HELPING HANDS HEALTH EDUCATION

NEPAL

The Kingdom of Nepal borders China (Tibet) to the north and is surrounded by India on its other borders. Only 21% of the country is under cultivation. Nepal is a land-locked country located more than 1000 km from Calcutta, India, its most important port.

Nepal’s population in terms of race and language can be divided into two main groups: the Aryans, an Indo-European speaking group, and the Mongolian Tibetan-Burmese speaking ethnic groups. Nepali, a language originating from Sanskrit, is the mother tongue of about 60% of the population. About one quarter speak Newari and the remainder speak other other languages such as Hindi, Urdu and Maithili. The majority of the population is Hindu, the state religion. Other denominations include Buddhists.

Nepal’s population is estimated at approximately 24 million with an annual growth rate of about 2.2%. At least 40% of the population are under the age of 15. Even with a declining population growth rate, it is estimated that Nepal’s population will reach 30 million by 2010.

Nepal is one of the group of countries classified by the UN as least developed. With a GNP per inhabitant of US $210, Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries. No clear documentation on absolute poverty in Nepal is available and figures vary, depending on calculation methodology, from 40-71% of the population.

Social development remains at a very low level. Infant mortality is 96 per 1000 live births and average life expectancy is 55 years of age for men and 54 years of age for women. Only 30-40% of the population can read and write (40-50% of men and 15-20% of women).

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