KEY FACTS Official name: Nepal Adhirajya (The Kingdom of Nepal) Area: 147,181 square km Population: 23.21 million (2001) Capital: Kathmandu Official language: Nepali Currency: Rupee (NRs) = 100 paisa Exchange rate: NRs76.73 per US$ (Nov 2002) GDP per capita: US$241 (2001) GDP real growth: 4.80% (2001) Labour force: 11.50 million (2001) Unemployment: 20.00% (2000)*; 47.0% (2000) (underemployed); 7.0% (2000) (urban) Inflation: 2.40% (2001) Balance of trade: -US$832.00 million (2001) Foreign debt: US$2.70 billion (2001) Visitor numbers: 376,507 (2000) Annual FDI: US$6.00 million (2001) * estimated figure top Historical profile 1769 Prithui Narayan Shah, the ruler of the House of Gorka, succeeded in unifying the diverse kingdoms between Mogul India and Tibet. 1951 A popular revolution led by the Nepali Congress Party (NCP) overthrew the Rana family, which had been de facto rulers of Nepal since 1851. King Tribhuvan was restored to power. A limited constitutional monarchy was established. 1959 King Mahendra, who succeeded his father, promulgated the first constitution, providing for a bicameral parliament. 1959 The country's first elections resulted in a victory for the NCP. 1960 Following a royal coup in December, the King dismissed the cabinet and dissolved parliament. 1961 A royal decree banned political parties. 1962 King Mahendra introduced a new constitution, which reasserted absolute royal power, provided for a non-party system and a prime minister nominated by the King. 1972 King Mahendra died and was succeeded by his son Birendra. 1980 Government issued a decree amending the constitution. New provisions provided for direct elections in 1981, the first since 1959, although still on a non-party basis. 1981 Surya Bahadur Thapa was elected Prime Minister in June. 1983 Thapa was ousted as Prime Minister after a no confidence motion. He was succeeded by Lokendra Bahadur Chand. 1990 After protests in Kathmandu between February and April, led by the NCP and the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) parties, the King dissolved the panchayat (non-party) system and lifted a 30-year ban on political parties. 1997 On 12 March the King effected some changes in the Council of Ministers and expanded the cabinet to 23 ministers and nine ministers of state. 1998 Prime Minister Koirala resigned and was then re-appointed by the King on 23 December. He put together the sixth coalition government since the last general election in 1994. The King finally dissolved parliament in January 1999. 1999 Krishna Prasad Bhattarai became Prime Minister. 2000 Prime Minister Bhattarai resigned on 16 March due to internal opposition within the NCP, and Girija Prasad Koirala was elected in his place. Koirala was appointed Prime Minister by the King for the fourth time on 20 March. In December, 56 of the NCP's 113 legislators signed a no-confidence motion against the Prime Minister. 2001 The rebel Communist Party of Nepal, which wants land reform, conducted lightning raids both in the countryside and in Kathmandu. On 1 June, Crown Prince Dipendra killed his parents and six other members of the royal family before turning the gun on himself. Three others were injured. The State Council named Dipendra as King, but he subsequently died, and his uncle, Prince Gyanendra, who had been acting as regent, was declared King. There was rioting in the streets of Kathmandu. top Political structure Under the 1990 constitution, the powers of the monarch were considerably diminished. It provides for a bicameral legislature comprising a popularly and fully elected 205-member Pratinidhi Sabha (House of Representatives) and an indirectly and partly elected 60-member Rashtriya Sabha (State Council). The cabinet has 25 ministers, and the number of ministries has been cut from 27 to 18. Last elections 3 and 17 May 1999 (general) Next elections 2004 Political parties Ruling party Nepali Congress Party (NCP) Main opposition party The Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) party   Population The annual population growth rate was 2.5 per cent between 1980-99, and is projected to be 2.1 per cent between 1999-2015). Life expectancy is 58 years. The infant mortality rate is 77 deaths per 1,000 live births. Population density is 154 inhabitants per square km. Ethnic make-up A mixture of Indo-Caucasian and Tibeto-Mongoloid tribesmen, but also including a number of Tibetan refugees. Religions Hinduism (90 per cent), Tibetan Buddhism (5.3 per cent), Islam (2.7 per cent). Nepal is the only officially Hindu Kingdom in the world: the constitution provides for freedom of religion, though encouraging conversion remains illegal. Main cities Kathmandu, capital (estimated population 960,000), Pokhara, Janakpur, Bhaktapur, Biratnagar, Birganj, Bhairahawa, Dharan, Hetauda, Nepalganj, Dhangadhi Languages spoken Nepali (Eastern Pahari) is the official language; Maithir, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Bengali spoken; English is sometimes spoken in urban centres. top Media Press Dailies: Nepal News.Com (http://www.nepalnews.com) has links to daily, weekly, fortnightly, and other newspapers of Nepal. English language dailies include Kathmandu Post and The Rising Nepal. Other Nepali dailies are Gorakhpatra, Kantipur, Mahanagar, Samacharpatra and Sandhya Times. Weeklies: The People's Review carries excerpts from the English-language weekly published in Kathmandu. Local Nepali language weeklies include Janmabhumi Saptahik, Bimarsha, Deshantar Dristi and Janadharna. English language weeklies are Spotlight, Sunday Despatch, Sunday Post, Telegraph, Independent and Nepali Times. Business: Business publications include Nepal Travel Trade Journal, Casino Time and New Business Age. Periodicals: The Cyber Post is a fortnightly publication. Explore Nepal is a local English newspaper published fortnightly. Monthly publications include Apsara, Kamana, Nepal Traveller, Nepal Travel Trade Reporter and On Time. Broadcasting Radio: Radio programmes are broadcast in Nepali and English. Television: TV transmissions in English and Nepali in the Kathmandu Valley. TV programmes are also transmitted in Pokhara, Biratnagar and Birganj. top