About Nepal
A small country with eight of the world's fourteen highest peaks, more than a hundred languages, and Hindu and Buddhist traditions that share the same temples.
Nepal at a glance
| Official name | Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal |
| Capital | Kathmandu |
| Area | 147,516 km² |
| Population | 29.2 million (2021 census) |
| Languages | Nepali + 123 other mother tongues |
| Peoples | 142 caste and ethnic groups |
| Highest point | Everest, 8,848.86 m |
| Lowest point | Kechana Kalan, about 60 m |
Three bands of land
Nepal is about 800 km long and 150–250 km wide. Going north from India, the land climbs from almost sea level to the top of the world in less than 200 km.
60 – 300 m
Terai
Flat, fertile plains along the Indian border. Rice fields, Tharu villages, and the jungles of Chitwan and Bardiya. Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace, is here.
300 – 3,000 m
Hills
Terraced farms and ridge-top villages. Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bandipur sit in this middle band, where most Nepalis live.
3,000 – 8,849 m
Mountains
The Himalaya and the dry valleys behind it, such as Mustang and Dolpo. Sherpa, Thakali and Tibetan-speaking communities live up to about 4,500 m.
People, faith and festivals
Hindus make up about 81% of the population and Buddhists about 8%. In practice the two often overlap: many families visit both temples and stupas, and some shrines are sacred to both faiths. Kirat, Muslim and Christian communities make up most of the rest.
The Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley built its temples, palaces and courtyards and still run many of its festivals. In the mountains, Sherpa, Gurung, Tamang and Thakali cultures have their own languages, New Year festivals and monasteries.
A short history
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| c. 563 BCE | Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is born in Lumbini. |
| 1100s – 1700s | Malla kings build the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. |
| 1768 | Prithvi Narayan Shah unites the hill kingdoms and makes Kathmandu the capital. |
| 1846 – 1951 | The Rana family rules, and the country stays closed to outsiders. |
| 1950s | Nepal opens to foreign visitors. |
| 1953 | Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary make the first ascent of Everest. |
| 2008 | The monarchy is abolished and Nepal becomes a republic. |
| 2015 | A major earthquake damages the Kathmandu Valley. A new constitution creates seven provinces. |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Kathmandu Valley, with seven monument zones (1979)
- Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park (1979)
- Chitwan National Park (1984)
- Lumbini, birthplace of the Buddha (1997)
National symbols
- Flower: rhododendron (lali gurans)
- Bird: Himalayan monal (danphe)
- Flag: the only national flag in the world that isn't a rectangle, made of two stacked pennants