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Nepal (continued) Budget: revenues $296 million; expenditures $635 million, including capital expenditures of $394 million (FY89 est.)

Exports: $374 million (f.o.b., FY89 est.), but does not include unrecorded border trade with India; commodities—clothing, carpets, leather goods, grain; partners—India 38%, US 23%, UK 6%, other Europe 9% (FY88)

Imports: $724 million (c.i.f., FY89 est.); commodities—petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%; partners—India 36%, Japan 13%, Europe 4%, US 1% (FY88)

External debt: $1.3 billion (December 1989 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.5% (FY89 est.)

Electricity: 205,000 kW capacity; 535 million kWh produced, 30 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette, textiles, cement, brick; tourism

Agriculture: accounts for 60% of GDP and 90% of work force; farm products—rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, buffalo meat; not self-sufficient in food, particularly in drought years

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $285 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-87), $1.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $273 million

Currency: Nepalese rupee (plural—rupees); 1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1—28.559 (January 1990), 27.189 (1989), 23.289 (1988), 21.819 (1987), 21.230 (1986), 18.246 (1985)

Fiscal year: 16 July-15 July

Communications

Railroads: 52 km (1985), all 0.762-meter narrow gauge; all in Tarai close to Indian border; 10 km from Raxaul to Blrganj is government owned

Highways: 5,958 km total (1986); 2,645 km paved, 815 km gravel or crushed stone, 2,257 km improved and unimproved earth; also 241 km of seasonally motorable tracks

Civil air: 5 major and 11 minor transport aircraft

Airports: 38 total, 38 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radio communication and broadcast service; international radio communication service is poor; 30,000 telephones (1987); stations—4 AM, no FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Branches: Royal Nepalese Army, Royal Nepalese Army Air Service, Nepalese Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,531,660; 2,347,412 fit for military service; 225,349 reach military age (17) annually

Defense expenditures: 2% of GDP, or $58 million (1989 est.)  Netherlands



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Geography

Total area: 37,290 km²; land area: 33,940 km²

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey

Land boundaries: 1,027 km total; Belgium 450 km, FRG 577 km

Coastline: 451 km

Maritime claims:
 * Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: temperate; marine; cool summers and mild winters

Terrain: mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders); some hills in southeast

Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, fertile soil

Land use: 25% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 34% meadows and pastures; 9% forest and woodland; 31% other; includes 15% irrigated

Environment: 27% of the land area is below sea level and protected from the North Sea by dikes

Note: located at mouths of three major European rivers (Rhine, Maas or Meuse, Schelde)

People

Population: 14,936,032 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1990)  220