Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), chief justice is appointed by the king on recommendation of the Constitutional Council, the other judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Judicial Council
Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United
Marxist-Leninist (CPN/UML), Man Mohan ADHIKARI, party president,
Madhar KUMAR, general secretary; Nepali Congress Party (NCP), Girija
Prasad KOIRALA, party president, Daranath Rana DHATT, general
secretary; National Democratic Party (NDP; also called Rastriya
Prajantra Party or RPP), Surya Bahadur THAPA; Nepal Sadbhavana
(Goodwill) Party, Gajendra Narayan SINGH, president; Nepal Workers and
Peasants Party (NWPP), Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chair
Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups
International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFCTU, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963
Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun
@Nepal:Economy
Economy-overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past two years. Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population growth of 2.5%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms particularly those that encourage trade and foreign investment, e.g., by eliminating business licenses and registration requirements in order to simplify investment procedures. The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. More recently, however, political instability - five different governments over the past few years-has hampered Kathmandu's ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas where there has recently been foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other areas will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$31.1 billion (1997 est.)