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Nepal is a landlocked country with a
total area of 147.181 sq km. She lies between 26º
22’ N - 30º 27’ N
latitudes and 80º 4’E-88º 12'E longitudes. Roughly rectangular in shape, the
land extends approximately 885 km, east west and 145 km. at its
narrowest to 241 km. at Us broadest, north south. The country is
bordered by China in the north and by India in the south, west and
east. The land mass is divided into three geographical zones,
the snow capped high Himalayas, the mountainous |
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region with long terraced slopes leading to
fertile valleys and the flat sub-tropical Terai region. The high
Himalayan region extends in the north from west to east at an altitude
of 4,000 m. to 8848 m. The world famous peaks of Mt. Everest (8848
m.), Kanchanjanga (8586 m), Makalu(8463 m.), Dhaulagiri (8167 m.),
Annapurna (8091 m.), and many others dominate the formidable range of
eternal snows. The middle mountainous region consists of mountain
ranges of mahabharat varying in height from 1525 m. to 4877 m. below
610 m. to 1524 m.
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fertile valleys of
various widths and altitudes lie between these mountain and hill
ranges. The southern belt stretches east west with a width of 26
to 32 km. and a maximum elevation of about 305 m. Several major
rivers, tributaries and streams flow south originating from the
glaciers, snow fed lakes and high Himalayan Mountains of the north.
The major rivers are Mahakali, Seti, Karnali, Gandaki, Koshi and
Mechi. |
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Nepal experiences 4 seasons
spring (Mar-May), summer (Jun.-
Aug.), autumn (Sept.-Nov.) and winter
(Dec.-Feb).
The climate is varied ranging from the sub-tropical Terai to the cool
dry temperate and alpine climate in the
northern Himalayan ranges.
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Month |
Min |
Max |
Rain Fall |
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(c) |
(C) |
(mm) |
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January |
2.7 |
17.5 |
47 |
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February |
2.2 |
21.6 |
11 |
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March |
6.9 |
25.5 |
15 |
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April |
8.6 |
30.0 |
5 |
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May |
15.6 |
29.7 |
146 |
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June |
18.9 |
29.4 |
135 |
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July |
19.5 |
28.1 |
327 |
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August |
19.2 |
29.5 |
206 |
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September |
18.6 |
28.6 |
199 |
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October |
13.3 |
28.6 |
42 |
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November |
6.0 |
23.7 |
0 |
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December |
1.9 |
20.7 |
1 |
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In the
Terai, the hottest part of the country,
summer temperatures may rise as high
as 40 c The climate is hot and humid.
In the mid-mountain region, the
summer climate is mild
with temperatures
around 25°-27°c. The
winter temperatures range from 7"c to
23°c in the terai and sub-zero
to 12°c in the mountain regions and valleys.
The northern Himalayan region
has an alpine
climate. The
valley of
Kathmandu has a pleasant equable
climate with average summer and
winter temperatures of 19°-27°c
and 2°-12°c
respectively.
The
average temperature and
rainfall records in Kathmandu arc
listed below:
Rainfall is widespread during
the south-west monsoon
period from June to August with the eastern part
receiving maximum rainfall. In the winter
season, |
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the westernpart receives a larger share of rainfall.
The period from
October to May is generally dry in most parts of
the country Annual
precipitation varies from around 300 min
in the northern and western areas to
over 2500 mm. in the
eastern region.
Kathmandu Valley receives around
1200 mm. of annual rainfall with a
heavy concentration from June to
August. |
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The major feature of the new constitution is the adoption of a parliamentary
system of government
based on multi-party democracy with
a constitutional monarchy. The
concept of the rule of
law is enshrined within
an independent judicial system.
The Constitution also guarantees the safeguard of the basic human rights,
freedoms and equality.
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The constitution affirms
that
Nepal is a multi-ethnic,
multi-lingual, democratic, independent,
indivisible, sovereign, Hindu and constitutional monarchical
kingdom.The constitution provides for
a bicameral parliamentary system of
government with two houses, the
House of Representatives,
where members are
elected directly from
adult franchise and the National
Council, an upper house with
elected seniors and
nominees. The leader of the parliamentary board of the
party which commands a majority
in the House of
Representatives is
appointed Prime Minister. |
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The unique feature of the
Nepalese society is its ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural
diversity
from ancient times, migrant tribes
from the east, the north and the south
entered the land, met the natives and settled there. They are the
Nepalese people. The Brahmins,
Kshetriyas, Thakuris, Tharus, Yadavs, Dhimals,
Newars, Gurungs, Magars, Limbus,
Rais, Sherpas, Tamangs
and others all all
ethnically members of the Indo
Aryan and Tibeto-Burinan
families.
The people are religious and
the practice of religious worship is a
part of everyday life. Hinduism
is the state religion of
Nepal. As many as
86.5 percent of the total population
are Hindus. 7.8 percent are
Buddhists, 3.5 percent
are Muslims and 2.2 percent are Jains, Christians and others.
There is a unique blend of Hinduism
and Buddhism. The two
religions have overlapped
and harmonized to the
extent that Hindus and Buddhists worship the same gods.
Nepali is the lingua franca of
the country and is written in Devanagari
script. Other languages are
Maithili, Bhojpuri, Newari,
Gurung, Tamang, Tharu. Magar, Limbu, Rai,
Kirati, Bhote and so on. English
is, spoken and
understood by people in most urban centres.
Nepal has maintained one of the
world's oldest and richest
continuous cultures. Her
culture finds exquisite
expression in the fields of
religion, art, music, dance,
social and
socio-religious festivals. There are
literally
thousands of temples,
shrines, pagodas, intricate
woodcarvings and bronze
and stone images of
great beauty
Festivals are a prominent
aspect of Nepalese life, in which all
people participate enthusiastically.
Dashain (DurgaPuja). Tihar (festival of lights). Shiva Ratri (in
honour of
lord Shiva). Indra Jatra (festival of
Indra, the rain god), Baishakh Purnima
(to pay homage to lord Buddha), Gai
Jatra (cow festival) and a host of other
festivals are celebrated throughout the
year.
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Nepal's foreign policy objectives
are guided by the principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations and the Nonalignment. As
such, Nepal enjoys cordial relations with all the countries of the
world. This is also manifested
by the
expansion of the diplomatic
relations, which has
reached to 113 countries in 2003 Through 18 residential
embassies, 3 consulates, and
numerous honorary consul
generals/consuls abroad; Nepal is striving to consolidate
bilateral and multilateral relations with the friendly
countries and international
organizations.
Meanwhile, 21 embassies, consulates, cooperation offices, country
representatives of
various international
organizations including the UN,
World Bank, IMF and ADB based
in
Kathmandu have equally made
significant contributions to help
achieve these goals.
Nepal attaches considerable
importance to the promotion of closer
economic cooperation in South Asia.
To this end. Nepal is actively working
with other members of SAARC for the
creation of the South Asian Free Trade
Area (SAFTA) and is also engaged in
the sub regional cooperation in the
form of South Asian Growth
Quadrangle (SAGQ). Nepal is the host
of the SAARC Secretariat.
Economic diplomacy has
acquired yet another significant
dimension of Nepal's foreign policy
priorities in recent years. Its
main objectives are to
promote
Nepal's
export trade, attract greater number of
tourists to Nepal, and to enhance the
flow of foreign direct
investment in the
economy.
*Source
Nepal Foreign Investment Opportunities, MOICS
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