hills]] of [[Dang District, Nepal|Dang district]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/c...tnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_154_02.pdf|title=The Prehistory of Nepal}}{{Dead link|date=June 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be people from the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]]. It is possible that the [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]] people whose history predates the onset of the [[Bronze Age]] in the Indian subcontinent (around 6300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the Tibeto-Burmans and [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryans]] from across the border.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nepal|author=Krishna P. Bhattarai|publisher=Infobase publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-aArqOqBGBQC&pg=PA32|isbn=9781438105239|year=2009}}</ref> By 4000 BC, the Tibeto-Burmese people had reached Nepal either directly across the Himalayas from Tibet or via [[Myanmar]] and [[Northeast India|north-east India]] or both.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang|first1=Hua-Wei|last2=Li|first2=Yu-Chun|last3=Sun|first3=Fei|last4=Zhao|first4=Mian|last5=Mitra|first5=Bikash|last6=Chaudhuri|first6=Tapas Kumar|last7=Regmi|first7=Pasupati|last8=Wu|first8=Shi-Fang|last9=Kong|first9=Qing-Peng|last10=Zhang|first10=Ya-Ping|date=April 2012|title=Revisiting the role of the Himalayas in peopling Nepal: insights from mitochondrial genomes|journal=Journal of Human Genetics|language=en|volume=57|issue=4|pages=228–234|doi=10.1038/jhg.2012.8|pmid=22437208|issn=1435-232X|doi-access=free}}</ref> [[Stella Kramrisch]] (1964) mentions a substratum of a race of pre-Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu.<ref>Susi Dunsmore
British Museum Press, 1993 – Crafts & Hobbies – 204 pages</ref>
[[File:Changunarayan photowalk-WLV-3897.jpg| thumb| In the premises of the [[Changu Narayan Temple]] is a stone inscription dated 464 AD, the first in Nepal since the Ashoka inscription of Lumbini ({{circa|250}} BC).]]
By the late [[Vedic period]], Nepal was being mentioned in various Hindu texts, such as the late Vedic ''[[Pariśiṣṭa#Atharvaveda|Atharvaveda Pariśiṣṭa]]'' and in the post-Vedic ''Atharvashirsha'' [[Upanishads|Upanishad]].<ref name="autogenerated4">P. 17 ''Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective'' By Lok Raj Baral</ref> The [[Gopal Bansa]] was the oldest dynasty to be mentioned in various texts as the earliest rulers of the central Himalayan kingdom known by the name 'Nepal'.<ref name="Tiwari2001">{{cite book |author=Sudarshan Raj Tiwari|title=The Ancient Settlements of the Kathmandu Valley|year=2001|publisher=Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University|isbn=978-99933-52-07-5|page=17}}</ref> The Gopalas were followed by [[Kirata Kingdom|Kiratas]] who ruled for over 16 centuries by some accounts.<ref>{{cite book |title=Nepal Antiquary|year=1978|publisher=Office of the Nepal Antiquary.|page=7}}</ref> According to the [[Mahabharata]], the then Kirata king went to take part in the [[Battle of Kurukshetra]]. 

Around 600 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the [[Shakya]] polity, arose a prince who later renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded [[Buddhism]], and came to be known as [[Gautama Buddha]] (traditionally dated 563–483 BC).<ref name="Klostermaier">{{cite book |author=Klaus K. Klostermaier|title=A Survey of Hinduism: Second Edition|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=df1SUJMdC9sC&pg=PA482|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn=978-1-4384-0933-7|page=482}}</ref> Nepal came to be established as a land of spirituality and refuge in the intervening centuries, played an important role in transmitting Buddhism to [[East Asia]] via Tibet,<ref name=leo/> and helped preserve Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.

By 250 BC, the southern regions had come under the influence of the [[Maurya Empire]]. [[Emperor Ashoka]] made a pilgrimage to [[Lumbini]] and [[Pillars of Ashoka|erected a pillar]] at Buddha's birthplace, the [[Lumbini pillar inscription|inscriptions]] on which mark the starting point for properly recorded history of Nepal.{{sfn|Landon|1928|p=11}} Ashoka also visited the Kathmandu valley and built monuments commemorating Gautama Buddha's visit there. By the 4th century AD, much of Nepal was under the influence of the [[Gupta Empire]].{{efn|On [[Samudragupta]]'s [[Allahabad Pillar]], Nepal is mentioned as a border country.}}<ref name="ChakrabartiChakrabarti2013">{{cite book |author1=Kunal Chakrabarti|author2=Shubhra Chakrabarti|title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVOFAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA9|date= 2013|publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]]|isbn=978-0-8108-8024-5|page=9}}</ref>

In the Kathmandu valley, the Kiratas were pushed eastward by the [[Licchavi (tribe)|Licchavis]], and the [[Licchavi (kingdom)|Licchavi dynasty]] came into power {{circa}} 400 AD. The Lichchhavis built monuments and left a series of inscriptions; Nepal's history of the period is pieced together almost entirely from them.{{sfn|Landon|1928|p=19}}<ref name=leo>{{cite book |last1=Rose|first1=Leo E.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTduAAAAMAAJ|title=Nepal: profile of a Himalayan kingdom|last2=Scholz|first2=John T.|date=1980|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-0-89158-651-7|language=en}}</ref> In 641, [[Songtsen Gampo]] of the [[Tibetan Empire]] sends [[Narendradeva]] back to [[Licchavi (kingdom)|Licchavi]] with an army and subjugates Nepal. Parts of Nepal and Licchavi was later under the direct influences of the Tibetan empire.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Beckwith|first=Christopher I|title=The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages|year=1987|publisher=Princeton University Press}}</ref> The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by a [[Thakuri]] rule. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 11th century AD; not much is known of this period that is often called the dark period.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://royalnepal.synthasite.com/the-thakuri-dynasty.php|title=Nepal Monarchy: Thakuri Dynasty|website=royalnepal.synthasite.com|access-date=17 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230042020/https://royalnepal.synthasite.com/the-thakuri-dynasty.php|archive-date=30 December 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Medieval Nepal ===
[[File: Sinja_Valley, Karnali.jpg| thumb|upright=0.8|[[Sinja Valley]], thought to be the place of origin of the [[Khas]]as and the [[Nepali language]], was at the heart of the Khas Malla empire.]]
In the 11th century, a [[Khasa Kingdom|powerful empire]] of [[Khas people]] emerged in western Nepal whose territory at its highest peak included much of western Nepal as well as parts of western Tibet and [[Uttarakhand]] of India. By the 14th century, the empire had splintered into loosely associated {{transliteration|ne|[[Baise rajya]]s}}, literally 22 states) as they were counted. The rich culture and language of the Khas people spread throughout Nepal and as far as Indo-China in the intervening centuries; [[Khas language|their language]], later renamed the Nepali language, became the lingua franca of Nepal as well as much of North-east India.<ref name=leo/>

In south-eastern Nepal on the border with Bihar, [[Simraungadh (medieval city)|Simraungadh]] was the capital of the [[Karnats of Mithila]] around 1100 AD, and the unified Tirhut stood as a powerful kingdom for more than 200 years,<ref name=Darnal/> even ruling over Kathmandu for a time.{{sfn|Landon|1928|pp=32–33}} After another 300 years of Muslim rule, Tirhut came under the control of the [[Senas of Makwanpur]].<ref name=Darnal>{{cite journal |last=Darnal|first=Prakash|date=31 December 2018|title=A Review of Simarongarh's History on Its Nexus Areas with References of Archaeological Evidences|journal=Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology|language=en|volume=12|pages=18–26|doi=10.3126/dsaj.v12i0.22176|issn=1994-2672|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the eastern hills, a confederation of Kirat principalities ruled the area between Kathmandu and [[Bengal]].

[[File:Patan Durbar Square-2644.jpg| thumb|left|upright=0.8| [[Patan Durbar Square]], one of the three palace squares in the Kathmandu Valley, was built by the Mallas in the 17th century. The Durbar Squares are a culmination of over a millennium of development in Nepali art and architecture.]]
In the Kathmandu valley, the [[Malla (Nepal)|Mallas]], who make several appearances in Nepalese history since ancient times, had established themselves in Kathmandu and Patan by the middle of the 14th century. The Mallas ruled the valley first under the suzerainty of Tirhut but established independent reign by late 14th century as Tirhut went into decline. In the late 14th century, [[Jayasthiti Malla]] introduced widespread socio-economic reforms, principal of which was the caste system. By dividing the indigenous non-Aryan Buddhist population into castes modelled after the four [[Varna (Hinduism)|Varna system]] of Hinduism, he provided an influential model for the Sanskritisation and Hinduisation of the indigenous non-Hindu tribal populations in all principalities throughout Nepal. By the middle of the 15th century, Kathmandu had become a powerful empire which, according to [[William Kirkpatrick (East India Company officer)|Kirkpatrick]], extended from Digarchi or [[Shigatse]] in Tibet to Tirhut and [[Gaya, India|Gaya]] in India.{{sfn|Landon|1928|p=39}} 

In the late 15th century, Malla princes divided their kingdom in four – Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur in the valley and Banepa to the east. The competition for prestige among these brotherly kingdoms saw the flourishing of art and architecture in central Nepal, and the building of famous [[Kathmandu Durbar Square|Kathmandu]], [[Patan Durbar Square|Patan]] and [[Bhaktapur Durbar Square]]s; their division and mistrust led to their fall in the late 18th century, and ultimately, the unification of Nepal into a modern state.<ref name=leo/>{{sfn|Landon|1928|pp=52–61}}

Apart from one destructive sacking of Kathmandu valley in the mid 14th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Petech |first=Luciano |url=https://ia902904.us.archive.org/29/items/mediaevalhistoryofnepallucianopetech_643_f/Mediaeval%20History%20of%20Nepal%20%20Luciano%20Petech.pdf |title=Medieval History of Nepal |publisher=Fondata Da Giuseppe Tucci |year=1984 |edition=2nd |location=Italy |pages=125}}</ref> Nepal remains largely untouched by the [[Muslim invasion of India]] that began in the 11th century. The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal period]] saw an influx of high-caste Hindus from India into Nepal. They soon intermingled with the Khas people and by the 16th century, there were about 50 Rajput-ruled principalities in Nepal, including the 22 (Baisi) states and, to their east in west-central Nepal, 24 [[Chaubisi rajya|''Chaubisi'' states]]. There emerged a view that Nepal remained the true bastion of unadulterated Hinduism at a time when Indian culture had been influenced by centuries of Mughal, followed by [[British Raj|British rule]]. [[Gorkha Kingdom|Gorkha]], one of the Baisi states, emerged as an influential and ambitious kingdom with a reputation for justice, after it codified the first Hinduism-based laws in the Nepalese hills.<ref name=leo/>

=== Unification, expansion and consolidation (1768–1951) ===
{{Main|Unification of Nepal|Kingdom of Nepal}}
{{multiple image
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| image_style       = border:none;
| image1            = Prithvi_Narayan_Shah.jpg
| caption1          = [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] began the [[Unification of Nepal|unification process]] of what would become the present-day country of Nepal.
| image2            = Bhimsen-thapa-painting (cropped).jpg
| caption2          = During [[Bhimsen Thapa]]'s premiership, Nepal reached its zenith.
| image3            = Jung Bahadur Rana in 1887.jpg
| caption3          = [[Jung Bahadur Rana]], who established the autocratic [[Rana regime]] in 1846 and instituted a pro-British foreign policy
| image4            = King Mahendra (cropped).png
| caption4          = During King [[Mahendra of Nepal|Mahendra]]'s reign, Nepal experienced a period of industrial, political, and economic change.
| direction         = 
| alt1              = 
}}
In the mid-18th century, [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]], a [[Gurkha|Gorkha]] king, set out to put together what would become present-day Nepal. He embarked on his mission by securing the neutrality of the bordering mountain kingdoms. After several bloody battles and sieges, notably the [[Battle of Kirtipur]], he managed to conquer the Kathmandu Valley in 1769.<ref>{{cite periodical |author= Father Giuseppe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307 |title=Account of the Kingdom of Nepal |magazine=Asiatick Researches |place=London | publisher=Vernor and Hood |year=1799 |page=308 |access-date=<!-- 2 July 2015 -->|volume=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016233414/https://books.google.com/books?id=vSsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA307 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Gorkha control reached its height when the [[Kumaon Kingdom|Kumaon]] and [[Garhwal Kingdom]]s in the west to [[Sikkim]] in the east came under Nepalese control. A dispute with [[Tibet]] over the control of mountain passes and inner Tingri valleys of Tibet prompted the [[Qing dynasty|Qing Emperor]] of China to start the [[Sino-Nepalese War|Sino-Nepali War]] compelling the Nepali to retreat to their own borders in the north.{{sfn|Landon|1928|pp=68–69}} The rivalry between the Kingdom of Nepal and the [[East India Company]] over the control of states bordering Nepal eventually led to the [[Anglo-Nepalese War|Anglo-Nepali War]] (1815–16). At first, the British underestimated the Nepali and were soundly defeated until committing more military resources than they had anticipated needing. Thus began the reputation of [[Gurkha]]s as fierce and ruthless soldiers. The war ended in the [[Sugauli Treaty]], under which Nepal ceded recently captured lands.{{sfn|Landon|1928|pp=75–80}}<ref name=leo/>

Factionalism inside the royal family led to a period of instability. In 1846, a plot was discovered revealing that the reigning queen had planned to overthrow Jung Bahadur Kunwar, a fast-rising military leader. This led to the [[Kot massacre]]; armed clashes between military personnel and administrators loyal to the queen led to the execution of several hundred princes and chieftains around the country. Bir Narsingh Kunwar emerged victoriously and founded the [[Rana dynasty]], and came to be known as [[Jung Bahadur Rana]]. The king was made a titular figure, and the post of Prime Minister was made powerful and hereditary. The Ranas were staunchly pro-British and assisted them during the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] (and later in both World Wars). In 1860 some parts of the western Terai region were gifted to Nepal by the British as a friendly gesture because of its military help to sustain British control in India during the rebellion (known as ''[[Naya Muluk]]'', new country). In 1923, the [[United Kingdom]] and Nepal formally signed [[Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923|an agreement of friendship]] that superseded the Sugauli Treaty of 1816.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |first1=andrea matles |last1=savada |first2=george lawrence |last2=harris |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/93012226/ |title=Nepal and Bhutan : country studies |work=The Library of Congress |access-date=26 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630034937/https://www.loc.gov/item/93012226/ |archive-date=30 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Hindu practice of [[Sati (practice)|Sati]], in which a widow sacrificed herself in the funeral pyre of her husband, was banned in 1919, and [[History of slavery in Asia|slavery]] was officially abolished in 1924.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|p=22}} Rana rule was marked by tyranny, [[wikt:debauchery|debauchery]], economic exploitation and religious persecution.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dietrich |first=Angela |title=Buddhist Monks and Rana Rulers: A History of Persecution |url=https://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BH/bh117536.htm |journal=Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods |year=1996 |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001124156/https://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BH/bh117536.htm |archive-date=1 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lal |first=C.K. |title=The Rana resonance |url=https://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8741 |newspaper=Nepali Times |date=16 February 2001 |access-date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928013152/https://nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8741 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Contemporary history ===
In the late 1940s, newly emerging pro-democracy movements and political parties in Nepal were critical of the Rana autocracy. Following the success of [[Indian Independence Movement]] which Nepalese activists had taken part in, with India's support and cooperation of King Tribhuvan, [[Nepali Congress]] was successful in toppling the Rana regime, establishing a parliamentary democracy. After a decade of power wrangling between the king and the government, [[Mahendra of Nepal|King Mahendra]] (ruled 1955–1972) scrapped the democratic experiment in 1960, and a "partyless" [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat]] system was made to govern Nepal. The political parties were banned and politicians imprisoned or exiled.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} The Panchayat rule modernised the country, introducing reforms and developing infrastructure, but curtailed liberties and imposed heavy [[Censorship in Nepal|censorship]]. In 1990, the [[People's Movement I (1990)|People's Movement]] forced [[Birendra of Nepal|King Birendra]] (ruled 1972–2001) to accept constitutional reforms and to establish a multiparty democracy.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}}<ref name="Nepal_Timeline">{{cite news |title=Nepal profile – Timeline|date=19 February 2018|work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1166516.stm |access-date=29 September 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303103321/https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/country_profiles/1166516.stm |archive-date=3 March 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1996, the [[Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)|Maoist Party]] started a violent bid to replace the royal parliamentary system with a people's republic.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} This led to the long [[Nepalese Civil War]] and more than 16,000 deaths.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8268651.stm|title=Nepal raises conflict death toll|date=22 September 2009|language=en-GB|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=11 March 2020|archive-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105182206/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8268651.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> With the death of both the King and the Crown Prince in a [[Nepalese royal massacre|massacre in the royal palace]], King Birendra's brother [[Gyanendra of Nepal|Gyanendra]] inherited the throne in 2001{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} and subsequently assumed full executive powers aiming to quash the Maoist insurgency himself.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hutt|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Hutt (academic and translator)|year=2005|title=King Gyanendra's Coup and its Implications for Nepal's Future|jstor=24590670|journal=[[The Brown Journal of World Affairs]]|volume=12|issue=1|pages=111–123|issn=1080-0786}}</ref>

The Maoist Party joined mainstream politics following the success of the peaceful [[2006 Nepalese revolution|democratic revolution of 2006]];<ref name="Abolish">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7424302.stm |title=Nepal votes to abolish monarchy |work=[[BBC News]] |date=28 May 2008 |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107130737/https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7424302.stm |archive-date=7 January 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal became a [[secular state]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/05/18/nepal.king/|title=Nepal king stripped of most powers|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=18 May 2006|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=23 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123080202/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/05/18/nepal.king/|url-status=live}}</ref> and on 28 May 2008, it was declared a federal republic,<ref name="Abolish"/> ending its time-honoured status as the world's only [[Hindu king]]dom.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/03/world/birenda-55-ruler-of-nepal-s-hindu-kingdom.html|title=Birenda, 55, Ruler of Nepal's Hindu Kingdom|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|last=Crossette|first=Barbara|author-link=Barbara Crossette|date=3 June 2001|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724150104/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/03/world/birenda-55-ruler-of-nepal-s-hindu-kingdom.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After a decade of instability and internal strife which saw two constituent assembly elections,<ref name="mao">{{cite news |last=Kaphle |first=Anup |date=7 July 2010 |title=Long stalemate after Maoist victory disrupts life in Nepal |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070605214.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104015054/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/06/AR2010070605214.html |archive-date=4 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=17 April 2008 |title=Nepal's election The Maoists triumph |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |url=https://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11057207&fsrc=nwl |url-status=live |access-date=29 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214103506/https://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11057207&fsrc=nwl |archive-date=14 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=28 August 2011 |title=Baburam Bhattarai elected prime minister of Nepal |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14700892 |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010024052/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14700892 |archive-date=10 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=28 May 2012 |title=Nepal PM calls new elections after constitution failure |publisher=[[CBC News]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/nepal-pm-calls-new-elections-after-constitution-failure-1.1251219 |url-status=live |access-date=28 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528045008/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/05/27/nepal-elections.html |archive-date=28 May 2012}}</ref> the [[Constitution of Nepal|new constitution]] was promulgated on 20 September 2015, making Nepal a [[Federated state|federal]] democratic republic divided into [[Provinces of Nepal|seven provinces]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2015/09/20/constitution-special-the-evolution-of-nepals-constitution|title=[Constitution special] The evolution of Nepal\'s constitution|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|language=English|date=20 September 2015|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=18 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518203321/https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2015/09/20/constitution-special-the-evolution-of-nepals-constitution|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2015/09/20/people-celebrate-constitution-promulgation-in-photos|title=Constitution of Nepal 2015 Promulgated|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|language=English|date=20 September 2015|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301131012/https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2015/09/20/people-celebrate-constitution-promulgation-in-photos|url-status=live}}</ref>

====2025 protests and government crisis====
[[File:2025 Nepalese Gen Z protesters infront of Bharatpur mahanagarpalika office.jpg|thumb|Angry protesters and rioters in [[Kathmandu]] during the [[2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests]].]]
Between March and June 2025, a half-dozen [[2025 Nepalese pro-monarchy protests|pro-monarchy protests]] took place in Kathmandu, in favour of restoring the old [[Kingdom of Nepal]], with the former King [[Gyanendra of Nepal|Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah]] as its head.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |author=Story by|agency=Associated Press |date=10 March 2025 |title=Nepal's authoritarian king was ousted 19 years ago. Now many want the monarchy back |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/09/asia/nepal-monarchy-protests-hnl-intl/index.html |access-date=10 March 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thousands welcome Nepal's ex-king to Kathmandu, demand return of monarchy |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/9/pro-monarchists-welcome-nepals-deposed-king-gyanendra-to-kathmandu |access-date=10 March 2025 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 March 2025 |title=Why Nepal is seeing a churn for Hindu monarchy |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/why-nepal-seeing-churn-hindu-monarchy-former-king-gyanendra-kathmandu-2691599-2025-03-10 |access-date=10 March 2025 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=9 March 2025 |title=Thousands rally in Kathmandu to welcome former king amid calls for return of monarchy |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/thousands-rally-in-kathmandu-to-welcome-former-king-amid-calls-for-return-of-monarchy/articleshow/118821430.cms |access-date=10 March 2025 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

On 19 February 2025, a public holiday commemorating the [[1951 Nepalese revolution|1951 Revolution]], Shah delivered a video speech which discussed widespread frustrations with the ruling communist government. While he stopped short of explicitly calling for a restoration of the monarchy, the speech's emphasis on unity and sacrifice was interpreted by some as hinting at a possible royal revival.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 February 2025 |title=What's behind former King Gyanendra Shah's video message creating waves in Nepal's politics – is a comeback possible? |url=https://english.nepalnews.com/s/long-reads/whats-behind-former-king-gyanendra-shahs-video-message-creating-waves-in-nepals-politics-is-a-comeback-possible/ |work=Nepal News |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 February 2025 |title=Former King Gyanendra urges Nepalis to unite in effort to save the nation |url=https://english.nepalnews.com/s/nation/former-king-gyanendra-urges-nepalis-to-unite-in-effort-to-save-the-nation/ |work=Nepal News |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 March 2025 |title=Political storm brews as Gyanendra Shah's message challenges major parties' ideals |url=https://english.khabarhub.com/2025/11/443245/ |work=Khabarhub |access-date=5 September 2025}}</ref> 

On 9 March 2025, thousands of supporters welcomed Shah as he arrived in Kathmandu.<ref name=":0" /> A spokesperson for the pro-monarchy [[Rastriya Prajatantra Party]] stated the turnout "shows how frustrated the people are with the present government, and they are in search of an alternative to the present system."<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal's monarchy: Is a royal revival on the horizon? – DW – 03/28/2025 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nepals-monarchy-is-a-royal-revival-on-the-horizon/a-72069781 |access-date=1 April 2025 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

In September 2025, [[2025_Nepalese_Gen_Z_protests|widespread protests]] over a social media ban and economic inequality led to rioting that killed or injured dozens of people, damaged Parliament and other buildings, and brought about the resignation of Prime Minister [[KP Sharma Oli]], who fled the country. In response to the crisis, the [[Nepali Army|Nepali army]] assumed control of nationwide security and engaged in talks with protest leaders, who selected former chief justice [[Sushila Karki]] as interim prime minister.<ref name="h103">{{cite web | last=Scarr | first=Charlotte | title=Nepal parliament set on fire after PM resigns over anti-corruption protests | website=BBC Home | date=9 September 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0m4vjwrdwgo | access-date=11 September 2025}}</ref>

== Geography ==
{{Main|Geography of Nepal|Geology of Nepal}}
[[File:Nepal topo en.jpg|thumb|A topographic map of Nepal]]
Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, about {{convert|800|km|mi|-1}} long and {{convert|200|km|mi|-1}} wide, with an area of {{convert|147516|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}. It lies between latitudes [[26th parallel north|26°]] and [[31st parallel north|31°N]], and longitudes [[80th meridian east|80°]] and [[89th meridian east|89°E]]. Nepal's defining geological processes began 75&nbsp;million years ago when the Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent [[Gondwana]], began a north-eastward [[Plate tectonics|drift]] caused by [[seafloor spreading]] to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.<ref name=ali>{{cite journal |last1=Ali|first1=J. R.|last2=Aitchison|first2=J. C.|year=2005|title=Greater India|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|volume=72|issue=3–4|pages=170–173|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.07.005|bibcode=2005ESRv...72..169A |issn = 0012-8252 }}</ref> Simultaneously, the vast [[Tethys Ocean|Tethyn]] [[oceanic crust]], to its northeast, began to [[subduction|subduct]] under the [[Eurasian Plate]].<ref name=ali/> These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]], both created the [[Indian Ocean]] and caused the Indian [[continental crust]] eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the [[Himalayas]].<ref name=ali/>

The rising barriers blocked the paths of rivers creating large lakes, which only broke through as late as 100,000 years ago, creating fertile valleys in the middle hills like the Kathmandu Valley. In the western region, rivers which were too strong to be hampered, cut some of the world's deepest gorges.<ref name=Jwhelpton/> Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast [[trough (geology)|trough]] that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Dikshit|first1=K. R.|last2=Schwartzberg|first2=Joseph E.|author2-link=Joseph E. Schwartzberg|title=India: Land|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|pages=1–29|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508084916/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/285248/India|archive-date=8 May 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and now constitutes the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Prakash|first1=B.|last2=Kumar|first2=S.|last3=Rao|first3=M. S.|last4=Giri|first4=S. C.|year=2000|title=Holocene Tectonic Movements and Stress Field in the Western Gangetic Plains|journal=Current Science|volume=79|issue=4|pages=438–449|url=https://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug252000/prakash.pdf|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504075319/https://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug252000/prakash.pdf|archive-date=4 May 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal lies almost completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the {{Convert|2400|km|abbr=on|adj=on}}-long Himalayas,<ref>{{bulleted list|
| {{cite journal |last1=van der Beek |first1=Peter |first2=Xavier |last2=Robert |first3=Jean-Louis |last3=Mugnier |first4=Matthias |last4=Bernet |first5=Pascale |last5=Huyghe |first6=Erika |last6=Labrin |title=Late Miocene- Recent Exhumation of the Central Himalaya and Recycling in the Foreland Basin Assessed by Apatite Fission-Track Thermochronology of Siwalik Sediments, Nepal |journal=Basin Research |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=413–434 |year=2006 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2117.2006.00305.x |bibcode=2006BasR...18..413V |s2cid=10446424 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00137089/file/vdbeek_et_al_BR_2006.pdf |access-date=7 October 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229225701/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00137089/file/vdbeek_et_al_BR_2006.pdf |url-status=live}}
| {{cite journal |last1=Berger |first1=Antoine |first2=Francois |last2=Jouanne |first3=Riad |last3=Hassani |first4=Jean Louis |last4=Mugnier |title=Modelling the Spatial Distribution of Present day Deformation in Nepal: how cylindrical is the Main Himalayan Thrust in Nepal? |journal=Geophys. J. Int. |volume=156 |issue=1 |pages=94–114 |year=2004 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02038.x |bibcode=2004GeoJI.156...94B |doi-access=free |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00101828/file/156-1-94.pdf |access-date=10 February 2024 |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429065048/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00101828/file/156-1-94.pdf |url-status=live}}
| {{cite journal |last2=Bilham |first2=Roger |first1=Michael |last1=Jackson |title=Constraints on Himalayan Deformation inferred from Vertical Velocity Fields in Nepal and Tibet |journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research]] |volume=99 |issue=B7 |pages=897–912 |year=1994 |doi=10.1029/94JB00714 |bibcode=1994JGR....9913897J}}
| {{cite journal |last1=Chamlagain |first1=Deepak |first2=Daigoro |last2=Hayashi |title=Neotectonic Fault Analysis by 2D Finite Element Modeling for Studying the Himalayan Fold and Thrust belt in Nepal |journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences |volume=29 |issue=2–3 |pages=473–489 |year=2007 |doi=10.1016/j.jseaes.2005.10.016 |bibcode=2007JAESc..29..473C}}
| {{cite journal |first1=F. |last1=Jouanne |display-authors=1 |first2=J. L. |last2=Mugnier |first3=J. F. |last3=Gamond |first4=P. |last4=Le Fort |first5=M. R. |last5=Pandey |first6=L. |last6=Bollinger |first7=M. |last7=Flouzat |first8=J. P. |last8=Avouac |title=Current Shortening Across the Himalayas of Nepal |journal=Geophys. J. Int. |volume=157 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |year=2004 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02180.x |bibcode=2004GeoJI.157....1J |doi-access=free |url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/21680/1/Jouanne2004p1_Geophys_Journ_Int.pdf |access-date=13 January 2024 |archive-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428201714/https://authors.library.caltech.edu/21680/1/Jouanne2004p1_Geophys_Journ_Int.pdf |url-status=live}}
| {{cite journal |last1=Pandey |first1=M. R. |first2=R. P. |last2=Tandukar |first3=J. P. |last3=Avouac |first4=J. |last4=Vergne |first5=Th. |last5=Heritier |title=Seismotectonics of the Nepal Himalaya from a Local Seismic Network |journal=Journal of Asian Earth Sciences |volume=17 |issue=5–6 |pages=703–712 |year=1999 |doi=10.1016/S1367-9120(99)00034-6 |bibcode=1999JAESc..17..703P}}
}}</ref> with a small strip of southernmost Nepal stretching into the Indo-Gangetic plain and two districts in the northwest stretching up to the Tibetan plateau.<ref name=Jwhelpton>{{Cite book |last=Whelpton |first=John |title=A History of Nepal |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-521-80470-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnepal00whel }}</ref>

[[File:Everest kalapatthar crop.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Mount Everest]], the highest peak on Earth, lies on the Nepal–China border.]]
Nepal is divided into three principal physiographic belts known as ''[[himalayas|Himal]]''–''[[Lower Himalayan Range|Pahad]]''–''[[Terai]]''.{{efn|This trichotomy is a prominent feature of Nepali discourse and is represented in the [[Emblem of Nepal]], with blue and white peaks signifying ''Himal'', green hills below them signifying ''Pahad'' and the yellow strip at the bottom signifying the ''Terai'' belt.}} Himal is the mountain region containing snow and situated in the Great Himalayan Range; it makes up the northern part of Nepal. It contains the highest elevations in the world including {{convert|8848.86|m|ft|0}} height [[Mount Everest]] (''Sagarmāthā'' in Nepali) on the border with China. Seven other of the world's "[[eight-thousander]]s" are in Nepal or on its border with Tibet: [[Lhotse]], [[Makalu]], [[Cho Oyu]], [[Kangchenjunga]], [[Dhaulagiri]], [[Annapurna]] and [[Manaslu]]. Pahad is the mountain region that does not generally contain snow. The mountains vary from {{convert|800|to|4000|m|ft|-2}} in altitude, with progression from subtropical climates below {{convert|1200|m|ft|-2}} to alpine climates above {{convert|3600|m|ft|-2}}. The [[Lower Himalayan Range]], reaching {{convert|1500|to|3000|m|ft|-2}}, is the southern limit of this region, with subtropical river valleys and "hills" alternating to the north of this range. Population density is high in valleys but notably less above {{convert|2000|m|ft|-2}} and very low above {{convert|2500|m|ft|-2}}, where snow occasionally falls in winter. The southern lowland plains or ''Terai'' bordering India are part of the northern rim of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]]. Terai is the lowland region containing some hill ranges. The plains were formed and are fed by three major Himalayan rivers: the [[Koshi River|Koshi]], the [[Gandaki River|Narayani]], and the [[Ghaghara|Karnali]] as well as smaller rivers rising below the permanent snowline. This region has a subtropical to tropical climate. The outermost range of the foothills called [[Sivalik Hills]] or Churia Range, cresting at {{convert|700|to|1000|m|ft|-1}}, marks the limits of the Gangetic Plain. Broad, low valleys called [[Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal|Inner Terai Valleys]] ({{Lang|ne|Bhitri Tarai Upatyaka}}) lie north of these foothills in several places.
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map v2 NPL 1991–2020.svg|thumb|Köppen climate classification for Nepal]]
The Indian plate continues to move north relative to Asia at about {{Convert|50|mm|abbr=on}} per year.<ref>Bilham ''et al.'', 1998;{{Incomplete short citation|date=April 2020}} Pandey ''et al.'', 1995.{{Incomplete short citation|date=April 2020}}</ref> This makes Nepal an earthquake-prone zone, and periodic earthquakes that have devastating consequences present a significant hurdle to development.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center |url=https://www.seismonepal.gov.np/ |publisher=Nepal Department of Mines and Geology |access-date=1 July 2022 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630045443/http://seismonepal.gov.np/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Erosion of the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows to the Indian Ocean.<ref>Summerfield & Hulton, 1994;{{Incomplete short citation|date=April 2020}} Hay, 1998.{{Incomplete short citation|date=April 2020}}</ref> Saptakoshi, in particular, carries a huge amount of silt out of Nepal but sees extreme drop in Gradient in [[Bihar]], causing severe floods and course changes, and is, therefore, known as the sorrow of Bihar. Severe flooding and landslides cause deaths and disease, destroy farmlands and cripple the transport infrastructure of the country, during the monsoon season each year.

Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below {{convert|1200|m|ft|-2}}, the [[temperate]] zone {{convert|1200|to|2400|m|ft|-2}}, the cold zone {{convert|2400|to|3600|m|ft|-2}}, the subarctic zone {{convert|3600|to|4400|m|ft|-2}}, and the Arctic zone above {{convert|4400|m|ft|-2}}. Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, [[monsoon]], autumn, winter and spring. The Himalayas block cold winds from Central Asia in the winter and form the northern limits of the monsoon wind patterns.

=== Biodiversity ===
{{main|Wildlife of Nepal}}
{{See also|List of protected areas of Nepal|Community forestry in Nepal}}

[[File:Land cover map of Nepal using Landsat 30&nbsp;m (2010) data.jpg|thumb|left|This land cover map of Nepal using Landsat 30&nbsp;m (2010) data shows forest cover as the dominant type of land cover in Nepal.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Development of 2010 national land cover database for the Nepal |journal=Journal of Environmental Management |date=15 January 2015 |pages=82–90 |volume=148 |series=Land Cover/Land Use Change (LC/LUC) and Environmental Impacts in South Asia |doi=10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.07.047 |pmid=25181944 |first1=Kabir |last1=Uddin |first2=Him Lal |last2=Shrestha |first3=M. S. R. |last3=Murthy |first4=Birendra |last4=Bajracharya |first5=Basanta |last5=Shrestha |first6=Hammad |last6=Gilani |first7=Sudip |last7=Pradhan |first8=Bikash |last8=Dangol|bibcode=2015JEnvM.148...82U }}</ref>]]

Nepal contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals, relative to its size.<ref name=wwf>{{cite web |url=https://www.wwfnepal.org/?206342/The-Status-of-Nepals-Mammals |title=The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series |publisher=WWF Nepal |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919212309/https://www.wwfnepal.org/?206342/The-Status-of-Nepals-Mammals |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=kindl/> Nepal, in its entirety, forms the western portion of the [[eastern Himalaya]]n biodiversity hotspot, with notable [[biocultural diversity]].<ref name="O'Neill_al2017">{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=A. R.|last2=Badola |first2=H.K. |last3=Dhyani |first3=P. P. |last4=Rana |first4=S. K. |year=2017 |title=Integrating ethnobiological knowledge into biodiversity conservation in the Eastern Himalayas |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=21 |doi=10.1186/s13002-017-0148-9 |pmid=28356115 |pmc=5372287 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal (60&nbsp;m from sea level in the Terai plains, to 8,848&nbsp;m [[Mount Everest]])<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jha |first=Sasinath |year=2008 |title=Status and Conservation of Lowland Terai Wetlands in Nepal |journal=Our Nature |language=en |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=67–77 |doi=10.3126/on.v6i1.1657 |issn=2091-2781 |doi-access=free}}</ref> result in a variety of [[biome]]s.<ref name=wwf/> The Eastern half of Nepal is richer in biodiversity as it receives more rain, compared to western parts, where [[arctic desert]]-type conditions are more common at higher elevations.<ref name=kindl>{{citation |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-1802-9_1 |chapter=An Overview of the Biodiversity in Nepal |title=Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World |pages=1–40 |year=2012 |last1=Paudel |first1=Prakash Kumar |last2=Bhattarai |first2=Bishnu Prasad |last3=Kindlmann |first3=Pavel |isbn=978-94-007-1801-2}}</ref> Nepal is a habitat for 4.0% of all [[Mammal|mammal species]], 8.9% of [[Bird|bird species]], 1.0% of [[Reptile|reptile species]], 2.5% of [[Amphibian|amphibian species]], 1.9% of [[Fish|fish species]], 3.7% of [[Butterfly|butterfly species]], 0.5% of [[Moth|moth species]] and 0.4% of [[Spider|spider species]].<ref name=kindl/> In its 35 forest-types and 118 ecosystems,<ref name=wwf/>{{efn|198 ecological types were first proposed in 1976, which was further revised and reduced to 118, which was further reduced by IUCN to 59 in 1998, which was further reduced to 36 in 2002. As this issue has yet to be settled, the 35-forest-type classification is generally preferred to the ecological categorisation.<ref name=kindl/>}} Nepal harbours 2% of the [[Flowering plant|flowering plant species]], 3% of [[pteridophyte]]s and 6% of [[bryophyte]]s.<ref name=kindl/>

[[File:Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) 4.jpg|thumb|The [[greater one-horned rhinoceros]] roams the sub-tropical grasslands of the Terai plains.]]
Nepal's [[forest cover]] is {{convert|59624|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, 40.36% of the country's total land area, with an additional 4.38% of [[Shrubland|scrubland]], for a total forested area of 44.74%, an increase of 5% since the turn of the millennium.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/forest-cover-increased-nepal-late/|title=Forest cover has increased in Nepal of late |date=13 May 2016 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=24 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824161239/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/forest-cover-increased-nepal-late/ |archive-date=24 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 7.23/10, ranking it 45th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham |first1=H. S. |last2=Duncan |first2=A. |last3=Evans |first3=T. D. |last4=Jones |first4=K. R. |last5=Beyer |first5=H. L. |last6=Schuster |first6=R. |last7=Walston |first7=J. |last8=Ray |first8=J. C. |last9=Robinson |first9=J. G. |last10=Callow |first10=M. |last11=Clements |first11=T. |last12=Costa |first12=H. M. |last13=DeGemmis |first13=A. |last14=Elsen |first14=P. R. |last15=Ervin |first15=J. |last16=Franco |first16=P. |last17=Goldman |first17=E. |last18=Goetz |first18=S. |last19=Hansen |first19=A. |last20=Hofsvang |first20=E. |last21=Jantz |first21=P. |last22=Jupiter |first22=S. |last23=Kang |first23=A. |last24=Langhammer |first24=P. |last25=Laurance |first25=W. F. |last26=Lieberman |first26=S. |last27=Linkie |first27=M. |last28=Malhi |first28=Y. |last29=Maxwell |first29=S. |last30=Mendez |first30=M. |last31=Mittermeier |first31=R. |last32=Murray |first32=N. J. |last33=Possingham |first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky |first34=J. |last35=Saatchi |first35=S. |last36=Samper |first36=C. |last37=Silverman |first37=J. |last38=Shapiro |first38=A. |last39=Strassburg |first39=B. |last40=Stevens |first40=T. |last41=Stokes |first41=E. |last42=Taylor |first42=R. |last43=Tear |first43=T. |last44=Tizard |first44=R. |last45=Venter |first45=O. |last46=Visconti |first46=P. |last47=Wang |first47=S. |last48=Watson |first48=J. E. M. |display-authors=1 |title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material |journal=Nature Communications |volume=11 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5978 |issn=2041-1723 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3 |pmid=33293507 |pmc=7723057 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G |doi-access=free}}</ref> In the southern plains, [[Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands]] ecoregion contains some of the world's tallest grasses as well as ''[[Shorea robusta|Sal]]'' forests, [[Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests|tropical evergreen forests]] and tropical riverine deciduous forests.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-W0OAQAAMAAJ |title=Forests of Nepal |last=Stainton |first=J. D. A. |date=1972 |publisher=Hafner Publishing Company |isbn=9780028527000 |language=en |access-date=7 October 2020 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407102435/https://books.google.com/books?id=-W0OAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the lower hills (700&nbsp;m – 2,000&nbsp;m), [[Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests|subtropical]] and [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest|temperate deciduous mixed forests]] containing mostly S''al'' (in the lower altitudes), ''[[Schima wallichii|Chilaune]]'' and ''[[Castanopsis indica|Katus]]'', as well as [[Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests|subtropical pine forest]] dominated by [[chir pine]] are common. The middle hills (2,000&nbsp;m – 3,000&nbsp;m) are dominated by [[oak]] and [[rhododendron]]. [[Temperate coniferous forest|Subalpine coniferous forests]] cover the 3,000&nbsp;m to 3,500&nbsp;m range, dominated by oak (particularly in the west), [[Abies spectabilis|Eastern Himalayan fir]], [[Pinus wallichiana|Himalayan pine]] and [[Tsuga dumosa|Himalayan hemlock]]; rhododendron is common as well. Above 3,500&nbsp;m in the west and 4,000&nbsp;m in the east, coniferous trees give way to rhododendron-dominated [[Alpine tundra|alpine shrubs and meadows]].<ref name=kindl/>

Among the notable trees, are the [[astringent]] ''[[Azadirachta indica]]'', or ''neem'', which is widely used in traditional [[herbal medicine]],<ref name="Goyal2006">{{cite book|last=Goyal|first=Anupam|title=The WTO and International Environmental Law: Towards Conciliation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567710-2|page=295|access-date=26 August 2019|archive-date=29 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329121603/https://books.google.com/books?id=UTGQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA295|url-status=live}} Quote: "The Indian government successfully argued that the medicinal ''neem'' tree is part of traditional Indian knowledge. (page 295)"</ref> and the luxuriant ''[[Ficus religiosa]]'', or ''peepal'',<ref name="Hughes2013">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Julie E. |title=Animal Kingdoms |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL8qWNmpkc0C&pg=PT106 |year=2013 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-07480-4 |page=106 |quote=At same time, the leafy pipal trees and comparative abundance that marked the Mewari landscape fostered refinements unattainable in other lands.}}</ref> which is displayed on the ancient seals of [[Mohenjo-daro]],<ref name="AmeriCostello2018">{{cite book |last1=Ameri|first1=Marta|last2=Costello |first2=Sarah Kielt |last3=Jamison |first3=Gregg; Scott, Sarah Jarmer |title=Seals and Sealing in the Ancient World: Case Studies from the Near East, Egypt, the Aegean, and South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SklVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |year=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-17351-3 |pages=156–7}} Quote: "The last of the centaurs has the long, wavy, horizontal horns of a markhor, a human face, a heavy-set body that appears bovine, and a goat tail ... This figure is often depicted by itself, but it is also consistently represented in scenes that seem to reflect the adoration of a figure in a pipal tree or arbor and which may be termed ritual. These include fully detailed scenes like that visible in the large 'divine adoration' seal from Mohenjo-daro."</ref> and under which [[Gautama Buddha|Gautam Buddha]] is recorded in the [[Pali canon]] to have sought enlightenment.<ref name="Gwynne2011">{{cite book |author=Paul Gwynne |title=World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=RA5-PT195 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-6005-9 |page=358 |quote=The tree under which Sakyamuni became the Buddha is a peepal tree (''[[Ficus religiosa]]'') }}</ref>

Most of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of the lower Himalayan region is descended from the [[Tethys Ocean|Tethyan]] [[Tertiary (period)|Tertiary]] flora.<ref name=sun>{{cite journal |last=Sun |first=Hang |year=2002 |title=Tethys retreat and Himalayas-Hengduanshan Mountains uplift and their significance on the origin and development of the sino-himalayan elements and alpine flora |url=https://europepmc.org/abstract/cba/371633 |journal=Acta Botanica Yunnanica |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=273–288 |issn=0253-2700 |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120958/https://europepmc.org/abstract/cba/371633 |archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> As the [[Indian Plate]] collided with [[Eurasia]] forming and raising the Himalayas, the [[arid]] and semi-arid [[Mediterranean flora]] was pushed up and adapted to the more alpine climate over the next 40–50&nbsp;million years.<ref name=sun/><ref name="USGS">{{cite web |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/himalaya.html |title=The Himalayas: Two continents collide |author=USGS |date=5 May 1999|access-date=26 August 2019|author-link=United States Geological Survey|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117130339/https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/himalaya.html|archive-date=17 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Eastern Himalaya|Himalayan biodiversity hotspot]] was the site of mass exchange and intermingling of the Indian and Eurasian species in the [[neogene]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Karanth |first=K. P. |date=25 March 2006 |title=Out-of-India Gondwanan Origin of Some Tropical Asian Biota |journal=[[Current Science]] |volume=90 |issue=6 |pages=789–792 |url=https://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/mar252006/789.pdf |access-date=18 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411223533/https://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/mar252006/789.pdf |archive-date=11 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> One mammal species ([[Himalayan field mouse]]), two each of bird and reptile species, nine amphibia, eight fish and 29 butterfly species are endemic to Nepal.<ref name=kindl/>{{efn|According to the 2019 IUCN red list, two species of mammals, one bird species and three amphibian species are endemic to Nepal.<ref>{{cite book |title=IUCN Red List version 2019–21 |author=IUCN |chapter=Table 8a: Total endemic and threatened endemic species in each country (totals by taxonomic group): VERTEBRATES |chapter-url=https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/2019_2_RL_Table_8a.pdf |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120951/https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/2019_2_RL_Table_8a.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

[[File:Lophophorus impejanus Zoo DU 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|The [[Himalayan monal]] ({{lang|ne|Danphe}}), the national bird of Nepal,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/national-bird-verge-disappearance/ |title=National bird on verge of disappearance |date=16 April 2016 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826121001/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/national-bird-verge-disappearance/ |archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> nests high in the Himalayas.]]
Nepal contains 107 [[IUCN]]-designated [[threatened species]], 88 of them animal species, 18 plant species and one species of "fungi or protist" group.<ref>{{cite book|title=IUCN Red List version 2019-2|chapter=Table 5: Threatened species in each country (totals by taxonomic group)|chapter-url=https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/2019_2_RL_Table_5.pdf|access-date=25 August 2019|archive-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120951/https://nc.iucnredlist.org/redlist/content/attachment_files/2019_2_RL_Table_5.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> These include the [[Endangered species|endangered]] [[Bengal tiger]], the [[red panda]], the [[Asiatic elephant]], the [[Himalayan musk deer]], the [[wild water buffalo]] and the [[South Asian river dolphin]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Red List of Mammal Species of Nepal |url=https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/red_list_poster_low.jpg |format=jpg |author=[[IUCN]] Nepal |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308111349/https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/red_list_poster_low.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as the [[critically endangered]] [[gharial]], the [[Bengal florican]],<ref name="wwf"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Bengal Florican Conservation Action Plan |author=Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Nepal |url=https://www.birdlifenepal.org/download-newsletter/56 |via=birdlifenepal.org |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819192112/https://www.birdlifenepal.org/download-newsletter/56 |archive-date=19 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[white-rumped vulture]], which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of [[diclofenac]]-treated cattle.<ref name=thtvul>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/conservation-of-white-rumped-vultures-in-progress-in-nepal/ |title=Conservation of white-rumped vultures in progress in Nepal |date=16 March 2018 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826121112/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/conservation-of-white-rumped-vultures-in-progress-in-nepal/ |archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered [[Wildlife of Nepal|Nepali wildlife]]. In response, the system of [[Protected areas of Nepal|national parks and protected areas]], first established in 1973 with the enactment of ''National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284/ |title=Chitwan National Park |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120952/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/284/ |archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> was substantially expanded. ''Vulture restaurants''<ref name=kindl/> coupled with a ban on veterinary usage of diclofenac has seen a rise in the number of white-rumped vultures.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/mahottari-declared-58th-diclofenac-free-district/ |title=Mahottari declared 58th diclofenac-free district |date=8 August 2017 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|language=en-US|access-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120952/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/mahottari-declared-58th-diclofenac-free-district/|archive-date=26 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=thtvul/> The [[Community forestry in Nepal|community forestry programme]] which has seen a third of the country's population directly participate in managing a quarter of the total forested area has helped the local economies while reducing [[human-wildlife conflict]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/96394/nepal-community-forest-value-untapped|title=Community forest value untapped|date=26 September 2012|website=The New Humanitarian|language=en|access-date=24 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718195507/https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/96394/nepal-community-forest-value-untapped|archive-date=18 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ojha |first1=Hemant |last2=Persha |first2=Lauren |last3=Chhatre |first3=Ashwini |date=November 2009 |title=Community Forestry in Nepal: A Policy Innovation for Local Livelihoods |url=https://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/16969/filename/16970.pdf |publisher=International food policy research institute |access-date=24 August 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224085327/http://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/16969/filename/16970.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The breeding programmes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wwfnepal.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/tal/project/gharial_breeding/ |title=The Terai Arc Landscape Project (TAL) – Gharial Breeding Centre |publisher=WWF Nepal |access-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826121004/https://www.wwfnepal.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/tal/project/gharial_breeding/|archive-date=26 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> coupled with community-assisted military patrols,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/joint-patrol-for-wildlife-conservation-in-chitwan-national-park/ |title='Joint Patrol' for wildlife conservation in CNP |date=22 March 2018 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120952/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/joint-patrol-for-wildlife-conservation-in-chitwan-national-park/|archive-date=26 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and a crackdown on poaching and smuggling, has seen poaching of critically endangered tigers and elephants as well as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] rhinos, among others, go down to effectively zero, and their numbers have steadily increased.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iucn.org/content/nepal-celebrates-%E2%80%98zero-poaching-year%E2%80%99-rhino-tiger-and-elephant |title=Nepal celebrates 'zero poaching year' for rhino, tiger and elephant |date=14 March 2014 |publisher=IUCN |language=en |access-date=26 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122073025/https://www.iucn.org/content/nepal-celebrates-%E2%80%98zero-poaching-year%E2%80%99-rhino-tiger-and-elephant |archive-date=22 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has ten [[national park]]s, three [[wildlife reserves]], one [[Game reserve|hunting reserve]], three [[Conservation Area]]s and eleven [[buffer zone]]s, covering a total area of {{convert|28959.67|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, or 19.67% of the total land area,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNksAQAAMAAJ |title=Nepal biodiversity resource book: Protected areas, Ramsar sites, and World Heritage sites |author=Nepalnature.com (Organization) |author2=<nowiki>International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal</nowiki> |author3=<nowiki>Nepal Ministry of Environment, Science, and Technology</nowiki> |chapter=Protected Areas of Nepal |page=41 |date=1 October 2007 |publisher=International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development |isbn=9789291150335 |language=en |access-date=7 October 2020 |archive-date=18 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818161837/https://books.google.com/books?id=GNksAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> while ten [[wetland]]s are registered under the [[Ramsar Convention]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ramsar.org/wetland/nepal |title=Nepal |publisher=Ramsar |access-date=25 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708074016/https://www.ramsar.org/wetland/nepal |archive-date=8 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal&nbsp;has consistently been ranked as&nbsp;one of the most polluted countries in the world.<ref>{{bulleted list|
| {{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/sacred-rivers-religion-nepal-kathmandu-trending-news-eb979fe5f88881b5273ad8bcd63dd3f2 |title=Nepal's holy Bagmati River choked with black sewage, trash |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=17 August 2022 |access-date=8 May 2024 |archive-date=12 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712141721/https://apnews.com/article/sacred-rivers-religion-nepal-kathmandu-trending-news-eb979fe5f88881b5273ad8bcd63dd3f2 |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/climate-environment/2020/10/21/one-more-report-ranks-nepal-among-most-polluted-countries-in-the-world |title=One more report ranks Nepal among most polluted countries in the world |access-date=8 May 2024 |archive-date=8 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708162129/https://kathmandupost.com/climate-environment/2020/10/21/one-more-report-ranks-nepal-among-most-polluted-countries-in-the-world |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/initiatives/urban-health-initiative/pilot-projects/kathmandu |title=WHO: Kathmandu, Nepal |access-date=8 May 2024 |website=[[World Health Organization]] |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709052505/https://www.who.int/initiatives/urban-health-initiative/pilot-projects/kathmandu |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2023/04/21/averting-an-air-pollution-disaster-in-south-asia/ |title=Averting an air pollution disaster in South Asia |date=21 April 2023 |access-date=8 May 2024 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123044919/http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2023/04/21/averting-an-air-pollution-disaster-in-south-asia/ |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/trash-and-overcrowding-top-world/ |title=Trash and Overcrowding at the Top of the World |access-date=8 May 2024 |website=[[National Geographic]] |archive-date=25 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425230636/https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/trash-and-overcrowding-top-world/ |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://www.unicef.org/nepal/blog/very-air-we-breathe |title=The very air we breathe &#124; UNICEF Nepal |access-date=8 May 2024 |website=[[UNICEF]] |archive-date=8 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708163946/https://www.unicef.org/nepal/blog/very-air-we-breathe |url-status=live}}
| {{cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2024/04/26/air-pollution-takes-its-toll-on-nepal-s-tourism-capital |title=Air pollution takes its toll on Nepal's tourism capital |access-date=8 May 2024 |archive-date=8 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508192302/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2024/04/26/air-pollution-takes-its-toll-on-nepal-s-tourism-capital |url-status=live}}
}}</ref>

== Politics and government ==
===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of Nepal|Elections in Nepal|Censorship in Nepal}}
{{Multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Ram Chandra Poudel during oath taking ceremony of President of Nepal.jpeg
| caption1          = [[Ram Chandra Poudel]]<br/>[[President of Nepal|President]]
| image2            = Hon. Sushila Karki (profile).jpg
| caption2          = [[Sushila Karki]]<br>[[Prime Minister of Nepal|Prime Minister]] (interim)
}}

Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system.<ref name="Al Jazeera elections explained">{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/11/nepal-elections-2017-explained-171126103009857.html |title=Nepal elections explained |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] |access-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814220351/https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/11/nepal-elections-2017-explained-171126103009857.html |archive-date=14 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has been referred as the 'Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal' since 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal 2015 Constitution - Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Nepal_2015 |access-date=27 May 2024 |website=www.constituteproject.org |language=en}}</ref> It has seven national political parties recognised in the federal parliament: [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)]], [[Nepali Congress]], [[Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)]], [[Rastriya Swatantra Party]], [[Rastriya Prajatantra Party]], [[People's Socialist Party (Nepal, 2024)|People's Socialist Party]] and [[Janamat Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=प्रतिनिधिसभामा १२ दल, राष्ट्रिय पार्टी ७ मात्रै |url=https://ekantipur.com/news/2022/12/06/167034242099737230.html |access-date=17 February 2023 |website=ekantipur.com |language=ne |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813190236/https://ekantipur.com/news/2022/12/06/167034242099737230.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera elections explained"/> Of the two major parties which both officially espouse [[democratic socialism]], CPN (UML) is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2017/10/nepal-headed-communist-state-171014095129113.html |title=Is Nepal headed towards a communist state? |publisher=[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] |access-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726113406/https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2017/10/nepal-headed-communist-state-171014095129113.html |archive-date=26 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During most of the brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s and the 1990s, Nepali Congress held the majority of seats in parliament; [[Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist)|CPN (UML)]] was its competitor in the 1990s.<ref name="Khadka 1993">{{cite journal |last=Khadka |first=Narayan |year=1993 |title=Democracy and Development in Nepal: Prospects and Challenges |journal=Pacific Affairs |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=44–71 |doi=10.2307/2760015 |issn=0030-851X |jstor=2760015}}</ref> After the [[Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)|Maoists]] entered the political process in 2006, they emerged as the third largest party.<ref name="mao"/> In the aftermath of the [[2017 Nepalese legislative election|2017 elections]], the first one according to the new constitution, NCP, formed by the merger of CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) had become the ruling party at the federal level and in six out of seven provinces.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ncp-to-announce-party-department-chiefs-today/|title=NCP to announce party department chiefs today |date=21 July 2019 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=18 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818100446/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ncp-to-announce-party-department-chiefs-today/ |archive-date=18 August 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[2022 Nepalese general election|2022 general election]], the House of Representatives of the [[2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal|2nd Federal parliament]] was formed as a hung parliament and a coalition government led by [[Pushpa Kamal Dahal]] was formed in December 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Maoist rebel leader Prachanda becomes Nepal PM for the third time |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/ex-maoist-rebel-leader-prachanda-becomes-nepal-pm-for-third-time |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=7 April 2023 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407180542/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/ex-maoist-rebel-leader-prachanda-becomes-nepal-pm-for-third-time |url-status=live }}</ref> On 15 July 2024, K. P. Sharma Oli was sworn in as Nepali Prime minister for the fourth time. A new coalition was formed between the Nepali Congress,{{Clarify|reason=The word |between| governs two entities? The Nepali Congress is the first one. Which is the second one?|date=September 2025}} led by Sher Bahadur Deuba, and UML, led by Oli.<ref>{{cite news |title=Oli becomes prime minister for fourth time, swearing-in today |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2024/07/14/president-appoints-kp-sharma-oli-prime-minister |work=kathmandupost.com |language=English}}</ref>

[[File:BP Koirala.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|[[B.P. Koirala]] led the 1951 revolution, became the first democratically elected Prime Minister, and after being deposed and imprisoned in 1961, spent the rest of his life fighting for democracy.|alt=Portrait of B. P. Koirala]]
In the 1930s, a vibrant underground political movement arose in the capital, birthing [[Nepal Praja Parishad]] in 1936,{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} which was dissolved seven years later, following the execution of the [[Martyrs of Nepal|four great martyrs]]. Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the [[Indian independence movement]] started organising into political parties, leading to the birth of [[Nepali Congress]] and [[Communist Party of Nepal]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=T. Louise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uy2IAgAAQBAJ |title=The Challenge to Democracy in Nepal |date=1 November 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-88532-9 |language=en |access-date=7 October 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127200145/https://books.google.com/books?id=uy2IAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> As communism was trying to find its footing, the Nepali Congress was successful in [[1951 Nepalese revolution|overthrowing the Rana regime]] in 1951 and enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate.<ref name="ram00">{{cite journal |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Shastri |last2=Ramachandaran |first2=Shastri |year=2003 |title=Nepal as Seen from India |journal=[[India International Centre Quarterly]] |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=81–98 |issn=0376-9771 |jstor=23006108}}</ref> In the partyless [[Panchayat (Nepal)|Panchayat system]] initiated in 1962 by [[Mahendra of Nepal|King Mahendra]], monarchy loyalists took turns leading the government; political leaders remained underground, exiled or in prison.{{sfn|Hutt|2004|pp=3–7}} A communist insurgency was crushed in its cradle in the 1970s, which led to the eventual coalescence of hitherto scattered communist factions under the [[United Left Front (Nepal, 1990)|United Left Front]].

After the [[1990 Nepalese revolution|joint civil resistance]] launched by the United Left Front and Nepali Congress overthrew the Panchayat in 1990,<ref name=ram00/><ref>Rawal, Bhim Bahadur. ''Nepalma samyabadi andolan: udbhab ra vikas''. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan. p. 83–84.</ref> the Front became [[CPN UML|CPN (UML)]], adopted multi-party democracy, and in the brief period it was in government, introduced welfare programmes that remain popular.<ref name="Khadka 1993"/> After the Maoist Party joined mainstream politics, in the aftermath of the [[2006 Nepalese revolution|peaceful revolution of 2006]], it also adopted multi-party democracy as its official line. The transition period between 2006 and 2015 saw sustained protests from the newly formed ethnocentric nationalist movements, principal among them the [[Madhes Movement]].

=== Government ===
{{Main|Government of Nepal|Constitution of Nepal}}
{{multiple images|perrow=2/1
|image1=Kathmandu-35.JPG
|width1=148
|caption1=[[Singha Durbar]]
|image2=Supreme Court of Nepal 01.jpg
|width2=148
|caption2=The Supreme Court
|image3=Nepalese Constituent Assembly Building.jpg
|width3=300
|caption3=[[International Convention Centre, Nepal|Parliament House]]
}}
Nepal is governed according to the [[Constitution of Nepal]]. It defines Nepal as having multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural characteristics with common aspirations of people living in diverse geographical regions, and being committed to and united by a bond of allegiance to the national independence, territorial integrity, national interest, and prosperity of Nepal.<ref name=con15/> The [[Government of Nepal]] has three branches:<ref name=con15/>
* [[Executive (government)|Executive]]: The form of governance is a multi-party, competitive, federal democratic republican parliamentary system based on plurality. The President appoints the parliamentary party leader of the political party with the majority in the House of Representatives as Prime Minister, who forms the Council of ministers that exercises the executive power.
* [[Legislature]]: The Legislature of Nepal, called the Federal Parliament, consists of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly. The House of Representatives consists of 275 members elected through a [[mixed electoral system]] and has a term of five years. The National Assembly, consisting of 59 members elected by provincial electoral colleges, is a permanent house; a third of its members are elected every two years for a six-year term.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-09-16/ca-approves-ceremonial-prez-bicameral-legislature.html |title=CA approves ceremonial prez, bicameral legislature |date=16 September 2015 |newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|access-date=8 December 2017 |quote=Provincial parliaments will be unicameral. "The CA also approved a mixed electoral system for parliamentary election with 60 percent directly elected and 40 percent proportionally elected." |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209044107/https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2015-09-16/ca-approves-ceremonial-prez-bicameral-legislature.html |archive-date=9 December 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Judiciary]]: Nepal has a unitary three-tier independent judiciary that comprises the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, headed by the [[Chief Justice of Nepal|Chief Justice]], seven High Courts, one in each province, the highest court at the provincial level, and 77 district courts, one in each district. The municipal councils can convene local judicial bodies to resolve disputes and render non-binding verdicts in cases not involving actionable crime. The actions and proceedings of the local judicial bodies may be guided and countermanded by the district courts.<ref name=con15/>

=== Administrative divisions ===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Nepal}}
{{Nepal province labelled map}}
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|- 
! Province
! Capital
! [[List of districts of Nepal|Districts]]
! Area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)
! [[List of Nepalese provinces by population|Population]]<br/>Census<br/>2011
! [[List of Nepalese provinces by population|Population]]<br/>Census<br/>2021
! Density<br/>(people/km<sup>2</sup>)<br/>2021
! [[List of Nepalese provinces by Human Development Index|Human<br>Development<br>Index]]
! Map
|-
|[[Koshi Province]]||[[Biratnagar]]|| align="center" |14|| align="right" |25,905|| align="right" |4,534,943|| align="right" |4,972,021|| align="center" |192|| align="center" |0.553||[[File:Nepal Province 1.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Madhesh Province]]||[[Janakpur]]|| align="center" |8|| align="right" |9,661|| align="right" |5,404,145|| align="right" |6,126,288|| align="center" |634|| align="center" |0.485||[[File:Nepal Madhesh Province.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Bagmati Province]]||[[Hetauda]] || align="center" |13|| align="right" |20,300|| align="right" |5,529,452|| align="right" |6,084,042|| align="center" |300|| align="center" |0.560||[[File:Nepal Province 3.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Gandaki Province]]||[[Pokhara]] || align="center" |11|| align="right" |21,856|| align="right" |2,403,757|| align="right" |2,479,745|| align="center" |113|| align="center" |0.567||[[File:Nepal Province 4.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Lumbini Province]]||[[Deukhuri]]|| align="center" |12|| align="right" |19,707|| align="right" |4,499,272|| align="right" |5,124,225|| align="center" |260|| align="center" |0.519||[[File:Nepal Province 5.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Karnali Province]]||[[Birendranagar]]|| align="center" |10|| align="right" |30,213|| align="right" |1,570,418|| align="right" |1,694,889|| align="center" |56|| align="center" |0.469||[[File:Nepal Karnali.svg|100px]]
|-
|[[Sudurpashchim Province]]||[[Godawari, Seti|Godawari]]|| align="center" |9|| align="right" |19,539|| align="right" |2,552,517|| align="right" |2,711,270|| align="center" |139|| align="center" |0.478||[[File:Nepal Sudurpashchim Pradesh.svg|100px]]
|-
!Nepal
![[Kathmandu]]
![[List of districts of Nepal|77]]
!147,181
!26,494,504
!29,192,480
!198
!0.579
![[File:Nepal grey.svg|frameless|100x100px]]
|}
Nepal is a federal republic comprising [[List of provinces of Nepal|7 provinces]]. Each province is composed of 8 to 14 districts. The districts, in turn, comprise local units known as urban and rural municipalities.<ref name=con15/> There is a total of 753 local units which includes 6 metropolitan municipalities, 11 sub-metropolitan municipalities and 276 municipalities for a total of 293 urban municipalities, and 460 rural municipalities.<ref name=asia1>{{cite web |title=Diagnostic Study of Local Governance in Federal Nepal 2017 |author=Australian Government-The Asia Foundation Partnership on Subnational Governance in Nepal |publisher=[[The Asia Foundation]] |url=https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Diagnostic-Study-of-Local-Governance-in-Federal-Nepal-07112018.pdf |access-date=20 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720153050/https://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Diagnostic-Study-of-Local-Governance-in-Federal-Nepal-07112018.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Each local unit is composed of wards. There are 6,743 wards in total.

The local governments enjoy executive and legislative as well as limited judicial powers in their local jurisdiction. The provinces have unicameral parliamentary Westminster system of governance. The local and provincial governments exercise some absolute powers and some powers shared with provincial or federal government. The district coordination committee, a committee composed of all elected officials from the local governments in the district, has a very limited role.<ref name=con15/><ref name=asia1/>

=== Laws and law enforcement{{Anchor|Crime_and_law_enforcement}} ===
{{Main|Law enforcement in Nepal}}
The [[Constitution of Nepal]] is the supreme law of the land, and any other laws contradicting it are automatically invalid to the extent of the contradiction.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/55907/ |title=Govt registers amendment bill to review 56 laws in bulk |newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]] |language=en |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902125309/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/55907/|archive-date=2 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The specific legal provisions are codified as [[Civil Code]] and [[Criminal Code]], accompanied by Civil Procedure Code and Criminal Procedure Code respectively.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/25251 |title=The Modified Criminal And Civil Codes |newspaper=[[The Rising Nepal]] |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902125556/https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/25251 |archive-date=2 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Supreme Court is the highest authority in the interpretation of laws and it can direct the parliament to amend or enact new laws as required. The death penalty has been abolished.<ref name="Death Penalty">{{cite web |url=https://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=81 |title=International Views on the Death Penalty |publisher=[[Death Penalty Focus]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106083835/https://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=81 |archive-date=6 November 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=6 November 2012}}</ref> It recognises marital rape and supports abortion rights. Owing to a rise in sex-selective abortion, however, constraints have been introduced. Nepal is a signatory to the [[Geneva Convention]], [[Biological Weapons Convention|Conventions/Treaties on the prohibition of Biological]], [[Chemical Weapons Convention|Chemical]] and [[Nuclear weapons convention|Nuclear weapons]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/vwTreatiesByCountrySelected.xsp?xp_countrySelected=NP |title=Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries – Nepal |publisher=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]] |access-date=2 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902125320/https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/vwTreatiesByCountrySelected.xsp%3Fxp_countrySelected%3DNP |archive-date=2 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[ILO fundamental conventions|International Labour Organization Fundamental Conventions]], [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]] and the [[Paris climate accord]]. Some legal provisions, guided by socio-economic, cultural and religious sensibilities, remain discriminatory. There is gender-based discrimination against foreign nationals married to Nepali citizens.{{Efn|However, same-sex marriage with foreign nationals occurring in a jurisdiction that recognises same-sex marriage is now recognised in Nepal, for eligibility to obtain a "non-tourist visa" as dependent of a Nepali citizen, by verdict of the Supreme Court in 2017, as the laws do not make sex-specific distinction in provisions relating to the rights of foreign nationals married to Nepali citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nkp.gov.np/full_detail/8972/?keywords=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4 |title=निर्णय नं. ९९२१ – उत्प्रेषण/ परमादेश |publisher=[[Government of Nepal]] |access-date=28 July 2023 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728191144/https://nkp.gov.np/full_detail/8972/?keywords=%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%81%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A4 |url-status=live }}</ref>|name=|group=}} Paternal lineage of a person is valued and required in legal documents. Many laws remain unenforced in practice.

[[File:Traffic-controllers - Kathmandu, Nepal - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Traffic police personnel manually direct traffic at the busiest roads and junctions.]]
[[Nepal Police]] is the primary law enforcement agency. It is an independent organisation under the command of the [[Inspector General of Police (Nepal)|Inspector General]], who is appointed by and reports to the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Nepal)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]. In addition to maintaining law and order, it is responsible for the management of road traffic, which is undertaken by Nepal Traffic Police. [[Armed Police Force (Nepal)|Nepal Armed Police Force]], a separate paramilitary police organisation, works in cooperation with Nepal police in routine security matters; it is intended for crowd control, counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism actions, and other internal matters where the use of force may be necessary. The [[Central Investigation Bureau|Crime Investigation Department]] of Nepal Police specialises in criminal investigation and forensic analysis.<ref name="Newman2010">{{cite book |title=Crime and Punishment around the World |first=Graeme |last=Newman |page=171 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uK6bR9byVIC&pg=RA2-PA176|isbn=978-0-313-35134-1}}</ref><ref name="AHRC">{{cite web |title=NEPAL: Corruption in Nepal&nbsp;– Curse or Crime? |url=https://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-011-2012 |publisher=[[Asian Human Rights Commission]]|access-date=6 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815082147/https://www.humanrights.asia/opinions/columns/AHRC-ETC-011-2012 |archive-date=15 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="InterpolNepal">{{cite web |title=INTERPOL – Kathmandu |url=https://www.interpol.int/Who-we-are/Member-countries/Asia-South-Pacific/NEPAL |access-date=7 May 2021 |website=[[Interpol]] |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205005504/https://www.interpol.int/Who-we-are/Member-countries/Asia-South-Pacific/NEPAL |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Brown2013">{{cite web |title=The Impact of Organized Crime on Governance in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nepal|publisher=[[Center on International Cooperation]]|url=https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/kavanagh_crime_developing_countries_nepal_study.pdf |access-date=6 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223155209/https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/kavanagh_crime_developing_countries_nepal_study.pdf |archive-date=23 February 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://niss.org.np/organizational-structure-and-role-of-nid-in-nepals-federal-set-up/ |title=Organizational Structure and Role of NID in Nepal's Federal Set up|publisher=[[Nepal Institute for Strategic Studies]]|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190902125311/https://niss.org.np/organizational-structure-and-role-of-nid-in-nepals-federal-set-up/|archive-date=2 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority]] is an independent investigative agency that investigates and prosecutes cases related to corruption, bribery and abuses of authority. At 2.16 per 100,000 in 2016, Nepal's intentional homicide rate is much lower than average; police data indicates a steady increase in the crime rate in recent years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/12/08/crime-rate-in-nepal-rose-by-40-percent-in-past-five-fiscal-years-police-data-reveals |title=Crime rate in Nepal rose by 40 percent in past five fiscal years, police data reveals |website=Kathmandu Post |language=en |access-date=3 April 2020 |archive-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191227224639/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/12/08/crime-rate-in-nepal-rose-by-40-percent-in-past-five-fiscal-years-police-data-reveals |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal was ranked 76 out of 163 countries in the Global Peace Index (GPI) in 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/ |title=Global Peace Index 2019 |website=Vision of Humanity |publisher=[[Institute for Economics & Peace]] |access-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619080402/https://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/ |archive-date=19 June 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nepal's [[Henley Passport Index|passport]] has consistently been ranked among the weakest in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2024/01/12/nepali-passport-remains-among-world-s-weakest |title=Nepali passport remains among world's weakest |website=kathmandupost.com |date=12 January 2024 |access-date=14 June 2024}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Nepal}}
[[File:Gurkha Memorial, Horse Guards Avenue - geograph.org.uk - 379881.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Gurkha]] Memorial, London]]
Nepal depends on diplomacy for national defence. It maintains a policy of neutrality between its neighbours, has amicable relations with other countries in the region, and has a policy of non-alignment at the global stage. Nepal is a member of [[SAARC]], [[UN]], [[WTO]], [[BIMSTEC]] and [[Asia Cooperation Dialogue|ACD]], among others. It has bilateral diplomatic relations with 167 countries and the EU,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mofa.gov.np/foreign-policy/bilateral-relation/ |title=Bilateral Relations – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal MOFA |language=en-US |publisher=[[Government of Nepal]] |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925203632/https://mofa.gov.np/foreign-policy/bilateral-relation/ |archive-date=25 September 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> has embassies in 30 countries<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mofa.gov.np/embassy-of-nepal/ |title=Embassy of Nepal – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal MOFA |language=en-US |publisher=[[Government of Nepal]] |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717045107/https://mofa.gov.np/embassy-of-nepal/ |archive-date=17 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and six consulates,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mofa.gov.np/consulates-general-of-nepal/ |title=Consulates General of Nepal – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal MOFA |language=en-US |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724133315/https://mofa.gov.np/consulates-general-of-nepal/ |archive-date=24 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> while 25 countries maintain embassies in Nepal, and more than 80 others maintain non-residential diplomatic missions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mofa.gov.np/non-residential-diplomatic-missions/ |title=NON-RESIDENTIAL DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS – Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nepal MOFA |language=en-US |publisher=[[Government of Nepal]] |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717010017/https://mofa.gov.np/non-residential-diplomatic-missions/ |archive-date=17 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal is one of the major contributors to the [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping]] missions, having contributed more than 119,000 personnel to 42 missions since 1958.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/nepalese-peacekeepers-receive-un-medal |title=Nepalese Peacekeepers receive UN Medal |publisher=[[United Nations]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=12 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912075434/https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/nepalese-peacekeepers-receive-un-medal |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepali people have a reputation for honesty, loyalty and bravery, which has led to them serving as legendary Gurkha warriors in the Indian and British armies for the last 200 years, with service in both world wars, India-Pakistan wars as well as Afghanistan and Iraq,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/the-nepalis-fighting-americas-wars/ |title=The Nepalis Fighting America's Wars |first=Peter |last=Gill |newspaper=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |language=en-US |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919053517/https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/the-nepalis-fighting-americas-wars/ |archive-date=19 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> though Nepal was not directly involved in any of those conflicts, and winning the highest military awards, including the [[Victoria Cross]] and the [[Param Vir Chakra]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-big-question-who-are-the-gurkhas-and-what-is-their-contribution-to-military-history-1676354.html |title=The Big Question: Who are the Gurkhas and what is their contribution |date=30 April 2009 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603070551/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-big-question-who-are-the-gurkhas-and-what-is-their-contribution-to-military-history-1676354.html |archive-date=3 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:DA-ST-96-01245 c1.JPEG|thumb|upright|Nepal is one of the major contributors to [[United Nations peacekeeping|UN peacekeeping]] missions.]]
Nepal pursues a policy of "balanced relations" with the two giant immediate neighbours, India and China;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/18241 |title=Nepal's Ties With India, China |newspaper=[[The Rising Nepal]] |access-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222203139/https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/18241 |archive-date=22 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Dahal |first=Girdhari |year=2018 |title=Foreign Relation of Nepal with China and India |journal=[[Journal of Political Science]] |volume=XVIII |pages=46–61 |doi=10.3126/jps.v18i0.20439 |doi-access=free|s2cid=158946579 }}</ref> the [[1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship|1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship]] with India provides for a much closer relationship.<ref name=rn50>{{cite news |url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/22232 |title=Reviewing The Treaty Of 1950 |newspaper=[[The Rising Nepal]] |access-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303194225/https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/22232 |archive-date=3 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal and India share an open border with free movement of people, religious, cultural and marital ties. India is Nepal's largest trading partner, which it depends upon for all of its oil and gas, and a number of essential goods. Nepalis can own property in India, while Indians are free to live and work in Nepal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/is-it-the-end-of-india-s-special-relationship-with-nepal/story-ijLNl5AvvOt1w6fQANekVP.html |title=Is it the end of India's special relationship with Nepal? |date=8 March 2018 |newspaper=[[Hindustan Times]] |language=en |access-date=6 April 2020 |archive-date=6 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406211917/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/is-it-the-end-of-india-s-special-relationship-with-nepal/story-ijLNl5AvvOt1w6fQANekVP.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Relations between India and Nepal, though very close, have faced difficulties stemming from [[Territorial disputes between India and Nepal|territorial disputes]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Anab |first1=Mohammad |last2=Punetha |first2=Prem |date=18 September 2020 |title=India Nepal news: Nepal depicts Indian areas as its own in book |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nepal-depicts-indian-areas-as-its-own-in-book/articleshow/78178044.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220418092548/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nepal-depicts-indian-areas-as-its-own-in-book/articleshow/78178044.cms |archive-date=18 April 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]] |language=en}}</ref> economics, and the problems inherent in big power-small power relations.{{sfn|Balakrishnan|2010|p=196}}{{Failed verification|date=April 2022|reason=needs inline citation from book source}} Nepal established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on 1 August 1955, and signed the [[Sino-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship|Treaty of Peace and Friendship]] in 1960; relations since have been based on the [[Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence]]. Nepal maintains neutrality in conflicts between China and India. It remains firmly committed to the [[One-China policy|One China Policy]] and is known to curb anti-China activities from the [[Tibetan diaspora|Tibetan refugees]] in Nepal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-tibet-nepal-20150806-story.html |title=Tibet's Road Ahead: Tibetans lose a haven in Nepal under Chinese pressure |date=6 August 2015 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023225427/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-tibet-nepal-20150806-story.html |archive-date=23 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Haviland |first=Charles |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7353249.stm |title=Nepal Arrests Tibetan Protesters |work=[[BBC News]] |date=17 April 2008 |access-date=29 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930002704/https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7353249.stm |archive-date=30 September 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> Citizens of both countries can cross the border and travel as far as 30&nbsp;km without a visa.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/china-urged-to-let-nepalis-work-in-taklakot/|title=China urged to let Nepalis work in Taklakot|date=7 June 2019|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|language=en-US|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607195323/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/china-urged-to-let-nepalis-work-in-taklakot/|archive-date=7 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> China is viewed favourably in Nepal owing to the absence of any border disputes or serious interference in internal politics, coupled with its assistance in infrastructure development and aid during emergencies; favourability has increased since China helped Nepal during the [[2015 Nepal blockade|2015 economic blockade]] imposed by India.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/why-nepals-access-to-china-ports-matters/|title=Why Nepal's Access to China Ports Matters|last=Rajgopalan|first=Rajeswari Pillai|newspaper=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]|language=en-US|access-date=12 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031155408/https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/why-nepals-access-to-china-ports-matters/|archive-date=31 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Subsequently, China granted Nepal access to its ports for third-country trade, and Nepal joined China's [[Belt and Road Initiative]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/belt-and-road-initiative-nepals-concern-and-commitment/ |title=Belt and Road Initiative: Nepal's concern and commitment |date=23 April 2019 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424161958/https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/belt-and-road-initiative-nepals-concern-and-commitment/ |archive-date=24 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Nepal emphasises greater cooperation in South Asia and actively pushed for the establishment of [[SAARC]], the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the permanent secretariat of which, is hosted in Kathmandu.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Iqbal |first=Muhammad Jamshed |year=2006 |title=SAARC: Origin, Growth, Potential and Achievements |url=https://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf |journal=[[Pakistan Journal of History & Culture]] |volume=XXVII |pages=127–40 |access-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111092347/https://www.nihcr.edu.pk/Latest_English_Journal/SAARC_Jamshed_Iqbal.pdf |archive-date=11 November 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal was one of the first countries to recognise an independent Bangladesh, and the two countries seek to enhance greater cooperation, on trade and water management; seaports in Bangladesh, being closer, are seen as viable alternatives to India's monopoly on Nepal's third-country trade.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/19231 |title=Nepal, Bangladesh Can Become Better Trade Partners |newspaper=[[The Rising Nepal]] |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111072640/https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/19231 |archive-date=11 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal was the first South Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with [[Israel]], and the countries enjoy a strong relationship;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/42903/ |title=Marking the diplomatic ties between Nepal and Israel |newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]] |language=en |access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref> it recognises the rights of the [[Palestinians]], having voted in favour of its recognition at the UN and against the recognition of [[Jerusalem]] as Israel's capital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2017/12/23/unga-vote-consistent-with-nepals-position-on-israel-palestine |title=UNGA vote 'consistent with Nepal's position on Israel, Palestine' |newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]] |language=en |access-date=12 September 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813203803/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2017/12/23/unga-vote-consistent-with-nepals-position-on-israel-palestine |url-status=live }}</ref> Countries that Nepal maintains a close relationship with, include the most generous donors and development partners—the [[United States]], the United Kingdom, [[Denmark]], [[Japan]] and [[Norway]], among others.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Khadka |first=Narayan |year=1997 |title=Foreign Aid to Nepal: Donor Motivations in the Post-Cold War Period |journal=[[Asian Survey]] |volume=37 |issue=11 |pages=1044–1061 |doi=10.2307/2645740 |issn=0004-4687 |jstor=2645740}}</ref>

===Military and intelligence===
{{main|Nepali Army}}
[[File:Kukri,_karda_&_chakmak.jpg|thumb|right|The multipurpose [[Kukri]] knife (top) is the signature weapon of the Nepali armed forces, and is used by the Gurkhas, Nepal Army, Police and even security guards.]]
The President is the supreme commander of the [[Nepali Army]]; its routine management is handled by the [[Ministry of Defence (Nepal)|Ministry of Defence]]. The military expenditure for 2018 was $398.5&nbsp;million,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.CD?locations=NP |title=Military expenditure (current USD) {{!}} Data |publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813193309/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.CD?locations=NP |url-status=live }}</ref> around 1.4% of GDP.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locations=NP |title=Military expenditure (% of GDP) {{!}} Data |publisher=[[World Bank]] |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813191908/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS?locations=NP |url-status=live }}</ref> An almost exclusively ground infantry force, Nepal Army numbers at less than one hundred thousand;<ref name=rag/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/08/10/new-chief-faces-daunting-task-rebuilding-nepal-armys-image |title=New chief faces daunting task rebuilding Nepal Army's image |newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813190352/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/08/10/new-chief-faces-daunting-task-rebuilding-nepal-armys-image |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/lieutenant-general-purna-chandra-thapa-to-take-charge-of-nepali-army-as-acting-chief-of-army-staff/ |title=Thapa to take charge of Nepali Army as acting CoAS |date=9 August 2018 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917071448/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/lieutenant-general-purna-chandra-thapa-to-take-charge-of-nepali-army-as-acting-chief-of-army-staff/ |archive-date=17 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> recruitment is voluntary.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/ |title=South Asia :: Nepal – The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]] |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109075733/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It has few aircraft, mainly helicopters, primarily used for transport, patrol, and search and rescue.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepali-army-launches-new-helicopters/ |title=Nepali Army launches new helicopters |date=23 June 2015 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723110205/https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepali-army-launches-new-helicopters/ |archive-date=23 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Directorate of Military Intelligence (Nepal)|Directorate of Military Intelligence]] under Nepal Army serves as the military intelligence agency;<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CVLeCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 |title=Military and Democracy in Nepal |last=Adhikari |first=Indra |date=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9781317589068 |language=en}}</ref> [[National Investigation Department of Nepal|National Investigation Department]] tasked with national and international intelligence gathering, is independent.<ref name=rag>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dHXRR3z-_EC&pg=PA130|title=Nepal as a Federal State: Lessons from Indian Experience |last=Raghavan |first=V. R. |date=2013 |publisher=[[Vij Books India]] |isbn=9789382652014 |language=en}}</ref> Nepal Army is primarily used for routine security of critical assets, an anti-poaching patrol of national parks, counterinsurgency, and search and rescue during natural disasters;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/19522/ |title=Army to rescue |newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224014046/http://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/19522/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it also undertakes major construction projects.<ref name=milroad>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/dolpa-hq-connected-to-national-road-network/ |title=Dolpa HQ connected to national road network |date=18 November 2018 |newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]] |language=en-US |access-date=4 December 2019 |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814190232/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/dolpa-hq-connected-to-national-road-network |url-status=live }}</ref> There are no discriminatory policies on recruitment into the army, but it is dominated by men from elite Pahari warrior castes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/4357/ |title=Women promoted to major for first time in NA infantry |last=Pariyar |first=Kamal |newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180601000757/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/4357/ |archive-date=1 June 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/751-bhakti-shah-the-fight-for-gay-and-transgender-rights-in-nepal |title=Bhakti Shah – the fight for gay and transgender rights in Nepal |publisher=[[Saferworld]] |language=en |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813190247/https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/news-and-analysis/post/751-bhakti-shah-the-fight-for-gay-and-transgender-rights-in-nepal |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Economy ==
{{Main|Economy of Nepal}}

Nepal is one of the [[least developed countries]], which ranks 165th in the world{{efn|October 2019, IMF update, excludes [[Somalia]] and [[Syria]].}} in [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita|nominal GDP per capita]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=47&pr.y=14&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,546,213,674,911,676,314,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,962,156,142,626,449,628,564,228,565,924,283,233,853,632,288,636,293,634,566,238,964,662,182,960,359,423,453,935,968,128,922,611,714,321,862,243,135,248,716,469,456,253,722,642,942,643,718,939,724,734,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,144,336,146,263,463,268,528,532,923,944,738,176,578,534,537,536,742,429,866,433,369,178,744,436,186,136,925,343,869,158,746,439,926,916,466,664,112,826,111,542,298,967,927,443,846,917,299,544,582,941,474,446,754,666,698&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a= |access-date=15 November 2019 |publisher=IMF |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308021608/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=47&pr.y=14&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,546,213,674,911,676,314,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,962,156,142,626,449,628,564,228,565,924,283,233,853,632,288,636,293,634,566,238,964,662,182,960,359,423,453,935,968,128,922,611,714,321,862,243,135,248,716,469,456,253,722,642,942,643,718,939,724,734,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,144,336,146,263,463,268,528,532,923,944,738,176,578,534,537,536,742,429,866,433,369,178,744,436,186,136,925,343,869,158,746,439,926,916,466,664,112,826,111,542,298,967,927,443,846,917,299,544,582,941,474,446,754,666,698&s=NGDPDPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }}</ref> and 162nd{{efn|October 2019, IMF update; excludes [[Somalia]], [[Syria]], and [[Venezuela]].}} in [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|GDP per capita at PPP]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=81&pr.y=10&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,546,213,674,911,676,314,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,962,156,142,626,449,628,564,228,565,924,283,233,853,632,288,636,293,634,566,238,964,662,182,960,359,423,453,935,968,128,922,611,714,321,862,243,135,248,716,469,456,253,722,642,942,643,718,939,724,734,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,144,336,146,263,463,268,528,532,923,944,738,176,578,534,537,536,742,429,866,433,369,178,744,436,186,136,925,343,869,158,746,439,926,916,466,664,112,826,111,542,298,967,927,443,846,917,299,544,582,941,474,446,754,666,698&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |access-date=15 November 2019 |publisher=IMF |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302052855/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2019/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=81&pr.y=10&sy=2019&ey=2019&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=512,668,914,672,612,946,614,137,311,546,213,674,911,676,314,548,193,556,122,678,912,181,313,867,419,682,513,684,316,273,913,868,124,921,339,948,638,943,514,686,218,688,963,518,616,728,223,836,516,558,918,138,748,196,618,278,624,692,522,694,622,962,156,142,626,449,628,564,228,565,924,283,233,853,632,288,636,293,634,566,238,964,662,182,960,359,423,453,935,968,128,922,611,714,321,862,243,135,248,716,469,456,253,722,642,942,643,718,939,724,734,576,644,936,819,961,172,813,132,726,646,199,648,733,915,184,134,524,652,361,174,362,328,364,258,732,656,366,654,144,336,146,263,463,268,528,532,923,944,738,176,578,534,537,536,742,429,866,433,369,178,744,436,186,136,925,343,869,158,746,439,926,916,466,664,112,826,111,542,298,967,927,443,846,917,299,544,582,941,474,446,754,666,698&s=PPPPC&grp=0&a= |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2019 was $34.186&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=NP |title=GDP (current US$) {{!}} Data |publisher=World Bank |access-date=16 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312080539/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=NP |archive-date=12 March 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nepal {{!}} Data|url=https://data.worldbank.org/country/NP|access-date=23 July 2021|publisher=World Bank|archive-date=3 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603134747/https://data.worldbank.org/country/NP|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal&nbsp;has consistently been ranked as&nbsp;one of the poorest countries in the world.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/publication/climbing-higher-toward-a-middle-income-country | title=Climbing Higher: Toward a Middle-Income Nepal }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://friendsofwpcnepal.org/10-causes-of-poverty-nepal/ | title=10 Causes of Poverty in Nepal - Friends of WPC Nepal | date=29 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.inf.org.uk/about-nepal/poverty-in-nepal/ | title=Poverty in Nepal, Hunger and food shortages, INF }}</ref> Nepal has been a member of [[WTO]] since 23 April 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_nepal_e.htm |title=Accessions: Nepal |publisher=WTO |access-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115111106/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_nepal_e.htm |archive-date=15 November 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 16.8-million-worker [[Labour in Nepal|Nepali labour force]] is the 37th largest in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2095rank.html|title=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=18 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530152006/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications//the-world-factbook/rankorder/2095rank.html|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Primary sector of the economy|The primary sector]] makes up 27.59% of GDP, [[Secondary sector of the economy|the secondary sector]] 14.6%, and [[Tertiary sector of the economy|the tertiary sector]] 57.81%.<ref name="National Accounts of Nepal 2018/19">{{cite web |url=https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2019/04/Press-release-2018_19.pdf |title=National Accounts of Nepal 2018/19 |year=2019 |publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics Nepal |access-date=5 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505113753/https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2019/04/Press-release-2018_19.pdf |archive-date=5 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal's foreign exchange remittances of US$8.1&nbsp;billion in 2018, the 19th largest in the world and constituting 28.0% of GDP,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/10/nepal-is-19th-largest-receiver-of-remittances-with-81-billion|title=Nepal is 19th largest receiver of remittances with $8.1&nbsp;billion|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=18 November 2019|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813212246/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/10/nepal-is-19th-largest-receiver-of-remittances-with-81-billion|url-status=live}}</ref> were contributed to its economy by millions of workers primarily in India, the Middle East and East Asia, almost all of them unskilled labourers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2018/05/02/unskilled-workers-dominate-nepali-labour-force-abroad|title=Unskilled workers dominate Nepali labour force abroad|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=18 November 2019|archive-date=5 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605103453/https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2018/05/02/unskilled-workers-dominate-nepali-labour-force-abroad|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2017/09/18/more-nepalis-going-abroad-for-employment|title=More Nepalis going abroad for employment|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=18 November 2019|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813193436/https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2017/09/18/more-nepalis-going-abroad-for-employment|url-status=live}}</ref> Major agricultural products include cereals (barley, maize, millet, paddy and wheat), oilseed, potato, pulses, sugarcane, jute, tobacco, milk and water buffalo meat.<ref name=cia17>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|title=South Asia :: Nepal – The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=18 November 2019|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109075733/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chaudhary|first=Deepak|date=1 November 2018|title=Agricultural Policies and Rural Development in Nepal: An Overview|journal=Research Nepal Journal of Development Studies|language=en|volume=1|issue=2|pages=34–46|doi=10.3126/rnjds.v1i2.22425|issn=2631-2131|doi-access=free|url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/document/67966/1/ssoar-rnjds-2018-2-chaudhary-Agricultural_Policies_and_Rural_Development.pdf}}</ref> Major industries include tourism, carpets, textiles, cigarettes, cement, brick, as well as small rice, jute, sugar and oilseed mills.<ref name=cia17/> Nepal's international trade greatly expanded in 1951 with the establishment of democracy; liberalisation began in 1985 and picked up pace after 1990. By the fiscal year 2016/17, Nepal's foreign trade amounted Rs 1.06&nbsp;trillion, a twenty-three folds increase from Rs 45.6&nbsp;billion in 1990/91. More than 60% of Nepal's trade is with India. Major exports include readymade garment, carpet, pulses, handicrafts, leather, medicinal herbs, and paper products, which account for 90% of the total. Major imports include various finished and semi-finished goods, raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemical fertilisers, electrical and electronic devices, petroleum products, gold, and readymade garments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Acharya|first=Khubi Ram|date=5 July 2019|title=Nepalese Foreign Trade: Growth, Composition, and Direction|journal=NCC Journal|language=en|volume=4|issue=1|pages=91–96|doi=10.3126/nccj.v4i1.24741|issn=2505-0788|doi-access=free}}</ref> Inflation was at 4.5% in 2019.<ref name="wb19">{{cite web|title=Overview|url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nepal/overview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621191142/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/nepal/overview|archive-date=21 June 2019|access-date=23 November 2019|publisher=World Bank|language=en}}</ref> Foreign exchange reserves were at US$9.5&nbsp;billion in July 2019, equivalent to 7.8 months of imports.<ref name=wb19/>
[[File:GPD per capita development of Nepal.jpg|thumb|right|Real GDP per capita development of Nepal]]
Nepal has made significant progress in poverty reduction bringing the population below the international poverty line (US$1.90 per person per day) from 15% in 2010 to just 9.3% in 2018, although vulnerability remains extremely high, with almost 32% of the population living on between US$1.90 and US$3.20 per person per day.<ref name=wb19/> Nepal has made improvement in sectors like nutrition, child mortality, electricity, improved flooring and assets. Under the current trend, Nepal is expected to eradicate poverty within 20 years.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://in.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-nepal-poverty-india-idINDEE92H0FZ20130318 |title=Bangladesh, Nepal, Rwanda top India in reducing poverty&nbsp;– study |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=19 March 2013 |agency=Reuters India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130321061824/https://in.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/bangladesh-nepal-poverty-india-idINDEE92H0FZ20130318 |archive-date=21 March 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/17/aid-trade-reduce-acute-poverty |title=World poverty is shrinking rapidly, new index reveals |last=McVeigh |first=Tracy |date=17 March 2013 |work=The Guardian |access-date=19 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216091824/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/17/aid-trade-reduce-acute-poverty |archive-date=16 February 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable as it is highly dependent on the monsoon rains, with just 28% of the arable land being irrigated, {{as of |2014}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://projects.worldbank.org/en/results/2014/04/11/nepal-irrigation-and-water-resource-management|title=Nepal: Irrigation and Water Resource Management|publisher=World Bank|language=en|access-date=24 November 2019}}</ref> Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce, services 18%, and manufacturing and craft-based industry 6%.<ref name="World Bank: Nepal- Country Overview 2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbank.org.np/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/NEPALEXTN/0,,contentMDK:22147453~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:223555,00.html |title=World Bank: Nepal- Country Overview 2012 |year=2012 |publisher=World Bank |access-date=31 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822110758/https://www.worldbank.org.np/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/SOUTHASIAEXT/NEPALEXTN/0,,contentMDK:22147453~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:223555,00.html |archive-date=22 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Private investment, consumption, tourism and agriculture are the principal contributors to economic growth.<ref name="wb19"/>

The government's budget is about $13.71&nbsp;billion (FY 2019/20);<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/30/c_138102450.htm|title=Nepali gov't presents 13.71 bln USD budget for next fiscal year |agency=Xinhua News Agency |access-date=24 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530051927/https://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-05/30/c_138102450.htm|archive-date=30 May 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> expenditure of infrastructure development budget, most of it contributed by foreign aid, usually fails to meet the target.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.setopati.com/market/141194/|title=Finance Minister Khatiwada worried as ministries fail to spend development budget|website=Setopati|access-date=24 November 2019|archive-date=29 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929231840/https://en.setopati.com/market/141194/|url-status=live}}</ref> The country receives foreign aid from the UK,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmintdev/854/85403.htm |title=DFID's bilateral programme in Nepal |date=27 March 2015 |publisher=The [[International Development Committee]] of the House of Commons |access-date=17 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609015721/https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmintdev/854/85403.htm |archive-date=9 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-nepal-aid-corruption-idUSKBN0MN00F20150327 |title=UK should cut aid to Nepal if "endemic" corruption persists: report |date=27 March 2015 |work=Reuters |access-date=16 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518085227/https://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/us-britain-nepal-aid-corruption-idUSKBN0MN00F20150327 |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> India, Japan, the US, the EU, China, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries. The [[Nepalese rupee|Nepali rupee]] has been tied to the [[Indian rupee]] at an exchange rate of 1.6 for many years. Per capita income is $1,004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/per-capita-income-to-reach-1400-by-2023-24/|title=Per capita income to reach $1,400 by 2023–24|date=4 April 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=24 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405145909/https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/per-capita-income-to-reach-1400-by-2023-24/|archive-date=5 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[distribution of wealth]] among the Nepalis is consistent with that in many developed and developing countries: the highest 10% of households control 39.1% of the national wealth and the lowest 10% control only 2.6%. [[European Union]] (EU) (46.13%), the US (17.4%), and Germany (7.1%) are its main export partners; they mainly buy Nepali ready-made garments (RMG).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ktm2day.com/2011/10/11/eu-is-largest-buyer-of-nepali-garments/ |title=EU as Nepal's largest exporter |date=11 October 2011 |publisher=ktm2day |access-date=11 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111013040013/https://www.ktm2day.com/2011/10/11/eu-is-largest-buyer-of-nepali-garments/ |archive-date=13 October 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal's import partners include India (47.5%), the United Arab Emirates (11.2%), China (10.7%), Saudi Arabia (4.9%), and Singapore (4%).

Besides having landlocked, rugged geography, few tangible natural resources and poor infrastructure, the ineffective post-1950 government and the long-running civil war are also factors in stunting the country's economic growth and development.<ref name="Encarta">{{Cite encyclopedia |entry=Nepal: Economy |entry-url=https://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562648_3/Nepal.html |page=3 |access-date=<!-- archived deadlink: 23 September 2005 -->|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028104223/https://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761562648_3/Nepal.html |archive-date=28 October 2009 |title=MSN Encarta |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Development Failure">{{cite web |url=https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1514&context=himalaya |title=Development Failure: A Critical Review of Three Analyses of Development in Nepal |access-date=30 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817153139/https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1514&context=himalaya |archive-date=17 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Development-Conflict Nexus">{{cite web |url=https://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/%28httpEnvelopes%29/22099AADFE2FE9D2C12576B0003EC686?OpenDocument |title=A Development Failure: The Development-Conflict Nexus |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720104316/https://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/%28httpEnvelopes%29/22099AADFE2FE9D2C12576B0003EC686?OpenDocument |archive-date=20 July 2012 |access-date=30 July 2012}}</ref> Debt bondage even involving debtors' children has been a persistent social problem in the western hills and the [[Terai]], with an estimated 234,600 people or 0.82% of the population considered as enslaved, by The Global Slavery Index in 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/nepal/ |title=Nepal |last=Kevin Bales |website=The Global Slavery Index 2016 |publisher=The Minderoo Foundation Pty Ltd |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313214330/https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/nepal/ |archive-date=13 March 2018 |access-date=13 March 2018 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In 2022, Nepal limited import of non-essential goods after its foreign currency reserves dropped. [[COVID-19 pandemic]] caused a decline in tourism spending and the money sent home by Nepalis working abroad, which in turn lowered country's foreign currency reserve.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61076089 | title=Nepal limits imports as foreign currency reserves slide | date=12 April 2022 | publisher=BBC News | access-date=12 April 2022 | archive-date=13 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813212850/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61076089 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Tourism===
{{main|Tourism in Nepal}}
[[File:USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Nepal; National Trust for Nature Conservation) (26428623908).jpg|thumb|Tourists view a [[greater one-horned rhinoceros]] from an [[Asian elephant]] in [[Chitwan National Park]].]]
Tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in Nepal, employing more than a million people and contributing 7.9% of the total GDP.<ref name=tkptour19/> The number of international visitors crossed one million in 2018 for the first time (not counting Indian tourists arriving by land).<ref name=tkptour19>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/05/26/nepal-tourism-generated-rs240b-and-supported-1m-jobs-last-year-report|title=Nepal tourism generated Rs 240b and supported 1m jobs last year: Report|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=30 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730002145/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/05/26/nepal-tourism-generated-rs240b-and-supported-1m-jobs-last-year-report|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://tourism.gov.np/files/statistics/2.pdf|publisher=Government of Nepal, Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation, Planning & Evaluation Division, Research & Statistical Section|title=Nepal Tourism Statistics 2017|date=May 2018|editor-last=Ghimire|editor-first=Dandu Raj|display-editors=etal|access-date=1 December 2019|archive-date=24 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124041439/https://tourism.gov.np/files/statistics/2.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nepal's share of visitors to South Asia is about 6%, and they spend much less on average, with Nepal sharing 1.7% of the earnings.<ref name=thttour>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-enough-opportunities-tap-tourists-visit-south-asian-nations/|title=Nepal has enough opportunities to tap tourists who visit other South Asian nations|date=6 November 2016|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=3 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303183849/https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nepal-enough-opportunities-tap-tourists-visit-south-asian-nations/|url-status=live}}</ref> Premier destinations include Pokhara, the [[Annapurna Circuit|Annapurna trekking circuit]] and the four UNESCO world heritage sites—[[Lumbini]], [[Sagarmatha National Park]] (home to Mount Everest), seven sites in the Kathmandu Valley collectively listed as one, and Chitwan National Park. Most of Nepal's mountaineering earning comes from Mount Everest, which is more accessible from the Nepalese side.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Issues with Overtourism in Destinations Like Mount Everest |url=https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/too-many-tourists/ |access-date=8 June 2024 |website=Pegasus Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

Nepal officially opened to westerners in 1951 and became a popular destination at the end of the [[hippie trail]] in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://academic.oup.com/chicago-scholarship-online/book/18777/chapter/177037645 |title=Nepal's Discovery of Tourism and the End of the Hippie Era |access-date=8 June 2024 |website=academic.oup.com |date=2017 |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226429137.003.0010 |last1=Liechty |first1=Mark |chapter=10. Nepal's Discovery of Tourism and the End of the Hippie Era |pages=271–294 |isbn=978-0-226-42894-9 }}</ref> The industry, disrupted by the civil war in the 1990s, has since recovered but faces challenges to growth, owing to a lack of proper facilities for high-end tourism termed the "infrastructure bottleneck", mounting issues facing [[Nepal Airlines]], and a handful of destinations properly developed and marketed. The home-stay tourism, in which cultural and eco-tourists stay as paying guests in the homes of indigenous people, has seen some success.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/68553/|title=Homestay registration on the rise|last=Sunuwar|first=Muna|website=My Republica|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308222435/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/68553/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Foreign employment===
[[File:Child_Labour_in_Brick_Kilns_of_Nepal.jpg|thumb|While adults are employed in slavery-like conditions abroad, hundreds of thousands of children in the country are employed as [[Child labour in Nepal|child labour]] (not including the agricultural sector).{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}]]
The rate of unemployment and underemployment exceeds half of the working-age population,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/27/nepals-unemployment-rate-estimated-at-114-percent|title=Nepal's unemployment rate estimated at 11.4 percent|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212944/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/27/nepals-unemployment-rate-estimated-at-114-percent|url-status=live}}</ref> driving millions to seek employment abroad, mainly in India, the Gulf, and East Asia. Mostly unskilled, uneducated, and indebted to loan sharks, these workers are swindled by the manpower companies and sent to exploitative employers or war-ridden countries under fraudulent contracts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/01/world/middleeast/12-hostages-from-nepal-are-executed-in-iraq-a-militant.html|title=12 Hostages From Nepal Are Executed in Iraq, a Militant Group Claims|last=Tavernise|first=Sabrina|date=1 September 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=3 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803141717/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/01/world/middleeast/12-hostages-from-nepal-are-executed-in-iraq-a-militant.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/48523/|title=He narrowly escaped the 2004 Iraq massacre of 12 Nepalis|last=Sharma|first=Bhadra|website=My Republica|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202215736/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/48523/|url-status=live}}</ref> They have their passports seized, to be returned when the employer grants them leave or terminates their contracts. Most do not get paid minimum wage,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/basic-minimum-wage-eludes-nepali-migrant-workers/|title=Basic minimum wage eludes Nepali migrant workers|date=9 May 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212954/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/basic-minimum-wage-eludes-nepali-migrant-workers/|url-status=live}}</ref> and many are forced to forfeit all or part of the wages.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/10/13/nepali-migrant-workers-returning-home-from-labour-destination-countries-without-wages|title=Nepali migrant workers returning home from labour destination countries without wages|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013045255/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/10/13/nepali-migrant-workers-returning-home-from-labour-destination-countries-without-wages|url-status=live}}</ref> Many Nepalis work in extremely unsafe conditions; an average of two workers die each day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/nepal-receiving-two-dead-migrant-workers-every-day-for-past-seven-years-report/|title=Nepal receiving two dead migrant workers every day for past seven years: Report|date=24 August 2018|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212952/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/nepal-receiving-two-dead-migrant-workers-every-day-for-past-seven-years-report/|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to restrictions placed on women, many depend on traffickers to get out of the country, and end up victims of violence and abuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://asiafoundation.org/2018/06/06/nepalese-labor-migration-a-status-report/|title=Nepalese Labor Migration—A Status Report|work=The Asia Foundation |date=6 June 2018|language=en-US|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212941/https://asiafoundation.org/2018/06/06/nepalese-labor-migration-a-status-report/|url-status=live |last1=Stayton |first1=Mordecai }}</ref> Many Nepalese are believed to be working under slavery-like conditions, and Nepal spends billions of rupees rescuing stranded workers, on remuneration to the indebted families of the dead, and in legal costs for those arrested in foreign countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2018/02/plight-nepal-migrant-workers-180205084756399.html|title=The plight of Nepal's migrant workers|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=1 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201154807/https://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2018/02/plight-nepal-migrant-workers-180205084756399.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ilofe>{{cite web|url=https://www.ilo.org/kathmandu/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm|title=Labour migration in Nepal (ILO in Nepal)|publisher=ILO|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212940/https://www.ilo.org/kathmandu/areasofwork/labour-migration/lang--en/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Though millions have raised themselves out of poverty, due to a lack of entrepreneurial skills, the remittance is largely spent on real estate and consumption.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/50427/|title=Sorrows of Nepali migrant workers|last=Mishra|first=Surya Nath|website=My Republica|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212937/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/50427/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=ilofe/>

{{Clear|left}}

== Infrastructure ==

===Energy===
[[File:Kaligandaki A HPS Tailrace Channel.jpg|thumb|upright|Middle Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Dam. Nepal has significant potential to generate [[hydropower]], which it plans to export across South Asia.]]
The bulk of energy in Nepal comes from biomass (80%) and imported fossil fuels (16%).<ref name=adb17>{{cite report|title=Nepal energy sector assessment, strategy, and road map|date=March 2017|url=https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/356466/nepal-energy-assessment-road-map.pdf|publisher=[[Asian Development Bank|ADB]]|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211215216/https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/356466/nepal-energy-assessment-road-map.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the final energy consumption goes to the residential sector (84%) followed by transport (7%) and industry (6%); the transport and industry sectors have been expanding rapidly in recent years.<ref name=adb17/> Except for some lignite deposits, Nepal has no known oil, gas or coal deposits.<ref name=adb17/> All commercial fossil fuels (mainly oil, LPG and coal) are imported, spending 129% of the country's total export revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/|title=From a fossil past to an electric future|last=Rai|first=Om Astha|date=2 November 2018|language=en-US|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203120850/https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/|url-status=live}}</ref> Only about 1% of the energy need is fulfilled by electricity.<ref name=adb17/> The perennial nature of Nepali rivers and the steep gradient of the country's topography provide ideal conditions for the development of hydroelectric projects. Estimates put Nepal's economically feasible hydro-power potential at approximately 42,000 MW.<ref name=adb17/> Nepal has been able to exploit only about 1,100 MW. As most of it is generated from run-of-river (ROR) plants, the actual power produced is much lower in the dry winter months when peak demand can reach as high as 1,200 MW, and Nepal needs to import as much as 650 MW from India to meet the demands.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/more-than-half-of-nepals-electricity-imported-from-india/|title=More than half of Nepal's electricity imported from India|work=Nepali Times|language=en-US|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203120847/https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/more-than-half-of-nepals-electricity-imported-from-india/|url-status=live}}</ref> Major hydro-power projects suffer delays and setbacks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nea-to-build-10-new-hydropower-projects/|title=NEA to build 10 new hydropower projects|date=26 August 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203120847/https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/nea-to-build-10-new-hydropower-projects/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/08/17/power-generation-to-increase-by-750-mw|title=Power generation to increase by 750 MW|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203120846/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/08/17/power-generation-to-increase-by-750-mw|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/06/09/nepal-fails-to-meet-energy-sector-targets-in-the-current-fiscal|title=Nepal fails to meet energy sector targets in the current fiscal|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=3 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203120847/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/06/09/nepal-fails-to-meet-energy-sector-targets-in-the-current-fiscal|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal's electrification rate (76%) is comparable to that of other countries in the region but there is significant disparity between the rural (72%) and urban (97%) areas.<ref name=adb17/> The position of the power sector remains unsatisfactory because of high tariffs, high system losses, high generation costs, high overheads, over staffing, and lower domestic demand.<ref name="USAID SARI">{{cite web |title=Energy sector in Nepal |url=https://www.sari-energy.org/PageFiles/Countries/Nepal_Energy_detail.asp |access-date=15 July 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425173323/https://sari-energy.org/PageFiles/Countries/Nepal_Energy_detail.asp |archive-date=25 April 2012 }}</ref>

===Transportation===
Nepal remains isolated from the world's major land, air and sea transport routes, although, within the country, aviation is in a better state, with 47 airports, 11 of them with paved runways;<ref name="World Factbook">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|title=South Asia :: Nepal – The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109075733/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref> flights are frequent and support a sizeable traffic. The hilly and mountainous terrain in the northern two-thirds of the country has made the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. {{As of|2016}}, there were just over {{convert|11890|km|0|abbr=on}} of paved roads, {{convert|16100|km|0|abbr=on}} of unpaved roads, and just {{convert|59|km|0|abbr=on}} of [[Department of Railways (Nepal)|railway]] line in the south.<ref name="World Factbook"/> {{As of |2018}}, all district headquarters (except [[Simikot]]) had been connected to the road network.<ref name=milroad/> Most of the rural roads are not operable during the rainy season; even national highways regularly become inoperable.<ref>{{cite web |title=Connecting Nepal's Rural Poor to Markets |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2009/12/17/connecting-nepals-rural-poor-to-markets |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130422061224/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2009/12/17/connecting-nepals-rural-poor-to-markets |archive-date=22 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal depends almost entirely on assistance from countries like China, India and Japan, for building, maintenance and expansion of the road network. The only practical seaport of entry for goods bound for Kathmandu is [[Kolkata]] in India. The national carrier, [[Nepal Airlines]], is in poor shape due to mismanagement and corruption, and has been blacklisted by the EU.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/09/14/the-rise-and-fall-of-nepal-airlines|title=The rise and fall of Nepal Airlines|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=21 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921093639/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/09/14/the-rise-and-fall-of-nepal-airlines|url-status=live}}</ref> Internally, the poor state of development of the road system makes access to markets, schools, and health clinics a challenge.<ref name="Encarta"/> Nepal has the worst road infrastructure in Asia.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationthailand.com/international/30339429 | title=Best and worst Asian countries for road quality | date=22 February 2018 }}</ref>

===Communication===
According to the [[Nepal Telecommunications Authority|Nepal Telecommunication Authority]] MIS August 2019 report, voice telephony subscription rate was at 2.70% of total population for fixed phones and 138.59% for mobile; 98% of all voice telephony was through mobile phones.<ref name=ntams>{{cite report|title=Nepal Telecommunications Authority MIS Report Shrawan, 2076|publisher=Nepal Telecommunications Authority|date=August 2019|url=https://nta.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/MIS-2076-Shrawan.pdf|access-date=3 December 2019|archive-date=15 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115130612/https://nta.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/MIS-2076-Shrawan.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Similarly, while an estimated 14.52% had access to fixed broadband, an additional 52.71% were accessing the internet using their mobile data subscriptions; almost 15&nbsp;million of them with 3G or better.<ref name=ntams/> The mobile voice telephony and broadband market was dominated by two telecommunications companies, the state-owned [[Nepal Telecom]] (55%) and the private multinational, [[Ncell]] (40%).<ref name=ntams/> Of the 21% market share enjoyed by fixed broadband, around 25% was again shared by Nepal Telecom, with the rest going to the private Internet Service Providers.<ref name=ntams/> Although there is high disparity in penetration rate between the rural and urban areas, mobile service has reached 75 districts of the country covering 90% of land area, and broadband access is expected to reach 90% of the population by 2020.<ref name="World Factbook"/>

===Media===
{{main|Mass media in Nepal}}
{{As of|2019}}, the state operates three television stations as well as national and regional radio stations. There are 117 private TV channels and 736 FM radio stations licensed for operation, at least 314 of them, community radio stations.<ref name="World Factbook"/> According to the 2011 census, the percentage of households possessing radio was 50.82%, television 36.45%, cable TV 19.33%, and computer 7.28%.{{sfn|2011 National Census|pp=2, 32}} According to the [[Press Council Nepal]] classification, {{as of|2017|lc=y}} of the 833 publications producing original content, ten national dailies and weeklies are rated A+ class.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/press-council-nepal-classifies-833-newspapers-magazines/|title=Press Council Nepal classifies 833 newspapers, magazines|date=15 January 2017|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204092850/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/press-council-nepal-classifies-833-newspapers-magazines/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, [[Reporters Without Borders]] ranked Nepal at 106th in the world in terms of press freedom.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/nepal-slides-six-places-down-press-freedom-rankings-states-rsf-report/|title=Nepal retains its position in press freedom rankings, states RSF report|date=19 April 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=20 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420133927/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/nepal-slides-six-places-down-press-freedom-rankings-states-rsf-report/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
{{Main|Demographics of Nepal}}
[[File:Ethnicities and Castes Nepal.png|thumb|Ethnicities & Castes in Nepal districts]]
The citizens of Nepal are known as [[Nepali people|Nepali]] or Nepalese. The Nepali are descendants of three major migrations from India, [[Tibet]] and North Burma, and the Chinese province of [[Yunnan]] via [[Assam]]. Among the earliest inhabitants were the [[Kirat]] of the eastern region, [[Newar]]s of the [[Kathmandu Valley]], aboriginal [[Tharu people|Tharus]] of the Terai plains and the Khas Pahari people of the far-western hills. Despite the migration of a significant section of the population to the Terai in recent years, the majority of Nepalese still live in the central highlands, and the northern mountains are sparsely populated.

[[File:Magar Culture.jpg|alt=|thumb|A [[Magars|Magar]] couple]]
Nepal is a multicultural and multiethnic country, home to 125 distinct ethnic groups, speaking 123 different mother tongues and following a number of indigenous and folk religions in addition to Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.{{sfn|2011 National Census|p=4}} According to the 2011 census, Nepal's population was 26.5&nbsp;million, almost a threefold increase from nine million in 1950. From 2001 to 2011, the average family size declined from 5.44 to 4.9. The census also noted some 1.9&nbsp;million absentee people, over a million more than in 2001; most are male labourers employed overseas. This correlated with the drop in sex ratio to 94.2 from 99.8 for 2001.{{sfn|2011 National Census|p=3}} The annual population growth rate was 1.35% between 2001 and 2011, compared to an average of 2.25% between 1961 and 2001; also attributed to the absentee population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Nepal%20Population%20Situation%20Analysis.pdf|title=Population situation analysis of Nepal|publisher=[[UNFPA]]|year=2017|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=17 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117092009/https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Nepal%20Population%20Situation%20Analysis.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nepal is one of the ten least urbanised, and the ten fastest urbanising countries in the world. {{As of| 2014}}, an estimated 18.3% of the population lived in urban areas. Urbanisation rate is high in the Terai and Doon valleys of the inner Terai and valleys of the middle hills, but low in the high Himalayas. Similarly, the rate is higher in central and eastern Nepal compared to further west.<ref>{{cite report|title=Urbanisation and urban growth in Nepal (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1294)|year=2015|publisher=UK:GSDRC|location=University of Birmingham, Birmingham|last=Bakrania|first=S.}}</ref> The capital, [[Kathmandu]], nicknamed the "City of temples", is the largest city in the country and the cultural and economic heart. Other large cities in Nepal include [[Pokhara]], [[Biratnagar]], [[Lalitpur, Nepal|Lalitpur]], [[Bharatpur, Nepal|Bharatpur]], [[Birgunj]], [[Dharan, Nepal|Dharan]], [[Hetauda]] and [[Nepalgunj]]. Congestion, pollution and drinking water shortage are some of the major problems facing the rapidly growing cities, most prominently the Kathmandu Valley.
{{clear}}

=== Largest cities ===
{{Largest cities of Nepal}}

=== Language ===
{{Main|Languages of Nepal}}
[[File:MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN NEPAL.png|upright=1.1|thumb|Nepalese languages (2021)]]
Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage stems from three major language groups: [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]], [[Sino-Tibetan]] and various [[indigenous language]] isolates. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as native language) according to the 2011 census are [[Nepali language|Nepali]] (44.6%), [[Maithili language|Maithili]] (11.7%), [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]] (6.0%), [[Tharu language|Tharu]] (5.8%), [[Tamang language|Tamang]] (5.1%), [[Nepal Bhasa]] (3.2%), [[Bajjika dialect|Bajjika]] (3%) and [[Magar language|Magar]] (3.0%), [[Doteli language|Doteli]] (3.0%), [[Urdu]] (2.6%), [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] (1.89%), and [[Sunwar language|Sunwar]]. Nepal is home to at least four indigenous [[Nepali Sign Language|sign languages]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

Descendent of [[Sanskrit]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]] is written in [[Devanagari]] script. It is the official language and serves as ''lingua franca'' among Nepali of different ethnolinguistic groups. The regional languages [[Maithili language|Maithili]], [[Awadhi language|Awadhi]] and Bhojpuri are spoken in the southern Terai region; [[Urdu]] is common among [[Nepali Muslims]]. [[Tibetic languages|Varieties of Tibetan]] are spoken in and north of the higher Himalaya where standard literary Tibetan is widely understood by those with religious education. Local dialects in the Terai and hills are mostly unwritten with efforts underway to develop systems for writing many in Devanagari or the Roman alphabet.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Nepal}}
[[File:Sadus at Pashupatinath temple.JPG|thumb|[[Sadhu]]s in [[Pashupatinath Temple]]]]
Nepal is a secular country, as declared by the Constitution of Nepal 2012 (Part 1, Article 4), where secularism 'means religious, cultural freedom, along with the protection of religion, culture handed down from time immemorial ({{Langx|hi|सनातन|label=none}})'.<ref>{{Cite web|date=20 September 2015|title=The Constitution of Nepal|url=https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/np/np029en.pdf|access-date=7 May 2021|work=Nepal Gazette|archive-date=15 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215043835/https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/np/np029en.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Constitution of Napal (in Nepali)|url=https://mohp.gov.np/downloads/Constitution%20of%20Nepal_2072_Nepali.pdf|access-date=7 May 2021|website=mohp.gov.np/|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427084728/https://mohp.gov.np/downloads/Constitution%20of%20Nepal_2072_Nepali.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2011 census reported that the religion with the largest number of followers in Nepal was [[Hinduism in Nepal|Hinduism]] (81.3% of the population), followed by [[Buddhism in Nepal|Buddhism]] (9%); the remaining were [[Islam in Nepal|Islam]] (4.4%), [[Kirat Mundhum|Kirant]] (3.1%), [[Christianity in Nepal|Christianity]] (1.4%) and ''Prakriti'' or nature worship (0.5%).{{sfn|2011 National Census|pp=4, 184}} By percentage of population, Nepal has the largest population of Hindus in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/religion101/2012/11/hindu-demographics-denominations-part-one.html|title=Hindu Demographics & Denominations (Part One)|date=28 November 2012|website=Religion 101|language=en|access-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821130245/https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/religion101/2012/11/hindu-demographics-denominations-part-one.html|archive-date=21 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal was officially a Hindu Kingdom until recently, and [[Shiva]] was considered the guardian deity of the country.<ref>''Anthologia anthropologica. The native races of Asia and Europe;'' by James George Frazer, Sir; Robert Angus Downie</ref> Although many government policies throughout history have disregarded or marginalised minority religions, Nepalese societies generally enjoy religious tolerance and harmony among all religions, with only isolated incidents of religiously motivated violence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/22579/|title=Eid highlights Nepal's religious tolerance|last=KHADKA|first=UPENDRA LAMICHHANE and BASANT|website=My Republica|language=en|access-date=2 December 2019|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813212544/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/22579/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://np.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/79/NEPAL-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|title=Nepal-2018-international-religious-freedom-report|publisher=US Embassy Nepal|access-date=1 December 2019|archive-date=21 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721111738/https://np.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/79/NEPAL-2018-INTERNATIONAL-RELIGIOUS-FREEDOM-REPORT.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nepal's constitution does not give anyone the right to convert any person to another religion. Nepal also passed a more stringent [[anti-conversion law]] on 2017.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nepal: Nepal: Bill criminalises religious conversion|url=https://www.csw.org.uk/2017/08/21/press/3676/article.htm|access-date=5 February 2021|website=csw.org.uk|archive-date=11 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111121259/http://www.csw.org.uk/2017/08/21/press/3676/article.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has the second-largest number of [[Hindu]]s in the world after India.<ref name="PewDec2012">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/|title=The Global Religious Landscape|date=December 2012|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=5 November 2018|archive-date=26 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926222120/http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Nepal}}
Nepal entered modernity in 1951 with a literacy rate of 5% and about 10,000 students enrolled in 300 schools.{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} By 2017, there were more than seven million students enrolled in 35,601 schools.<ref name=moe17>{{cite report|title=Education in figures 2017|publisher=Ministry of Education, Nepal|year=2017|url=https://moe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/Education_in_Figures_2017.pdf|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211215228/https://moe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/Education_in_Figures_2017.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The overall literacy rate (for population age five years and above) increased from 54.1% in 2001 to 65.9% in 2011.{{sfn|2011 National Census|p=4}} The net primary enrolment rate reached 97% by 2017,<ref name="undp">{{cite web|url=https://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NPL.html|title=Human Development Report 2010&nbsp;– Nepal|publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415135354/https://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NPL.html|archive-date=15 April 2012|access-date=25 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org/nepal/education|title=Education|publisher=UNICEF|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231204180641/https://www.unicef.org/nepal/education|url-status=live}}</ref> yet enrolment was less than 60% at the secondary level (grades 9 –12),<ref name=uis>{{cite web|url=https://uis.unesco.org/en/country/np|title=Nepal|date=27 November 2016|publisher=UNESCO|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=24 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224143945/https://uis.unesco.org/en/country/np|url-status=live}}</ref> and around 12% at the tertiary level.<ref name=uis/> Though there is significant gender disparity in overall literacy rate,{{sfn|2011 National Census|p=4}} girls have overtaken boys in enrolment to all levels of education.<ref name=uis/> Nepal has eleven universities and four independent science academies.<ref name=moe17/> Nepal was ranked 107th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=GII Innovation Ecosystems & Data Explorer 2025 |url=https://www.wipo.int/gii-ranking/en/nepal |access-date=2025-10-16 |website=WIPO}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dutta |first1=Soumitra |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2025/en/index.html |title=Global Innovation Index 2025: Innovation at a Crossroads |last2=Lanvin |first2=Bruno |publisher=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2025 |isbn=978-92-805-3797-0 |page=19 |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.58864 |access-date=2025-10-17}}</ref>

Lack of proper infrastructures and teaching materials, and a high student-to-teacher ratio, as well as politicisation of school management committees<ref>{{cite web|url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/12519|title=Community-based School Management The Role Politics Plays|website=The Rising Nepal|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204150818/http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/12519|url-status=dead}}</ref> and partisan unionisation among both students and teachers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/minister-pokhrel-urges-teachers-to-be-loyal-to-their-schools/|title=Minister Pokhrel urges teachers to be loyal to their schools|date=15 September 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=14 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814184800/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/minister-pokhrel-urges-teachers-to-be-loyal-to-their-schools|url-status=live}}</ref> present a hurdle to progress. Free basic education is guaranteed in the constitution but the programme lacks funding for effective implementation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2018/05/08/free-education-to-cost-threefold|title=Free education to cost threefold|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=2 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002141929/https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2018/05/08/free-education-to-cost-threefold|url-status=live}}</ref> Government has scholarship programmes for girls and disabled students as well as the children of martyrs, marginalised communities and the poor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edusanjal.com/scholarship/types-of-scholarships-provided-to-nepalese-students-by-government-of-nepal/|title=Types of scholarships provided to Nepalese students by government of Nepal|website=Edusanjal|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813212249/https://edusanjal.com/scholarship/types-of-scholarships-provided-to-nepalese-students-by-government-of-nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/medical-colleges-charging-extra-fees-even-from-govt-scholarship-holders/|title=Medical colleges charging extra fees even from govt scholarship holders|date=7 April 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=14 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814193954/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/medical-colleges-charging-extra-fees-even-from-govt-scholarship-holders|url-status=live}}</ref> Tens of thousands of Nepali students leave the country every year in search of better education and work, with half of them never returning.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://admin.myrepublica.com/society/story/23904/more-students-seeking-no-objection-to-study-abroad.html|title=More students seeking 'no objection' to study abroad|last=Sharma|first=Nirjana|date=3 July 2015|work=[[República (Nepalese newspaper)|Republica]]|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020173146/https://admin.myrepublica.com/society/story/23904/more-students-seeking-no-objection-to-study-abroad.html|archive-date=20 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/More-Nepali-students-settle-overseas,528|title=Losing our young|last=Tsering|first=Dolker|date=17 July 2015|work=[[Nepali Times]]|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020173506/https://nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/More-Nepali-students-settle-overseas,528|archive-date=20 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Health ===
{{Main|Health in Nepal}}
[[File:Life expectancy in Nepal.svg|thumb|Historical development of life expectancy in Nepal]]

Health care services in Nepal are provided by both the public and private sectors. Life expectancy at birth is estimated at 71 years as of 2017, 153rd highest in the world,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|title=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229134543/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> up from 54 years in the 1990s and 35 years in 1950.<ref name=ththeal>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/nepal-ranks-second-in-lung-ailment-deaths/|title=Nepal ranks second in lung ailment deaths|date=12 August 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183135/https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/nepal-ranks-second-in-lung-ailment-deaths/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Life expectancy|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy|access-date=18 February 2022|website=Our World in Data|archive-date=13 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813180308/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/life-expectancy|url-status=live}}</ref> Two-thirds of all deaths are due to non-communicable diseases; heart disease is the leading cause of death.<ref name=nhrc19>{{cite report|title=Nepal Burden of Disease 2017: A Country Report based on the Global Burden of Disease 2017 Study|author=Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) and Monitoring Evaluation and Operational Research (MEOR)|publisher=NHRC, MoHP, and MEOR|year=2019|location=Kathmandu, Nepal|url=https://nhrc.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NBoD-2017_NHRC-MoHP.pdf|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=26 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126175351/https://nhrc.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NBoD-2017_NHRC-MoHP.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> While sedentary lifestyle, imbalanced diet and consumption of tobacco and alcohol has contributed in the rise of non-communicable diseases, many lose their life to communicable and treatable diseases caused by poor sanitation and malnutrition due to a lack of education, awareness and access to healthcare services.<ref name=nhrc19/><ref name=tkpheal19>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/study-reveals-high-prevalence-of-non-communicable-diseases-in-nepal/|title=Study reveals high prevalence of non-communicable diseases in Nepal|date=5 August 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183200/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/study-reveals-high-prevalence-of-non-communicable-diseases-in-nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nepal has made great progress in maternal and child health. 95% of children have access to iodised salt, and 86% of children aged 6 – 59 months receive Vitamin A prophylaxis.<ref name=unicefhealth/> Stunting, underweight and wasting has been reduced significantly;<ref name=unicefhealth>{{cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org/nepal/nutrition|title=Nutrition|website=UNICEF|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183143/https://www.unicef.org/nepal/nutrition|url-status=live}}</ref> malnutrition, at 43% among children under five, is extremely high.<ref name=ntimes19>{{cite web|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/|title=Nearly half of Nepali children still malnourished|last=Awale|first=Sonia|date=6 November 2019|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183200/https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/|url-status=live}}</ref> Anemia in women and children increased between 2011 and 2016, reaching 41% and 53% respectively.<ref name=ntimes19/> Low birth weight is at 27% while breastfeeding is at 65%.<ref name=ntimes19/> Nepal has reduced maternal mortality rate to 229,<ref name=kpmm>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/02/10/maternal-mortality-reduction-target-hard-to-meet-for-nepal-officials|title=Maternal mortality reduction target hard to meet for Nepal: Officials|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183214/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/02/10/maternal-mortality-reduction-target-hard-to-meet-for-nepal-officials|url-status=live}}</ref> from 901 in 1990;<ref name=whomm>{{cite web|url=https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/94/5/16-030516/en/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160719033028/https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/94/5/16-030516/en/|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 July 2016|title=WHO {{!}} Reaching Nepal's mothers in time|publisher=WHO|access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref><ref name=kpmm/> infant mortality is down to 32.2 per thousand live births compared to 139.8 in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT?locations=NP&view=chart|title=Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) – Nepal {{!}} Data|publisher=World Bank|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183138/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.MORT%3Flocations%3DNP%26view%3Dchart|url-status=live}}</ref> Contraceptive prevalence rate is 53% but the disparity rate between rural and urban areas is high due to a lack of awareness and easy access.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target/|title=Nepal far from hitting contraceptive target|last=Bhattarai|first=Sewa|date=27 September 2019|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211200238/https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Progress in health is driven by strong government initiative in cooperation with NGOs and INGOs. Public health centres provide 72 essential medicines free of cost. In addition, the public health insurance plan initiated in 2016 which covers health treatments of up to Rs 50,000 for five members of a family, for a premium of Rs 2500 per year, has seen limited success, and is expected to expand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/06/07/health-insurance-plan-yet-to-cover-38-districts-in-nepal|title=Health insurance plan yet to cover 38 districts in Nepal|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183148/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2018/06/07/health-insurance-plan-yet-to-cover-38-districts-in-nepal|url-status=live}}</ref> By paying stipends for four antenatal visits to health centres and hospitalised delivery, Nepal decreased home-births from 81% in 2006<ref name="whomm"/> to 41% in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mhtf.org/2017/12/29/the-current-state-of-maternal-health-in-nepal/|title=The Current State of Maternal Health in Nepal|date=29 December 2017|publisher=Maternal Health Task Force|language=en-us|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183155/https://www.mhtf.org/2017/12/29/the-current-state-of-maternal-health-in-nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref> School meal programmes have improved education as well as nutrition metrics among children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/usda-wfp-provide-school-meals/|title=USDA, WFP to provide school meals|date=4 February 2018|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183222/https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/usda-wfp-provide-school-meals/|url-status=live}}</ref> Toilet building subsidies under the ambitious "one household-one toilet" programme has seen toilet prevalence rate reach 99% in 2019, from just 6% in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/08/01/government-has-been-trying-to-eliminate-open-defecation-for-over-a-decade-here-s-why-it-hasn-t-worked|title=Government has been trying to eliminate open defecation for over a decade. Here's why it hasn't worked.|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204183232/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/08/01/government-has-been-trying-to-eliminate-open-defecation-for-over-a-decade-here-s-why-it-hasn-t-worked|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Immigrants and refugees===
{{Main|Demographics of Nepal#Foreign population in Nepal}}
Nepal has a long tradition of accepting immigrants and refugees.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/nepal.html|title=Nepal|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004125601/https://www.unhcr.org/nepal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In modern times, Tibetans and Bhutanese have constituted a majority of refugees in Nepal. Tibetan refugees began arriving in 1959,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/a-state-within-a-state-tibetans-in-nepal/|title=A State Within a State: Tibetans in Nepal|website=The Diplomat|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131554/https://thediplomat.com/2016/07/a-state-within-a-state-tibetans-in-nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref> and many more cross into Nepal every year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-tibet-nepal-20150806-story.html|title=Tibet's Road Ahead: Tibetans lose a haven in Nepal under Chinese pressure|date=6 August 2015|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=23 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023225427/https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-tibet-nepal-20150806-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bhutanese [[Lhotshampa|Lhotsampa]] refugees began arriving in the 1980s and numbered more than 110,000 by the 2000s. Most of them have been resettled in third countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRIN,,BTN,491946b81e,0.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008021239/https://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,IRIN,,BTN,491946b81e,0.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 October 2012|title=UNHCR {{!}} Refworld {{!}} Nepal: Bhutanese refugees find new life beyond the camps|date=8 October 2012|access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref> In late 2018, Nepal had a total of 20,800 confirmed refugees, 64% of them Tibetan and 31% Bhutanese.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://reporting.unhcr.org/node/10316#_ga=2.192568106.1679015461.1575456467-1408828592.1575456467|title=Nepal {{!}} Global Focus|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees |access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref> Economic immigrants, and refugees fleeing persecution or war, from neighbouring countries, Africa and the Middle East, termed "urban refugees" because they live in apartments in the cities instead of refugee camps,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/700-illegals-set-for-3rd-country-resettlement/|title=700 illegals set for 3rd-country resettlement|date=6 March 2019|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131554/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/700-illegals-set-for-3rd-country-resettlement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/bleak-outlook-nepal-urban-refugees-151123110438884.html|title=Bleak outlook for Nepal's urban refugees|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131548/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/bleak-outlook-nepal-urban-refugees-151123110438884.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/state-of-statelessness-for-refugees-in-nepal|title=State of statelessness {{!}} Nepali Times|last=Hansen|first=Jan Møller|website=Nepali Times |access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref> lack official recognition; the government facilitates their resettlement in third countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/06/21/nepals-governments-have-been-quietly-facilitating-urban-refugee-resettlement-for-years|title=Nepal's government has been quietly facilitating urban refugee resettlement for years|website=Kathmandu Post|language=en|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131638/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/06/21/nepals-governments-have-been-quietly-facilitating-urban-refugee-resettlement-for-years|url-status=live}}</ref>

Around 2,000 immigrants, half of them Chinese, applied for a work permit in 2018/19. The government lacks data on Indian immigrants as they do not require permits to live and work in Nepal;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2019/10/803843|title=नेपालमा अमेरिकादेखि उत्तरकोरियासम्मका कामदार|website=Online Khabar|language=en-US|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131546/https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2019/10/803843|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Government of India]] puts the number of [[Non-Resident Indians]] in the country at 600,000.<ref name="mea.gov.in">{{cite web |url = https://mea.gov.in/images/attach/NRIs-and-PIOs_1.pdf |title = Population of Overseas Indians |publisher = [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)]] |date = 31 December 2018 |access-date = 4 December 2019 |archive-date = 20 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200720104038/http://mea.gov.in/images/attach/NRIs-and-PIOs_1.pdf |url-status = live }}</ref>

== Culture ==
{{Main|Culture of Nepal}}
[[File:Gadhimai.jpg|alt=|thumb|Gadhimai festival]]

===Society===
Traditional Nepali society is sometimes defined by social hierarchy. The [[Caste system in Nepal|Nepali caste system]] embodies much of the social stratification and many of the social restrictions found in South Asia. Social classes are defined by more than a hundred [[endogamous]] hereditary groups, often termed as ''[[jāti]]s'', or "castes". Nepal declared [[untouchability]] to be illegal in 1963<ref>{{cite book |last=Bista|first=Dor Bahadur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JzFROpFVYRAC|title=Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization|date=1991|publisher=[[Orient Blackswan]]|isbn=978-81-250-0188-1|language=en|page=44}}</ref> and has since enacted other anti-discriminatory laws and social welfare initiatives. 

Family values are important in the Nepali tradition, and multi-generational patriarchal joint families have been the norm in Nepal, though nuclear families are becoming common in urban areas. An overwhelming majority of Nepalis, with or without their consent, have [[Arranged marriage in the Indian subcontinent|their marriages arranged]] by their parents or other family elders. Marriage is thought to be for life, and the divorce rate is extremely low, with less than one in a thousand marriages ending in divorce.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Bala Ram|last=Acharya|year=2005|title=Sociological Analysis of Divorce: A Case Study from Pokhara, Nepal|url=https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/DSAJ/article/view/284|journal=[[Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology]]|language=en|volume=1|pages=129–145|doi=10.3126/dsaj.v1i0.284|issn=1994-2672|doi-access=free|access-date=31 March 2020|archive-date=13 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813212247/https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/DSAJ/article/view/284|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Child marriage]]s are common, especially in rural areas; many women wed before reaching 18.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nepal.unfpa.org/en/node/15217|title=Child Marriage|date=30 December 2015|website=[[UNFPA]] Nepal|language=en|access-date=31 March 2020|archive-date=30 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830024316/https://nepal.unfpa.org/en/node/15217|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Teej.jpg|thumb|Women celebrating Haritalika [[Teej]] in Nepal]]
Many [[Public holidays in Nepal|Nepali festivals]] are religious in origin. The best known include: [[Gadhimai festival]], [[Dashain]], [[Tihar (festival)|Tihar]], [[Teej]], [[Chhath]], [[Maghi]], [[Sakela]], [[Holi]], and the [[Vaisakhi|Nepali new year]].

The Gadhimai festival is a Hindu religious event held every five years at the [[Gadhimai Temple]] in Nepal. It has been described as the world's bloodiest festival due to the large-scale slaughter of animals and birds, including buffaloes, goats, sheep, chickens, ducks, pigeons, pigs, rats, and white mice. This mass sacrifice is performed with the goal of appeasing the goddess Gadhimai.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 December 2019|title=World's 'largest animal sacrifice' begins in defiance of ban|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/gadhimai-hindu-festival-largest-animal-sacrifice-nepal-india-buffalo-a9230786.html|access-date=15 March 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bariyarpur|first=AFP in|date=3 December 2019|title=World's 'largest animal sacrifice' starts in Nepal after ban ignored|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/02/worlds-largest-ritual-animal-slaughter-goes-ahead-despite-ban|access-date=15 March 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=Bhadra |date=6 December 2019 |title=Nepal's Animal-Sacrifice Festival Slays On. But Activists Are Having an Effect. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/world/asia/nepal-animal-sacrifice-gadhimai.html |access-date=24 July 2021 |website=The New York Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Critics have condemned the ritual as barbaric, unsanitary, and wasteful. In contrast, Hindu devotees insist that the practice holds deep significance.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/03/world/gallery/gadhimai-festival-intl-hnk-scli/index.html|title=Mass animal sacrifice begins despite outcry from activists|date=4 December 2019 |publisher=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50644035|title=Gadhimai: Nepal's animal sacrifice festival goes ahead despite 'ban'|date=3 December 2019 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Power |first=Gabriel |title=What is Gadhimai festival and why is it so controversial? |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/the-week-unwrapped/104702/what-is-the-gadhimai-festival-and-why-is-it-so-controversial |access-date=24 July 2021 |website=The Week UK |date=4 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Dashain is a major Hindu religious festival in Nepal. Driven by the belief that offerings of fresh blood will appease the goddess Durga, thousands of buffaloes, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, and ducks are slaughtered during the celebration.  The Nepali government has attempted to ban the filming of these animal sacrifices. An animal welfare group that witnessed the festival reported facing significant hostility: "Our equipment and cameras have been ripped from our hands and smashed into pieces." The group also noted severe public sanitation issues, stating they observed festival attendees defecating in public and had to walk among human feces. In another incident, Nepali individuals carrying machetes chased animal welfare activists down the street.<ref>{{cite web |last=Criveller |first=Gianni |url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Buddhists-and-animal-rights-activists-against-animal-slaughter-for-Durga-32254.html |title=NEPAL Buddhists and animal rights activists against animal slaughter for Durga - Asia News |publisher=Asianews.it |access-date=11 November 2015 |archive-date=16 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116020839/http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Buddhists-and-animal-rights-activists-against-animal-slaughter-for-Durga-32254.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Bibek Bhandari |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1625292/animal-rights-activists-want-nepals-sacrifice-festival-stopped |title=Animal rights activists want Nepal's sacrifice festival stopped &#124; South China Morning Post |date=27 October 2014 |publisher=Scmp.com |access-date=11 November 2015 |archive-date=16 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116020838/http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1625292/animal-rights-activists-want-nepals-sacrifice-festival-stopped |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.myrepublica.com/news/27990/|title=NFC starts selling goats for Dashain|work=My Republica|access-date=24 September 2017|language=en|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923194240/http://www.myrepublica.com/news/27990/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Witch-hunts in Nepal|Witch-hunts]] continue to occur in Nepal even in the twenty-first century.<ref name=af>{{cite web|url=https://asiafoundation.org/2012/08/08/legislating-against-witchcraft-accusations-in-nepal/|title=Legislating Against Witchcraft Accusations in Nepal|last1 =Fernandez|first1=Diana|last2=Thapa|first2=Kirti|date=8 August 2012|publisher=[[The Asia Foundation]]|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref> The victims are typically vulnerable individuals, especially people of [[Caste system in Nepal|lower castes]]. Politicians, army officers, police officers and other community members have also been implicated in various incidents.<ref name=wn>{{cite web|url=https://www.womenepal.org/womens-and-childrens-issues/witch-hunting/|title=Witch hunting|publisher=The Women's Foundation Nepal|year=2019|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=la/><ref name=tkp/><ref>{{cite conference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Do1Kl2OyQdgC&pg=PA280|book-title=Proceedings of the Second International Conference of the South Asian Society of Criminology and Victimology (SASCV)|editor1-first=K.|editor1-last=Jaishankar|editor2-first=N.|editor2-last=Ronel|date=2013|publisher=SASCV & Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University|pages=280–283|title=Demonological theory of crime: A study of witch accusation in Nepal|first=Binita|last=Pandey|isbn=9788190668750|location=[[Tirunelveli]], [[India]]|via=Google Books|access-date= 10 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-11-19/woman-73-beaten-fed-feces-on-witchcraft-charges-in-dhading.html | title=Woman, 73, tortured over witchcraft allegation }}</ref> Execution may be carried out by [[Death by burning|burning alive]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/18/world/asia/nepal-witchcraft-burning/index.html|title=Nepalese woman accused of witchcraft and burned alive|first=Manesh|last=Shrestha|newspaper=[[CNN]]|date=18 February 2012|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>  Many victims ultimately succumb to the injuries sustained from torture and assault. Non-murderous witch-hunts commonly involve severe beatings and the forced feeding of excrement.<ref name=la>{{cite news|url=https://international.la-croix.com/news/nepalese-teen-accused-of-witchcraft-tortured-for-5-hours/7209#|url-access=limited|title=Nepalese teen accused of witchcraft tortured for 5 hours|newspaper=[[La Croix International]]|last=Shahi|first=Pragati|date=22 March 2018|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref><ref name=tkp>{{cite news|url=https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2018-03-28/which-is-witch.html|title=Which is witch|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|date= 28 March 2018|last=Rana|first=Purna Kumar|access-date=7 July 2019}}</ref>

===Symbols===
{{main article|National symbols of Nepal}}
{{Infobox place symbols
| title           = [[National symbols of Nepal|National symbols]]
| region_type     = National
| country         = Nepal
| image_flag      = Flag of Nepal.svg
| image_flag_size = 100px
| emblem          = [[Emblem of Nepal]]
| language        = [[Languages of Nepal|All mother-tongues of Nepal]]
| anthem          = [[Sayaun Thunga Phulka]]
| song            =
| currency        = [[Nepalese rupee]] (रू) (NPR)
| calendar        =
| dance           =
| instrument      =
| mammal          = [[Cow]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Cow-becomes-national-animal-of-Nepal/articleshow/49049371.cms|title=Cow becomes national animal of Nepal|date=21 September 2015|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|agency=[[Press Trust of India|PTI]]|language=en|access-date=3 April 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108121730/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/Cow-becomes-national-animal-of-Nepal/articleshow/49049371.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>
| bird            = [[Himalayan monal]]
| flower          = [[Rhododendron arboreum]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/rhododendron-facing-existential-crisis-ilam-highlands/|title=Rhododendron facing existential crisis in Ilam highlands|date=18 March 2017|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|language=en-US|access-date=26 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190826120952/https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/rhododendron-facing-existential-crisis-ilam-highlands/|archive-date=26 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
| river           =
| sport           = [[Volleyball]]<ref name=voll/>
| costume         =
| colour          = {{colour box|crimson}} [[Crimson]]
}}
The emblem of Nepal depicts the snowy Himalayas, the forested hills, and the fertile Terai, supported by a wreath of rhododendrons, with the national flag at the crest and in the foreground, a plain white map of Nepal below it, and a man's and woman's right hands joined to signify gender equality. At the bottom is the national motto, a Sanskrit quote of patriotism attributed in Nepali folklore to Lord [[Rama]], written in Devanagari script—"''Mother and motherland are greater than heaven''".{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

[[Flag of Nepal|Nepal's flag]] is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular in shape.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_np.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410060127/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/flagtemplate_np.html |archive-date=10 April 2011 |title=Flag Description}}</ref> The constitution contains instructions for a [[Geometric Construction]] of the double-pennant flag.<ref>compare [https://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/np01000_.html this copy of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160501104849/https://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/np01000_.html |date=1 May 2016 }}</ref> According to its official description, the crimson in the flag stands for victory in war or courage, and is also the colour of the [[rhododendron]]. The flag's blue border signifies Nepali people's desire for peace. The moon on the flag is a symbol of the peaceful and calm nature of Nepalis, while the sun represents the aggressiveness of Nepali warriors.

The president is the symbol of national unity. The [[Martyrs of Nepal|martyrs]] are the symbols of patriotism. Commanders of the Anglo-Nepalese war, [[Amar Singh Thapa]], [[Bhakti Thapa]], and Balbhadra Kunwar are considered war heroes. A special designation of "National hero" has been conferred to 16 people from Nepal's history for their exceptional contributions to the prestige of Nepal. Prithvi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal, is held in high regard and considered "Father of the Nation" by many.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/nepali/news-42652772|title=११ वर्षपछि राष्ट्रिय एकता दिवस|date=11 January 2018|language=en-GB|access-date=4 December 2019|archive-date=12 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212221914/https://www.bbc.com/nepali/news-42652772|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Hutt1991/>

===Art and architecture===
{{main|Architecture of Nepal}}
{{multiple image
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| footer            = Clockwise from top-left: (a) [[Nyatapola]], a five storied [[pagoda]] in Bhaktapur, bejewelled with characteristic stone, metal and wood craftsmanship, has survived at least four major earthquakes.<ref name="unesco">{{cite web |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001461/146117e.pdf |title=Science, Research and Technology in Nepal |year=2006 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |pages=3–6 |author1=Dayananda Bajracharya |author1-link=Dayananda Bajracharya |author2=Dinesh Raj Bhuju |author3=Jiba Raj Pokhrel |access-date=18 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210819/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001461/146117e.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Pagodas, now an indispensable part of East Asian architecture, are conjectured to have been transmitted to China from Nepal. (b) Nepali stonecraft in a royal water spout. (c) A traditional Newar "Ankhijhyal" window in the form of a peacock.
}}

The oldest known examples of architecture in Nepal are [[stupa]]s of early Buddhist constructions in and around [[Kapilvastu District|Kapilvastu]] in south-western Nepal, and those constructed by [[Ashoka]] in the [[Kathmandu Valley]] {{circa|250}} BC. The characteristic architecture associated exclusively with Nepal was developed and refined by Newa artisans of the Kathmandu Valley starting no later than the Lichchhavi period. A [[Tang dynasty]] Chinese travel book, probably based on records from {{Circa|650 AD}}, describes contemporary Nepali architecture, predominantly built with wood, as rich in artistry, as well as wood and metal sculpture. It describes a magnificent seven-storied pagoda in the middle of a palace, with copper-tiled roofs, its balustrade, grills, columns and beams set about with fine and precious stones, and four golden sculptures of [[Makara]]s in the four corners of the base spouting water from their mouths like a fountain, supplied by copper pipes connected to the runnels at the top of the tower. Later Chinese chronicles describe Nepal's king's palace as an immense structure with many roofs, suggesting that the Chinese were not yet familiar with the pagoda architecture, which has now become one of the chief characteristics of [[Chinese architecture]].

A typical pagoda temple is built with wood, every piece of it finely carved with geometrical patterns or images of gods, goddesses, mythical beings and beasts. The roofs usually tiled with clay, and sometimes gold plated, diminish in proportion successively until the topmost roof is reached which is itself ensigned by a golden finial. The base is usually composed of rectangular terraces of finely carved stone; the entrance is usually guarded by stone sculptures of conventional figures. Bronze and copper craftsmanship observable in the sculpture of deities and beasts, decorations of doors and windows and the finials of buildings, as well as items of everyday use is found to be of equal splendour. The most well-developed of Nepali painting traditions is the [[thanka]] or [[paubha]] painting tradition of [[Tibetan Buddhism]], practised in Nepal by the Buddhist monks and Newar artisans. [[Changu Narayan Temple]], built {{circa}} 4th century AD has probably the finest of Nepali woodcraft; the Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Squares are the culmination of Nepali art and architecture, showcasing Nepali wood, metal and stone craftsmanship refined over two millennia.<ref name="landon2">{{Cite book|last=Landon Perceval|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.81837|title=Nepal Vol II|date=1928}}</ref>

The [[Newar window|"ankhijhyal" window]], that allow a one-way view of the outside world, is an example of unique Nepali woodcraft, found in building structures, domestic and public alike, ancient and modern. Many cultures paint the walls of their homes with regular patterns, figures of gods and beasts and religious symbols; others paint their walls plain, often with clay or [[chernozem]] contrasted with yellow soil or limestone. The roofs of religious as well as domestic structures project considerably, presumably to provide protection from the sun and the rain. The timber of domestic structures are finely carved as with their religious counterparts.<ref name=landon2/>

=== Looting of the cultural heritage of Nepal ===
Cultural looting is a crisis in Nepal despite efforts to combat it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bouledroua |first=Daoud |title=Cultural looting still a persistent crisis in South-East Asia |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/cultural-looting-still-persistent-crisis-south-east-asia |website=unesco.org |access-date=8 November 2023 |archive-date=12 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212063827/https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/cultural-looting-still-persistent-crisis-south-east-asia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Emiline |date=2022 |title=The Ongoing Quest to Return Nepal's Looted Cultural Heritage |url=https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/290898/1/290898.pdf |journal=Georgetown Journal of International Affairs |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=264–271 |doi=10.1353/gia.2022.0039 |s2cid=253371754 |issn=2471-8831 |access-date=25 December 2023 |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020042918/https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/290898/1/290898.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhakal |first=Ashish |date=8 January 2022 |title=Who looted Nepal's gods? |url=https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-looted-nepals-gods |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=nepalitimes.com |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062908/https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-looted-nepals-gods |url-status=live }}</ref> Volunteers working for the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign have helped recover artifacts.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Small |first=Zachary |date=29 October 2021 |title=Citizen Activists Lead the Hunt for Antiquities Looted From Nepal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/arts/nepal-looted-antiquities-citizens.html |access-date=8 November 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062908/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/29/arts/nepal-looted-antiquities-citizens.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022 [[Barakat Gallery]]'s London branch relinquished 16th-century carved wooden Torana, a ceremonial gateway, and the 17th-century stone statue of a kneeling devotee, both taken from sacred sites near Kathmandu.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Solomon |first=Tessa |date=21 March 2022 |title=London Gallery Returns Two Artifacts Looted from Nepalese Temples |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/london-gallery-returns-two-nepal-artifacts-1234622423/ |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062908/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/london-gallery-returns-two-nepal-artifacts-1234622423/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023 Nepalese artifacts suspected of having been looted were found in the [[Art Institute of Chicago]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cherney |first=Elyssa |title=She was the queen of Chicago's arts community. But her collection now means trouble for the Art Institute. |url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/arts-entertainment/art-institute-chicago-nepal-looted-art-concerns |website=chicagobusiness.com |date=20 March 2023 |access-date=8 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107192117/https://www.chicagobusiness.com/arts-entertainment/art-institute-chicago-nepal-looted-art-concerns |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2023 |title=More than 1000 artifacts in Metropolitan Museum of Art catalog linked to alleged looting and trafficking figures – ICIJ |url=https://www.icij.org/investigations/hidden-treasures/more-than-1000-artifacts-in-metropolitan-museum-of-art-catalog-linked-to-alleged-looting-and-trafficking-figures/ |access-date=8 November 2023 |language=en-US |archive-date=3 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103153127/https://www.icij.org/investigations/hidden-treasures/more-than-1000-artifacts-in-metropolitan-museum-of-art-catalog-linked-to-alleged-looting-and-trafficking-figures/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Choi |first=Christy |date=25 October 2023 |title=How an 11th-century monastery reclaimed artifacts from the US — and discovered a hoard of treasures in the process |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/nepal-itumbaha-monastery-treasures-repatriation-rubin-museum/index.html |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062907/https://www.cnn.com/style/nepal-itumbaha-monastery-treasures-repatriation-rubin-museum/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Dallas Museum of Art]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liscia |first=Valentina Di |date=9 March 2021 |title=How a Tweet Led to the FBI's Return of a Looted Nepalese Sculpture |url=http://hyperallergic.com/627854/return-of-looted-nepal-statue-dallas-museum/ |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US |archive-date=28 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128130931/https://hyperallergic.com/627854/return-of-looted-nepal-statue-dallas-museum/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Rubin Museum of Art|Rubin Museum]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dafoe |first=Taylor |date=2 August 2023 |title=Activists Call the Rubin Museum's Funding of a Nepalese Institution a Bid to 'Divert Attention' From Stolen Artifacts in Its Own Collection |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/activists-protest-rubin-funded-itumbaha-museum-2344913 |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=Artnet News |language=en-US |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062907/https://news.artnet.com/art-world/activists-protest-rubin-funded-itumbaha-museum-2344913 |url-status=live }}</ref> and other museums, and turned up in auctions at [[Christie's]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2023 |title=Upcoming Christie's Sale Includes a Nepalese Sculpture Tied to Antiquity Looters |url=https://observer.com/2023/03/upcoming-christies-sale-includes-a-nepalese-sculpture-tied-to-antiquity-looters/ |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=Observer |language=en-US |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108062908/https://observer.com/2023/03/upcoming-christies-sale-includes-a-nepalese-sculpture-tied-to-antiquity-looters/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bonhams]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chaves |first=Alexandra |date=6 June 2021 |title=Nepalese figures withdrawn from Bonhams auction after identified as looted art |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art/nepalese-figures-withdrawn-from-bonhams-auction-after-identified-as-looted-art-1.1235491 |access-date=8 November 2023 |website=The National |language=en}}</ref> and other auction houses.

===Literature and the performing arts===
{{main|Nepalese literature|Music of Nepal|Cinema of Nepal}}
[[File:Bhanu Bhakta Acharya (1814-1869) author.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bhanubhakta Acharya]], Nepali writer who translated the ancient Hindu epic ''[[Ramayana]]'' in the [[Nepali language]]]]
Nepal's literature was closely intertwined with that of the rest of South Asia until its unification into a modern kingdom. Literary works, which were written in Sanskrit by [[Brahmin]] priests educated and sometimes also based in [[Varanasi]], included religious texts and legends involving kings, gods and demons.<ref name=bba/> The oldest extant Nepali language text is dated to the 13th century but except for the epigraphic material, Nepali language literature older than the 17th century have not been found. [[Newar literature]] dates back almost 500 years.<ref name=Hutt1991/> 

The modern history of [[Nepali literature]] begins with Bhanubhakta Acharya (1814–1868), who for the first time composed major and influential works in Nepali, the language accessible to the masses, most prominently, the [[Bhanubhakta Ramayana]], a translation of the ancient Hindu epic.<ref name=bba>{{Cite journal|last=Maitra|first=Kiran Shankar|year=1982|title=The First Poet of Nepali Literature|journal=Indian Literature|volume=25|issue=5|pages=63–71|issn=0019-5804|jstor=23331113}}</ref> By the end of the nineteenth century, [[Motiram Bhatta]] had published print editions of the works of Acharya, and through his efforts, single-handedly popularised and propelled Nepali language literature into modernity.<ref name=Hutt1991/> By the mid-twentieth century, Nepali literature was no longer limited to the Hindu literary traditions. Influenced by western literary traditions, writers in this period started producing literary works addressing the contemporary social problems,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=V.|year=1992|journal=Journal of South Asian Literature|volume=27|issue=2|pages=209–218|issn=0091-5637|jstor=40874126|title=B. P. Koirala: A Major Figure in Modern Nepali Literature}}</ref> while many others continued to enrich Nepali poetic traditions with authentic Nepali poetry. Newar literature also emerged as a premier literary tradition. After the advent of democracy in 1951, Nepali literature flourished. Literary works in many other languages began to be produced. Nepali literature continued to modernise, and in recent years, has been strongly influenced by the post civil-war Nepali experience as well as global literary traditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Nepali-literature|title=Nepali literature|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|language=en|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.therisingnepal.org.np/index/news/34119|title=Conflict-period Nepali literature holds importance for awareness|website=The Rising Nepal|access-date=11 December 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211155930/http://www.therisingnepal.org.np/index/news/34119|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Riccardi|first=Theodore|year=1993|title=Review of Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London|volume=56|issue=1|pages=157–158|issn=0041-977X|jstor=620321|doi=10.1017/S0041977X00002007|s2cid=162890099}}</ref><ref name=Hutt1991>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6IwDwAAQBAJ|title=Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature|last=Hutt|first=Michael J.|date=29 July 1991|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-07048-6|language=en}}</ref>

[[Maruni]], [[Lakhey]], [[Sakela]], [[Kauda]] and [[Tamang Selo]] are some examples of the traditional Nepali music and dance in the hilly regions of Nepal.

Nepali film industry is known as "Kollywood".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2016/05/28/changing-winds-in-kollywood|title=Changing winds in Kollywood|website=Kathmandu Post |language=en|access-date=4 December 2019}}</ref>

[[Nepal Academy]] is the foremost institution for the promotion of arts and culture in Nepal, established in 1957.<ref name=Hutt1991/>

===Clothing===
[[File:Bhoto jatra.jpg|thumb|right|A Nepali man in Daura-Suruwal, coat and Dhaka topi, displays the bhoto during the [[Bhoto Jatra]] festival.]]
The most widely worn traditional dress in Nepal, for both women and men, from ancient times until the advent of modern times, was draped.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26">{{cite book |last=Tarlo|first=Emma|title=Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByoTXhXCuyAC&pg=PA26|year=1996|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago and London|isbn=978-0-226-78976-7|page=26}}</ref> For women, it eventually took the form of a [[sari]], a single long piece of cloth, famously six yards long, and of width spanning the lower body.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26"/> The sari is tied around the waist and knotted at one end, wrapped around the lower body, and then over the shoulder.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26"/> In its more modern form, it has been used to cover the head, and sometimes the face, as a veil,<ref name="Tarlo1996-26"/> particularly in the Terai. It has been combined with an underskirt, or the [[Petticoat#Asian petticoats|petticoat]], and tucked in the waistband for more secure fastening. It is worn with a [[blouse]], or [[choli|cholo]], which serves as the primary upper-body garment, the sari's end, passing over the shoulder, now serving to obscure the upper body's contours, and to cover the midriff.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26"/> Cholo-sari has become the attire of choice for formal occasions, official environs and festive gatherings. In its more traditional form, as part of traditional dresses and as worn in daily life while performing household chores or labour, it takes the form of a {{transliteration|ne|fariya}} or {{transliteration|ne|gunyu}}, usually shorter than a sari in length as well as breadth, and all of it wrapped around the lower body.

For men, a similar but shorter length of cloth, the [[dhoti]], has served as a lower-body garment.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26-28">{{cite book |last=Tarlo|first=Emma|title=Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ByoTXhXCuyAC&pg=PA26|year=1996|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|location=Chicago and London|isbn=978-0-226-78976-7|pages=26–28}}</ref> It too is tied around the waist and wrapped.<ref name="Tarlo1996-26-28"/> Among the Aryans, it is also wrapped once around each leg before being brought up through the legs to be tucked in at the back. Dhoti or its variants, usually worn over a [[kaupinam|langauti]], constitute the lower-body garment in the traditional clothing of Tharus, Gurungs and Magars as well as the [[Madheshi people]], among others. Other forms of traditional apparel that involve no stitching or tailoring are [[patuka]]s (a length of cloth wrapped tightly over the waist by both sexes as a waistband, a part of most traditional Nepali costumes, usually with a khukuri tucked into it when worn by men), scarves like {{transliteration|ne|pachhyauras}} and {{transliteration|ne|majetros}} and shawls like the newar ''ga'' and Tibetan [[khata]], ghumtos (the wedding veils) and various kinds of [[turban]]s (scarves worn around the head as a part of a tradition, or to keep off the sun or the cold,<ref name="Tarlo1996-26-28"/> called a [[pheta]], pagri or sirpau).

Until the beginning of the first millennium AD, the ordinary dress of people in South Asia was entirely unstitched.<ref name="Rahman-Alkazi2002">{{cite book |last=Alkazi |first=Roshen |editor=Rahman, Abdur |title=India's Interaction with China, Central and West Asia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZvpAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-565789-0 |pages=464–484 |chapter=Evolution of Indian Costume as a result of the links between Central Asia and India in ancient and medieval times}}</ref> The arrival of the Kushans from [[Central Asia]], {{circa|48}} AD, popularised cut and sewn garments in the style of Central Asia.<ref name="Rahman-Alkazi2002"/> The simplest form of sewn clothing, Bhoto (a rudimentary vest), is a universal unisex clothing for children, and traditionally the only clothing children wear until they come of age and are given adult garb, sometimes in a ceremonial rite of passage, such as the gunyu-choli ceremony for Hindu girls. Men continue to wear bhoto through adulthood. Upper body garment for men is usually a vest such as the ''bhoto'', or a shirt similar to the ''[[kurta]]'', such as ''daura'', a closed-necked double-breasted long shirt with five pleats and eight strings that serve to tie it around the body. ''Suruwal'', simply translated as a pair of trousers, is an alternative to and, more recently, replacement for ''dhoti'', {{transliteration|ne|kachhad}} (Magars) or {{transliteration|ne|lungi}} (Tharus); it is traditionally much wider above the knees but tapers below, to fit tightly at the ankles, and is tied to the waist with a drawstring. Modern cholos worn with sarees are usually half-sleeved and single-breasted, and do not cover the midriff. The traditional one called the chaubandi cholo, like the daura, is full-sleeved, double-breasted with pleats and strings, and extends down to the patuka, covering the midriff.

[[Daura-Suruwal]] and Gunyu-Cholo were the national dresses for men and women respectively until 2011 when they were removed to eliminate favouritism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://narimag.com.np/news/2019-05-21/20190521125417.html |script-title=ne:गुन्यू–चोलो तथा फरिया जोगाउने अभियान|website=narimag.com.np|language=ne|access-date=10 December 2019}}</ref> Traditional dresses of many pahari ethnic groups are Daura-Suruwal or similar, with patuka, a dhaka topi and a coat for men, and Gunyu-cholo or similar, with patuka and sometimes a scarf for women. For many other groups, men's traditional dresses consist of a shirt or a vest, paired with a ''dhoti'', {{transliteration|ne|kachhad}} or {{transliteration|ne|lungi}}. In the high Himalayas, the traditional dresses are largely influenced by [[Tibetan culture]]. Sherpa women wear the [[chuba]] with the [[pangi (apron)|pangi]] apron, while Sherpa men wear shirts with stiff high collar and long sleeves called tetung under the chuba. Tibetan Xamo Gyaise hats of the Sherpas, [[dhaka topi]] of pahari men and tamang round caps are among the more distinctive headwears.

Married Hindu women wear {{transliteration|ne|tika}}, {{transliteration|ne|sindur}}, {{transliteration|ne|pote}} and red bangles. Jewellery of gold and silver, and sometimes precious stones, are common. Gold jewellery includes {{transliteration|ne|mangalsutras}} and {{transliteration|ne|tilaharis}} worn with the {{transliteration|ne|pote}} by the Hindus, {{transliteration|ne|samyafung}} (a huge gold flower worn on the head) and Nessey (huge flattened gold earrings) worn by the Limbus, and {{transliteration|ne|sirphuli}}, {{transliteration|ne|sirbandhi}} and {{transliteration|ne|chandra}} worn by the Magars. Tharu women can wear as much as six kilograms of silver in jewellery, which includes {{transliteration|ne|mangiya}} worn on the head, {{transliteration|ne|tikuli}} the forehead, and {{transliteration|ne|kanseri}} and {{transliteration|ne|tikahamala}} around the neck.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/entertainment/last-of-tharu-jewellry/|title=Last of Tharu jewellry?|date=11 August 2006|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US|access-date=10 December 2019}}</ref>

In the last 50 years, fashions have changed a great deal in Nepal. Increasingly, in urban settings, the sari is no longer the apparel of everyday wear, transformed instead into one for formal occasions. The traditional kurta suruwal is rarely worn by younger women, who increasingly favour [[jeans]]. The ''dhoti'' has largely been reduced to the [[liturgical]] [[vestment]] of shamans and Hindu priests.

=== Cuisine ===
{{Main|Nepalese cuisine}}
[[File:Nepali dal-bhat-tarkari.jpg|thumb|right|A dal-bhat thali with boiled rice, lentil soup, fried leafy greens, vegetable curry, yoghurt, papad and vegetable salad]]
Nepali cuisine consists of a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines. With diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially, using locally available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruit.<ref name=tkpcrop>{{cite web|url=https://kathmandupost.com/opinion/2018/08/12/defining-our-food-culture|title=Defining our food culture|website=Kathmandu Post |language=en|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref> The [[Columbian exchange]] brought potatoes, tomatoes, maize, peanuts, cashew nuts, pineapples, guavas, and most notably, [[chilli peppers]], to South Asia; all became staples.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.hindu.com/seta/2008/10/16/stories/2008101650731500.htm |work=[[The Hindu]] |title=Potato: historically important vegetable |date=16 October 2008 |author=D Balasubramanian | location=Chennai, India |access-date=26 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712125030/https://www.hindu.com/seta/2008/10/16/stories/2008101650731500.htm |archive-date=12 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Cereal]]s grown in Nepal, their times and regions of planting, correspond strongly to the timing of monsoons<ref name=sen-colleen-p13>{{cite book |last=Sen|first=Colleen Taylor|title=Feasts and Fasts: A History of Food in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VN_vCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA164|year=2014|publisher=[[Reaktion Books]]|isbn=978-1-78023-391-8|pages=164–165}}</ref> and variations in altitude. Rice and wheat are mostly cultivated in the terai plains and well-irrigated valleys; maize, millet, barley and buckwheat mostly in the less fertile and drier hills.<ref name=tkpcrop/><ref name=pathak>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiOiK89C5jcC|title=Taste of Nepal|last=Pathak|first=Jyoti|date=2007|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=978-0-7818-1121-7|language=en}}</ref>

A typical Nepali meal is a cereal cooked in plain fashion, complemented with flavourful, savoury dishes.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409">{{cite book |last=Davidson|first=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|page=409}}</ref> The latter include [[lentil]]s, [[pulses]] and vegetables, spiced commonly with [[ginger root|ginger]] and [[garlic]], and more discerningly with combinations of [[coriander]], [[cumin]], [[turmeric]], [[cinnamon]], [[cardamon]], [[jimbu]] and others.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409"/> This is typically on a platter, or [[thali]], with a central place for the cooked cereal and small bowls for the flavourful accompaniments. They are combined either by actual mixing—for example, rice and lentils—or in the folding of one—such as bread—around the other, such as cooked vegetables.<ref name="Davidson2014-p409"/> ''Dal-bhat'' centred around steamed rice is the most common example.<ref name=cnnfood/> as well as dairy and sometimes meat. Unleavened flat bread made from wheat flour called [[chapati]] occasionally replaces rice, particularly in the Terai, while [[Dhindo]], prepared by boiling corn, millet or buckwheat flour in water, continuously stirring and adding flour until thick, almost solid consistency is reached, is the main substitute in the hills and mountains. Tsampa, flour made from roasted barley or naked barley, is the main staple in the high himalayas. Throughout Nepal, fermented, then sun-dried, leafy greens called ''Gundruk'', are both a delicacy and a vital substitute for fresh vegetables in the winter.<ref name=pathak/>

[[File:Plateful of Momo in Nepal.jpg|thumb|Momo dumplings with chutney]]
A notable feature of Nepali food is the existence of a number of distinctive vegetarian cuisines, each a feature of the geographical and cultural histories of its adherents.<ref name="Davidson2014-p410">{{cite book |last=Davidson|first=Alan|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA410|year=2014|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|page=410}}</ref> The appearance of ''[[ahimsa]]'', or the avoidance of violence toward all forms of life in many religious orders early in South Asian history, especially [[Upanishads|Upanishadic Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]], is thought to have been a notable factor in the prevalence of vegetarianism among a segment of Nepal's Hindu and Buddhist populations, as well as among Jains.<ref name="Davidson2014-p410"/> Among these groups, strong discomfort is felt at thoughts of eating meat.<ref name="SahakianSaloma2016-50">{{cite book |last1=Sahakian|first1=Marlyne|last2=Saloma|first2=Czarina|last3=Erkman|first3=Suren|title=Food Consumption in the City: Practices and patterns in urban Asia and the Pacific|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBIxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT50|year=2016|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=978-1-317-31050-1|page=50}}</ref> Though per capita meat consumption is low in Nepal, the proportion of vegetarianism is not high as in India, due to the prevalence of [[Shaktism]], of which animal sacrifice is a prominent feature.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Majupuria|first=Indra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tPAsvQEACAAJ|title=Joys of Nepalese Cooking: A Most Comprehensive and Practical Book on Nepalese Cookery : 371 Easy-to-make, Kitchen-tested Recipes|date=1990|publisher=S. Devi|language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Samaybaji.JPG|thumb|right|Samayabaji (Newar cuisine)]]
Nepali cuisines possess their own distinctive qualities to distinguish these hybrid cuisines from both their northern and southern neighbours.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/could-nepali-cuisine-go-global/|title=Could Nepali cuisine go global?|last=Heaton|first=Thomas|date=3 August 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref><ref name=cnnfood>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/nepal-top-foods/index.html|title=Momos to Thali: What to eat in Kathmandu|last=marsh|first=jenni|date=16 December 2016|work=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref> Nepali cuisines, with generally tomato-based, leaner curries, are lighter than their cream-based Indian counterparts, and Nepali momo dumplings are heavily spiced compared to their northern counterparts.<ref name=cnnfood/> Newar cuisine, one of the richest and most influential in Nepal, is more elaborate and diverse than most, as Newar culture developed in the highly fertile and prosperous Kathmandu valley.<ref name=tkpcrop/> A typical Newar cuisine can comprise more than a dozen dishes of cereals, meat, vegetable curries, chutneys and pickles. [[Kwati (soup)|Kwanti]] (sprouted beans soup), chhwela (ground beef), [[Chatānmari|chatamari]] (rice flour crepe), bara (fried lentil cake), kachila (marinated raw minced beef), samaybaji (centred around flattened rice), {{transliteration|ne|lakhaamari}} and {{transliteration|ne|yomuri}} are among the more widely recognised.<ref name=cnnfood/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Oq8AgAAQBAJ|title=Curry Cookbook – Nepal Cuisine|last=Rai|first=Jay|date=2012 |publisher=Springwood emedia|isbn=978-1-4760-4069-1|language=en}}</ref> Juju dhau, a sweet yoghurt originating in Bhaktapur, is also famous.<ref name=cnnfood/> Thakali cuisine is another well-known food tradition which seamlessly melds the Tibetan and the Indian with variety in ingredients, especially the herbs and spices.<ref name=tkpcrop/> In the Terai, [[Bagiya]] is a rice flour dumpling with sweets inside, popular among the Tharu and Maithil people. Various communities in the Terai make {{transliteration|ne|sidhara}} (sun-dried small fish mixed with [[taro]] leaves) and biriya (lentil paste mixed with taro leaves) to stock for the monsoon floods.<ref name=tkpcrop/> {{transliteration|ne|Selroti}}, {{transliteration|ne|kasaar}}, {{transliteration|ne|fini}} and {{transliteration|ne|chaku}} are among the sweet delicacies. Rice pulau or sweet rice porridge called {{transliteration|ne|kheer}} are usually the main dish in feasts.<ref name=pathak/> Tea and buttermilk (fermented milk leftover from churning butter from yoghurt) are common non-alcoholic drinks. Almost all janajati communities have their own traditional methods of brewing alcohol. [[Raksi]] (traditional distilled alcohol), jaand (rice beer), tongba (millet beer) and chyaang are the most well-known.

=== Sports and recreation ===
{{Main|Sports in Nepal}}[[Traditional games of Nepal|Nepali indigenous sports]], like [[dandi biyo]] and [[kabaddi]] which were considered the unofficial national sports until recently,<ref name= voll>{{cite news |url=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/its-official-volleyball-is-the-national-sport-of-nepal.html|title=It's official: Volleyball is the national sport of Nepal|newspaper=[[Online Khabar]]|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722085509/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/its-official-volleyball-is-the-national-sport-of-nepal.html|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> are still popular in rural areas.<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play">{{cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/lifestyle/people/more-than-just-childs-play/|title=More than just child's play|date=25 February 2018|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|language=en-US|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721224138/https://thehimalayantimes.com/lifestyle/people/more-than-just-childs-play/|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite efforts, standardisation and development of dandi biyo has not been achieved,<ref name="Online Khabar national sport">{{cite news |url=https://english.onlinekhabar.com/nepals-national-sport-five-things-didnt-know-dandi-biyo.html|title=Nepal's' 'national sport' we never had: Five things you didn't know about dandi-biyo |newspaper=[[Online Khabar]]|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721224142/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/nepals-national-sport-five-things-didnt-know-dandi-biyo.html|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live|access-date=21 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/57793/|title=Dandi Biyo Championship in Dhading|last=Republica|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]|language=en|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721224139/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/57793/|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> while Kabaddi, as a professional sport, is still in its infancy in Nepal.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}} [[Bagh-chal]], an ancient [[board game]] that is thought to have originated in Nepal, can be played on chalk-drawn boards, with pebbles, and is still popular today.<ref>{{cite book |title=Games of No Chance |last1=Jin |first1=L.Y. |last2=Nievergelt |first2=J. |chapter=Tigers and Goats is a draw |editor2-first=Richard J |editor2-last=Nowakowski |editor1-first=Michael H |editor1-last=Albert |chapter-url=https://www.msri.org/people/staff/levy/files/Book56/22jin.pdf |publisher=[[MSRI Publications]] |volume=56 |year=2009 |pages=163–176 |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511807251.008 |isbn=9780511807251 |access-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721201337/https://www.msri.org/people/staff/levy/files/Book56/22jin.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://ejournals.ukm.my/apjitm/article/view/26093|title=Analyzing Thousand Years Old Game Tigers and Goats is Still Alive|first1=Hiroyuki|last1=Iida|first2=Sakshi|last2=Agarwal|date=1 October 2018|journal=[[Asia-Pacific Journal of Information Technology and Multimedia]]|volume=7|issue=2|via=[[UKM e-Journal System]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721201347/https://ejournals.ukm.my/apjitm/article/view/26093|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Ludo (board game)|Ludo]], [[snakes and ladders]] and [[carrom]] are popular pastimes.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2741570&language=en|title=KUNA : Carrom... Traditional game widely loved in Gulf region – Society – 16/08/2018|agency=[[Kuwait News Agency]]|access-date=21 July 2019}}</ref> [[Chess]] is also played.<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> [[Volleyball]] was declared as the national sport of Nepal in 2017.<ref name=voll/> Popular children's games include versions of [[Tag (game)|tag]],<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> [[knucklebones]],<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> [[hopscotch]], [[Duck, duck, goose#Rumaal Chor|Duck, duck, goose]]<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> and [[seven stones|lagori]], while [[marbles]],<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> [[Spinning top|top]], [[hoop rolling]] and [[gully cricket]] are also popular among boys. [[Rubber band]]s, or [[ranger band]]s cut from tubes in [[Bicycle|bike]] tyres, make a multi-purpose sporting equipment for Nepali children, which may be bunched or chained together, and used to play [[dodgeball]], [[cat's cradle]], [[jianzi]]<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> and a variety of [[skipping rope]] games.<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/>
[[File:Nepali_Fans.JPG|thumb|Nepali cricket fans are renowned for their exceptionally enthusiastic support of their national team.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/24222487/fans-frolic-frenzy-await-nepal-lord-visit|title=Fans, frolic, frenzy await Nepal's Lord's visit|date=29 July 2018|publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721184833/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/24222487/fans-frolic-frenzy-await-nepal-lord-visit|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/nepal/content/story/728911.html|title=Cricket-mad Nepal faces infrastructure challenges|date=18 March 2014|work=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721184823/https://www.espncricinfo.com/nepal/content/story/728911.html|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[Association football|Football]] and [[cricket]] are popular professional sports.<ref>{{cite web |title=Football at the heart of the Himalayas |url=https://www.fifa.com/theclub/news/newsid=93201/ |publisher=[[FIFA]] |date=5 March 2009 |access-date=17 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903141351/https://www.fifa.com/theclub/news/newsid=93201/ |archive-date=3 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nepal is competitive in football in the South Asia region but has never won the [[SAFF|SAFF championships]], but has had some success in [[South Asian Games]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.com/sports/2018/09/12/nepal-eye-historic-final|title=Saff Championship: Nepal eye historic final|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722102020/https://kathmandupost.com/sports/2018/09/12/nepal-eye-historic-final|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-crash-out-of-saff-cship-after-3-0-defeat-to-maldives/|title=Nepal crash out of SAFF C'ship after 3–0 defeat to Maldives|date=12 September 2018|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722102013/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-crash-out-of-saff-cship-after-3-0-defeat-to-maldives/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> It usually ranks in the bottom quarter in the [[FIFA World Rankings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men|title=The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking – Ranking Table |publisher=[[FIFA]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907060006/https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/|archive-date=7 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has had some success in cricket and holds [[List of countries with ODI status|ODI status]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/cricket/92328/nepal-cricket-odi-status?amp|title=Nepal make cricket history after securing ODI status|newspaper=[[The Week|The Week (UK)]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202049/https://www.theweek.co.uk/cricket/92328/nepal-cricket-odi-status?amp|archive-date=27 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22777050/biggest-day-nepal-cricket-history-khadka |title='Biggest day in Nepal cricket history' – Khadka |date=15 March 2018 |publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]] |access-date=16 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316024753/https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22777050/biggest-day-nepal-cricket-history-khadka |archive-date=16 March 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> consistently ranking in the Top 20 in the [[International Cricket Council|ICC]] [[ICC ODI Championship|ODI]] and [[ICC T20I Championship|T20I rankings]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/mens/team-rankings/odi|title=ICC Ranking for ODI teams International Cricket Council|publisher=[[International Cricket Council|ICC]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324175838/https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/mens/team-rankings/odi|archive-date=24 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/mens/team-rankings/t20i|title=ICC Ranking for T20 teams International Cricket Council|publisher=[[International Cricket Council|ICC]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324175834/https://www.icc-cricket.com/rankings/mens/team-rankings/t20i|archive-date=24 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has had some success in [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]] and [[martial arts]], having won many medals at the [[South Asian Games]] and some at the [[Asian Games]].<ref name=trn>{{Cite news |url=https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/33198|title=Current priorities of sports: Hosting SAG, winning medals|newspaper=[[The Rising Nepal]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722085510/https://therisingnepal.org.np/news/33198|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal has never won an [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] medal.<ref name=gauri/> Sports like [[basketball]], volleyball, [[futsal]], [[wrestling]], competitive bodybuilding<ref name=gauri/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/malik-overall-winner-afghanistan-bag-team-cship/|title=Malik overall winner, Afghanistan bag team c'ship|date=21 July 2019|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722085506/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/malik-overall-winner-afghanistan-bag-team-cship/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[badminton]] are also gaining in popularity.<ref name="Himalayan Times More than child's play"/> Women in football, cricket, athletics, martial arts, badminton and swimming have found some success.<ref name=award>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/cricket-football-dominate-nominations/|title=Cricket, football dominate nominations|date=26 June 2019|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722102011/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/cricket-football-dominate-nominations/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=gauri>{{Cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/67830/|title=Will she quench Nepal's thirst for Olympic medals?|first=Rajan|last=Shah|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722091043/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/67830/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepal also fields players and national teams in several tournaments for [[Disability|disabled]] individuals, most notably in men's<ref name=menb>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/blind-cricketers-horrible-journey-to-world-cup/|title=Blind cricketers' horrible journey to WC|date=22 January 2018|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721201344/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/blind-cricketers-horrible-journey-to-world-cup/|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as women's blind cricket.<ref name=wmenb>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-defeat-pakistan-seal-womens-blind-cricket-series/|title=Nepal defeat Pakistan, seal women's blind cricket series|date=4 February 2019|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=21 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721201351/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-defeat-pakistan-seal-womens-blind-cricket-series/|archive-date=21 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The only international stadium in the country is the multi-purpose [[Dasharath Rangasala|Dasarath Stadium]] where the [[Nepal national football team|men]] and [[Nepal women's national football team|women national football teams]] play their home matches.<ref name=dash>{{Cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/27598/|title=Renovation of Dasharath Stadium takes forever, hurts nation's football|first=Prabin Bikram|last=Katwal|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722085516/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/27598/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the formation of the [[Nepal national cricket team|national team]], Nepal has played its home matches of cricket at [[Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground]].<ref name="cricktarchv">{{cite web |title=Grounds in Nepal |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/93/grounds_for_country_93.html |publisher=[[Cricket Archive]] |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116202325/https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/93/grounds_for_country_93.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nepal police, Armed police force and Nepal army are the most prolific producers of national players, and aspiring players are known to join armed forces, for the better sporting opportunities they can provide.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/khawas-passes-second-lieutenant-test/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202013552/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/khawas-passes-second-lieutenant-test/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2024|title=Khawas passes second lieutenant test|first=Bipulendra|last=Adhikari|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-apf-club-athletes-gopi-chandra-parki-kanchhi-maya-koju-win-5000m-races-seventh-national-games/|title=APF athletes Parki, Koju win 5,000m races|date=26 December 2016|newspaper=[[The Himalayan Times]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722094941/https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/nepal-apf-club-athletes-gopi-chandra-parki-kanchhi-maya-koju-win-5000m-races-seventh-national-games/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Nepali sports is hindered by a lack of infrastructure,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.com/sports/2019/04/25/national-games-conclude-with-concerns-over-maintenance-and-upgradation-of-infrastructure|title=National Games conclude with concerns over maintenance and upgradation of infrastructure|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722102021/https://kathmandupost.com/sports/2019/04/25/national-games-conclude-with-concerns-over-maintenance-and-upgradation-of-infrastructure|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> funding,<ref name=menb/> corruption, nepotism and political interference.<ref name=trn/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/1003757.html|title=ICC suspends Cricket Association of Nepal|date=26 April 2016|publisher=[[ESPNcricinfo]]|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718083716/https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci-icc/content/story/1003757.html|archive-date=18 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/69986/|title=ICC's suspension of CAN continues|newspaper=[[Republica (newspaper)|Republica]]|access-date=29 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722100456/https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/69986/|archive-date=22 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Very few players are able to make a living as professional sportspeople.<ref name=dash/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://kathmandupost.com/30/2020/02/22/athletes-spend-the-best-years-of-their-lives-playing-sports-but-are-often-left-with-little-to-retire-on|title=Athletes spend the best years of their lives playing sports, but are often left with little to retire on|newspaper=[[The Kathmandu Post]]|language=en|access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Nepal|Asia
}}
* {{anl|Outline of Nepal}}

== Citations ==

===Notes===
{{notelist}}

=== References ===
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|33em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Balakrishnan|first=T. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kHDySAAACAAJ|title=Foreign Policy of India: Problems and Paradoxes|chapter=India's Foreign Policy for Nepal, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka|date=2010|publisher=Mohini Publishers & Distributors|isbn=978-81-909928-1-7|language=en|via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{Cite book |first=Perceval |last=Landon|author-link=Perceval Landon|url=https://archive.org/details/nepal01perc|title=Nepal, Vol. 1|date=1928|publisher=Constable & Co. (Edinburgh)|others=Public Resource|via=[[Internet Archive]]|isbn=8-120-60724-4}}
* {{cite web |title=National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report)|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics (Nepal)|date=November 2012|url=https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf |access-date=26 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418041642/https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf|archive-date=18 April 2013|ref={{sfnRef|2011 National Census}}}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Hutt|editor-first=Michael|editor-link=Michael Hutt (academic and translator)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpYHG2sA76cC|title=Himalayan 'people's War': Nepal's Maoist Rebellion|date=2004|publisher=[[C. Hurst & Co.]]|isbn=978-1-85065-722-4|language=en|access-date=18 April 2020}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|last=Shaha|first=Rishikesh|title=Ancient and Medieval Nepal|year=1992|publisher=Manohar Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-85425-69-6}}
* {{Cite book|last=Tiwari|first=Sudarshan Raj|title=The Brick and the Bull: An account of Handigaun, the Ancient Capital of Nepal|year=2002|publisher=Himal Books|isbn=978-99933-43-52-3}}
* {{Cite book|first=Barbara|last=Crossette|title=So Close to Heaven: The Vanishing Buddhist Kingdoms of the Himalayas|location=New York|publisher=Vintage|year=1995|isbn=978-0-679-74363-7}}
* {{Cite book|author=Dor Bahadur Bista|title=People of Nepal|publisher=Department of Publicity, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of Nepal|year=1967|isbn=978-99933-0-418-0}}
* {{Cite book|first=Dervla|last=Murphy|title=[[The Waiting Land: A Spell in Nepal]]|publisher=Transatlantic Arts|year=1968|isbn=978-0-7195-1745-7}}
* {{Cite book|author=Rishikesh Shaha|title=Modern Nepal: A Political History|publisher=Manohar Publishers and Distributors|year=2001|isbn=978-81-7304-403-8|author-link=Rishikesh Shaha}}
* {{Cite book|author=Jane Wilson-Howarth|title=A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: a family's journey of love and loss in Nepal|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides, UK|year=2012|page=390|isbn=978-1-84162-435-8|author-link=Jane Wilson-Howarth}}
* {{Cite book|last=Mulmi|first=Amish Raj|title=[[All Roads Lead North|All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China]]|publisher=Context|year=2021|isbn=9789390679096|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sharma|first=Sudheer|title=[[The Nepal Nexus|The Nepal Nexus: An Inside Account of the Maoists, the Durbar and New Delhi]]|publisher=[[Penguin Viking]]|year=2019|isbn=9780670089307|location=India|language=en}}{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Nepal|s=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Nepal|Nepal|auto=1|d=1}}

===Government===
* {{Official website|https://www.nepal.gov.np}} of the [[Government of Nepal]]
* {{Official website|https://www.welcomenepal.com}} of [[Nepal Tourism Board]]

===General information===
* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-12511455 Nepal country profile] from [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/ Nepal]. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* {{GovPubs|Nepal}}
* {{wikiatlas|Nepal}}
* {{Wikivoyage inline}}
* {{osmrelation-inline|184633}}
* [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=NP Key Development Forecasts for Nepal] from [[International Futures]]

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