The Kingdom of Nepal

Estimated population 30 million

Population density (people per square mile) 515

Population doubling time 33 years

GDP per capita US$ 694

Population doubling time in years:

USA 79. Canada 81. Germany declining. UK 248. Russia declining. China 110. Philippines 41.

Population density (people per square mile)

USA 85. Canada 9. Germany 593. UK 660. Russia 21. China 368. Philippines 795.

GDP per capita in US$:

RECENT HISTORY

Under an accommodation with Britain Nepal (under the Rana regime of hereditary prime ministers) accepted British “guidance” on foreign policy; in exchange, the British guaranteed Nepal against both foreign and domestic enemies and allowed it virtual autonomy in domestic affairs. Nepal, however, was also careful to maintain a friendly relationship with China and Tibet, both for economic reasons and to counterbalance British predominance in South Asia.

The British withdrawal from India in 1947 deprived Nepal of a vital external source of support and exposed the regime to new dangers. Anti-Rana forces, composed mainly of Nepalese residents in India who had served their political apprenticeship in the Indian nationalist movement, formed an alliance with the Nepalese royal family, led by King Tribhuvan (reigned 1911–55), and launched a revolution in November 1950. With strong diplomatic support from New Delhi, the rebels accepted a settlement with the Ranas under which the sovereignty of the crown was restored and the revolutionary forces gained an ascendant position in the administration.

The introduction of a democratic political system in a country accustomed to autocracy and with no deep democratic tradition or experience, proved a formidable task. A constitution was finally approved in 1959, under which general elections for a national assembly were held.

Persistent controversy between the Cabinet and the King led the king to dismiss the government in 1960 and to imprison most of the government’s leaders.

In 1962 a new constitution was promulgated that established the crown as the real source of authority.

Following his death the king was succeeded by his son in 1975.

For the next 20 years, attempting to keep a political balance between the needs of various monarchical, single party and multiparty factions kept the country in turmoil with protests and strikes.

In 1990 an amended version of the constitution was promulgated that provided for both a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty parliamentary political system.

Nepal emerged from this period of rapid political change facing a multitude of economic and social problems; among these were a stagnant economy and a variety of regional ethnic and religious movements, some of whose basic demands were not acceptable to the country's Hindu majority. Although overwhelming support existed for the new democratic constitutional monarchy system, at both the party and the public level, the democratic movement itself remained badly fractionalized and antagonistic, making more difficult the new government's attempt to introduce the kind of hard-hitting economic and social policies needed.

EDUCATION

Under the Rana dynasty, which ruled Nepal from 1846 to 1951, only the upper class had access to education. After the 1951 revolution, Nepal established an education system with free primary education for all children. Primary school begins at the age of 6 and lasts until age 10. Secondary education that follows lasts until the age of 15. Attendance of primary school was nearly universal in 2002–2003. Secondary school enrolment included only 45 percent (50 percent of the boys of that age group and 39 percent of the girls) in 2002–2003.

Formal schooling in Nepal is constrained by economic and cultural factors such as a bias against educating girls and a need for children to work at home or in the fields. In 2005 the literacy rate was estimated at 47 percent of the adult population, with a large gap between male and female literacy rates. Only 30 percent of the female population was literate in 2005 compared to 65 percent of the males. Urban areas have higher literacy rates than rural areas. In 1990 Nepal launched a 12-year literacy program targeting 8 million people between the ages of 6 and 45 years old.

Tribhuvan University, founded in Kathmandu in 1959, is the only doctoral-granting institution of higher education in Nepal. Nepal also has a number of colleges, all of which are either affiliated with, or follow standards set by, Tribhuvan University.

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