|
Nepal is a small landlocked
country in South Asia, surrounded by the two big nations (China
occupying Tibet in the North and India in the South), covering
147,181 square kilometres of the lands. It embraces a part of the main Himalaya range in
the north including Mount Everest (29,028 ft), the highest mountain
in the world.
Administratively, Nepal is divided into
five developmental regions, 14 zones, 75 districts, 58
municipalities and 3914 Village Development Committees (VDC).
It is one of the developing country in South Asia with over 23
million people of different ethnic groups, languages and cultures
comprising 86.5% Hindus, 7.8% Buddhists, 3.5% Muslims and 2.7%
others. It is formed mainly by two groups of people who
migrated from two different directions – ‘Tibeto-Burmese’ came
from the North, and mostly inhabit the mountain and hilly areas,
while Indo-Aryans entered from the South, covering plain (Terai)
areas as well as hilly areas.
After a long internal political war
between the Government of Nepal and the Maoists for over 10 years,
currently there is a ceasefire being held in the
country. The tri-polar political power tussle between the
King, Maoist rebels, and the alliance of the seven mainline
democratic political parties have ended when the King stepped down
from the executive power in April 2006 and restored the parliament
which was dissolved by him in 2005. Since then, the restored
parliament has made the significant proclamations including
declaring Nepal as a secular kingdom, which was known as the only
Hindu Kingdom in the world in the past. Currently Nepal is on the
process of making a new constitution.
Country Profile and History
Further resources and links on
Nepal
|
