Pre-Trip Information

Perched on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains, the Kingdom of Nepal is as ethnically diverse as is its terrain-fertile plains, broad valleys and the highest mountain peaks in the world. The Nepalese are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet and Central Asia.

 

Among the earliest inhabitants were the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharus in the southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups came from India, while other ethnic groups trace their origins to central Asia and Tibet, including the Gurungs and Magars in the west, Rais and Limbus in the east, and Sherpas and Bhotias in the north.

 

In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20 percent of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the Indo-Aryan people of northern India. People of Indo-Aryan and Mongoloid stock live in the hill region. The mountainous highlands are sparsely populated. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost five percent of the population.

 

Religion is important in Nepal-Kathmandu Valley has more than 2,700 religious shrines alone. Nepal is 90 percent Hindu, the official state religion, making it the only Hindu country in the world. Hinduism, however, has synthesized with Buddhism in Nepal. As a result, Buddhist and Hindu shrines and festivals are respected and celebrated by all. Nepal also has small Muslim and Christian minorities. Certain animistic practices of old indigenous religions survive.

 

Nepali is the official language, although a dozen different languages and about 30 major dialects are spoken throughout the country. Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali is related to the Indian language, Hindi, and is spoken by about 90 percent of the population. Many Nepalese in government and business also speak English.

The population of Nepal has a life expectancy at birth of 60.94 years ( 61.12 years for males and 60.75 years  for females), according to recent estimates. Nepal has an infant mortality rate of 62 deaths/1,000 live births.


Literacy

In terms of literacy, 48.6 percent of thr total population --   62.7 percent for males and 34.9 percent for females --   age 15 and over, can read and write.  About 4.6 of GDP is spent on educational expenditures in this country.

 

Illegal trafficking in women is one of the biggest issues facing Nepal today. Lured by promises of employment in big Indian cities like New Delhi and Bombay, a large number of Nepali young girls have been smuggled by flesh traders and pushed into prostitution in these cities. The flesh trade is made simpler due to the open borders between the two countries, ensuring free movement of people. Nepali non-governmental organizations estimate that hundreds of thousands of Nepali women, mostly teenagers, have been lured and are now forced to work in brothels in India. Last year, Nepalese authorities believe over 2,000 such cases occurred in New Delhi alone. The United Nations has expressed its concern over the growing trafficking and urged the Nepali and Indian authorities to initiate action to curb this trade.

In terms of health and welfare, about 5.8 percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures.  Access to water is generally good, especially in urban areas; however, access is more problematic in rural areas. Access to sanitation is marginally accceptable in urban areas and challenging in rural areas.

 

One notable indicator used to measure a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main areas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed Nepal in the low human development category, at 138th place. 

Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.

Written by Dr. Denise Youngblood Coleman, Editor in Chief, www.countrywatch.com .   See Bibliography for list of research sources.