NEPAL FACTS – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEPAL

You may or may not have heard of a country named Nepal. Well, if you haven’t heard anything yet, or even if you have heard some amazing facts about Nepal, this article will serve you as a brief introduction to the most amazing facts about Nepal.

Nepal is certainly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Below are the 100 Astonishing and Amazing Facts about Nepal which will surely make you learn some new things about Nepal. Nepal is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious country that is rich in history, art, culture, natural resources, biodiversity, norms and values, and many other important factors that always make a Nepali proud. So Here are the 100 facts about Nepal: 

Name of Nepal:

• Official Name of Nepal is the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the name was changed from the Kingdom of Nepal after the abolishment of the monarchy in 2008 AD.
• The name of Nepal is derived from a Sage whose name was “Ne” Muni (Sage). The land was protected by the sage “Ne” Muni and the word ‘pal’ means protector. This is how Nepal got its name. The name of Nepal has been in existence since the time of the Vedic period.
• The name of Nepal is also mentioned in the various Hindu texts such as Artharvaved Parisista, Atharvashirsha Upanishad, etc.
• The word Nepal used to denote only Kathmandu valley before the unification of Nepal. After King Prithivi Narayan Shah won over the Kathmandu valley, he made Kathmandu valley the new capital city of Gorkha Kingdom, later with time, the Gorkha Kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Nepal after the name of its capital.

Location and Geography of Nepal:

• Nepal is in the Himalayas of the South Asia region, located in between two giant countries in terms of area and population that are India and China.
• Nepal is a landlocked country with no direct contact with the sea.
• Nepal borders India in the south, east, and west whereas China in the north only. The nearest other two countries from Nepal are Bangladesh and Bhutan. Bangladesh is located within only 27 km (17 mi) of the southeastern tip of Nepal and Bhutan is separated by the Indian state of Sikkim from Nepal.
• The high mountainous region known as the Himalayas or Himal is in the Northern part, Hilly regions known as Pahad are in the mid and lowland regions containing plains known as the Terai area in the southern part. These all regions are in parallel with each other from East to West of Nepal.
• Nepal is mainly located in the Himalayan region but has a diverse geography, which includes fertile lands of the Gangetic Plain, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, including Mt. Everest, the highest peak of the world.
• The dramatic change in elevation within 193 km of distance between North and South of Nepal (which is about 60 m in Terai and 8848 m in the Himalayas) makes it to have great biodiversity within a small area.
• Nepal is in between two tectonic plates, Indian tectonic plates, and Tibetan tectonic plates. The penetration of Indian Tectonic plates with Tibetan plates has raised the Himalayas. Due to this reason, Nepal is prone to Earthquakes and many large Earthquakes have already destroyed the Himalayan nation, Nepal, from time to time. The last major earthquake in Nepal was in April 2015 AD which killed more than 8000 people and made thousands of people homeless.
• Nepal has the deepest gorge of the world, Kaligandaki gorge.

History of Nepal:

• Nepal is the only country in the world that has never been colonized in the history of the world. It has always been an independent and sovereign nation.
• The early dynasty to rule Nepal is the Gopala dynasty whose main occupations were agriculture and cattle rearing, mainly cows.
• The Gopala dynasty was followed by Abhir, Kirant, Lichhavi, Malla, Thakuri, Sen, and Shah dynasties.
• The unification campaign of Nepal was started by the King of the Shah dynasty of Nepal, Prithivi Narayan Shah.
• There were hundreds of small Kingdoms in Nepal before the unification campaign started mainly divided into Kathmandu Valley, Baise Rajya, Chaubise Rajya, Sen Kingdoms, and other various states with many Kingdoms within these Kingdoms.
• Nepal lost its one-third land to the British East India Company during the Anglo-Nepal war after the Sugauli treaty.
• The war against the British during the Anglo-Nepal war made the British realize the extraordinary bravery of Nepalese people and they even praised the bravery of Gurkhali soldiers by erecting a war memorial at Nalapani fort in honor of Gurkhali soldiers and Captain Bir Balbhadra Kunwar of Gurkhali army.
• Nepal didn’t take part in world war directly but became an ally of Britain in both of the world wars and sent many troops to fight for Britain because the relationship of Nepal and Britain was friendly after the Anglo-Nepal war.
• After the Anglo-Nepal war, Nepalese were recruited in British East India Company and even today Nepalese are recruited in the Gurkha Regiment of Indian Army and the Royal Gurkha Rifles of the United Kingdom.
• Nepal was ruled by the Prime Minister of the Rana dynasty and they maintained friendly relations with Britain during the time of world wars. Due to this, 4 districts of Nepal were returned to Nepal which was lost to British East India Company after the Sugauli treaty.
• The whole Royal family of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah was massacred in 2001 AD. Brother of King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, became the last king of the Shah dynasty as well as the last king of the country to rule Nepal.
• Nepal became a Secular Federal Democratic Republic country in 2008 AD from the Hindu Kingdom.
• Nepal was honored as the only Hindu Kingdom of the world till 2008.
• Mustang was given the status of the Kingdom by King of Nepal but it also ended in 2008 when its suzerain Kingdom of Nepal became a republic. The last official and later unofficial King (Raja or Gyelpo) of Mustang was Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista

Flag of Nepal:

• The flag of Nepal is one of the unique flags in the world which is the only non-quadrilateral flag of the world.
• It is the only flag with two single pennon or double pennons or triangles.
• The flag is the most mathematical in the world.
• The flag carries the historical and cultural aspect of Nepal as it’s the only flag remaining in the world which features a triangular shape which was the common shape for flags in the ancient Indian Subcontinent, as well as the triangular shape of the flag, is still used for flags of Gods and Temples in Nepal and India.
• It is still unknown who created the flag of Nepal or since when it is in existence. But the Flag of Nepal was modernized on the request of King Mahendra by Shankar Nath Rimal who was a renowned architect at that time.

Check also: Nepal Flag – History, Meaning, Facts and More

People of Nepal:

• People of Nepal are known as Nepali, Nepalese, Gurkhali, Gorkhali, Gorkha, or Gurkha. Nepal has a population of about 30 Million. The district with the highest number of population is Kathmandu and the lowest is Manang.
• Nepalese people are of Aryan, Tibetan, Indigenous, and mixed-race of people, which makes Nepal a multi-ethnic country. There are more than 101 ethnic groups in Nepal.
• People of Nepal have been known in the world as “Brave Gurkhali” for their extraordinary bravery and fierce fighting skills.
• Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal which is the densely populated city of the country having more than 7 million population.
• Nepalese are known to be brave, loyal, fierce warriors as well as simple, friendly and respectful people.

Check also: Nepali People – Everything You Need to Know

Religions in Nepal:

• Nepal is home to Hindus and Buddhists of the world as there are hundreds of temples, shrines, and pilgrimage related to Hindus and Buddhists all over Nepal.
• The Light of Asia, Gautam Buddha, was born in Nepal. Gautam Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha Gautam of the Shakya Kingdom in Lumbini, Nepal.
• Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha is one of the pilgrimages for Buddhists all over the world.
• Janakpur of Nepal is also the birthplace of Princess Janaki also known as Goddess Sita, wife of Lord Ram.
• About 81.3% of people follow Hinduism, 9% follow Buddhism, 4.4% people follow Islam, 3.1% follow Kirant, 1.4% Christianity, 0.5% follow Prakriti (Nature worship) and remaining follow other religions like Jainism, Sikhism, etc.
• In terms of the percentage of the population, Nepal has the largest percentage of Hindus in the world.
• Nepal is the last Hindu Kingdom in the world.
• Lord Pashupatinath, a form of Lord Shiva, is considered as the guardian deity of the Nation. Nepal also has a living Goddess known as “Kumari”. Prepubescent girl children are chosen to be Kumari.
• It is difficult in Nepal to distinguish between Hindus and Buddhists as both religion’s people consider Buddha, Machhendranath, etc as common God and take part in festivals related to these gods as well as in other festivals. There is a religious harmony in Hindus, Buddhists, and even with Muslims in Nepal. Hinduism and Buddhism are culturally entangled with each other in Nepal and the place of worship can be found together and even some places both of the religion’s followers have the same place of worship in Nepal.

Capital and Main Cities:

• The Capital city of Nepal is Kathmandu. Kathmandu is the most developed city of Nepal as well as has ancient and historical importance.
• Kathmandu has been a route for traders from the Indian subcontinent with Tibet since ancient times.
• Kathmandu is also known as the city of temples as temples can be seen in every corner of the city. Kathmandu has at least 130 monuments and 7 World Heritage Sites are within the Kathmandu Valley.
• Kathmandu valley has three districts Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. The whole Kathmandu Valley is proposed as a separate national capital territory and not the part of Bagmati Pardesh.
• Kathmandu is also one of the fastest-growing metropolitan cities of Nepal as well as in South Asia. It is also the largest city in the Himalayas.
• Along with Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur are the fastest growing cities of Nepal.
• There are five Metropolitan cities in Nepal which are Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bharatpur, Pokhara, Lalitpur, and Kathmandu.
• There are 11 sub-metropolitan cities in Nepal which are Hetauda, Janakpur, Dharan, Butwal, Nepalgunj, Itahari, Dhangadhi, Ghorahi, Tulsipur, Kalaiya and Jitpur-Simara.
• Pokhara is the most favorite tourist destination in Nepal and has a beautiful landscape, lakes, and sceneries of mountains.

International Airport:

• There is only one International Airport in Nepal which is Tribhuvan International Airport. The airport is named after the King of Nepal, Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah.
• The only international airport Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is already providing service to more than its limit so there is new international airport construction going on in Nepal. As well as, TIA is going to be upgraded for providing service to more passengers.
• There are two international airports under construction which are Gautam Buddha International Airport, Siddharthanagar, and Pokhara International Airport, Pokhara. The Nijgadh Airport was proposed for upgrading to International Airport, but the Supreme Court of Nepal has halted the construction of the project due to an improper Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). If constructed, it would be the largest airport in Asia and the fourth largest in the World.

Area of Nepal:

• The total area of Nepal is 147,181 sq. meters.
• Nepal covers 0.03% of the total land area of the earth and 0.3% of the total landmass of Asia.
• In terms of Area, Nepal is the 93rd largest country in the world.
• In terms of area, the largest district of Nepal is Dolpa and the smallest district of Nepal is Bhaktapur.

Mountains of Nepal:

• Nepal has eight out of the top 14 highest peaks of the world.
• Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is also in Nepal which is about 8,848m high from the sea level.
• The eight mountains which are above 8000 meters height which are Mt. Everest (8848m), Kanchanjunga (8598m), Lhotse (8516m), Makalu (8462m), Dhaulagiri (8167m), Manaslu (8156m), Cho Oyu (8153) and Annapurna (8091m), are only in Nepal as well as there are many other high mountains.

Water resources in Nepal:

• Nepal is one of the richest countries in freshwater resources having abundances of rivers, lakes, springs, groundwater. It stands at the 43rd position in the list of countries that have renewable fresh-water resources.
• There are about 6000 rivers in Nepal including rivulets and tributaries. The drainage density of Nepal is 0.3 Km/Km² and the main sources of these rivers are the Himalayas glacier and snow.
• The main rivers of Nepal are SaptaKoshi, Sapta Gandaki and Karnali. Karnali is the longest river in Nepal. They all meet at the river Ganges after reaching India.

Biodiversity of Nepal:

• Nepal alone is habitat for 4.0% of all mammal species of the world, 8.9% of all bird species, 2.5% of all amphibian species, 1.0% of all reptile species, 1.9% of all fish species, 3.7% of butterfly species, 0.5% of moth species and 0.4% of spider species. It also has 2% of the flowering plant species, 3% of pteridophytes, and 6% of bryophytes within an area of 147,181 sq meters.
• Nepal also has 35 forest-types and 118 types of ecosystems. It is also home to different endangered species such as snow leopard, red panda, one-horned rhinoceros, etc. The Shuklaphata National Park of Nepal is home to the largest herd of swamp deers in the world.
• There are 12 national parks, 1 wildlife reserve, 6 conservation areas, and 1 hunting reserve in Nepal.

National Anthem of Nepal:

• The national anthem of Nepal is “Sayau Thunga Phool ka Hami” which means “Garland of hundreds of flowers”. It became the national anthem on August 3, 2007.
• The new national anthem of Nepal is written by Byakul Maila and its music is composed by Amber Gurung.
• Before “Sayau Thunga Phool ka Hami”, the national anthem of Nepal was “Shreeman Gambhir” written by Chakrapani Chalise.

Sports in Nepal:

• The national sport of Nepal is Volleyball. Before volleyball, the national sport of Nepal was Kabbadi or Dandi-Biyo which were unofficial.
• Volleyball became the National Sport of Nepal in 2017 as it is played in every part of the country from mountains to plains.
• The game Elephant Polo was originated in Nepal and its World Cup is also organized by Nepal. Football, Cricket, Volleyball, Kabbadi, and Taekwondo are the most popular sports in Nepal.

National Symbols of Nepal:

• Rhododendron (Lali Guras) is the national flower of Nepal and Himalayan Monal (Danphe) is the national bird of Nepal.
• The cow is the national animal of Nepal.
• Khukuri is the national weapon of Nepal.
• The new coat of arms of Nepal contains the flag of Nepal, Mount Everest, green hills symbolizing the hilly regions of Nepal and yellow color symbolizing the fertile Terai region, male and female hands joining to symbolize gender equality, and a garland of rhododendrons (the national flower). At the top, there is a white silhouette in the shape of Nepal.
• Daura Suruwal for males and Gunyo Cholo for females are the traditional costumes of Nepalese people.
• Crimson is the national color of Nepal.

The motto of Nepal:

• The motto of Nepal is, “Janani Janmabhumishcha Swargadapi Gariyasi” which means “Mother and motherland are greater than heaven”.

Languages of Nepal:

• The official language of Nepal is Nepali and all mother tongues spoken in Nepal are recognized by Nepal.
• Diverseness in Nepal’s linguistic heritage is inherited from three major language groups which are Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, and various indigenous language isolates.
• Nepali is derived from Sanskrit language and is written in the Devanagari script.
• There are more than 100 regional and local languages spoken along with Nepali. Nepal also has some of the near to extinction indigenous languages isolates.
• In Nepal, the percentage of people speaking Nepali language is 44.6%, Maithili is 11.7%, Bhojpuri is 6.0%, Tharu is 5.8%, Tamang is 5.1%, Nepal Bhasa is 3.2%, Bajjika is 3% and Magar is 3.0%, Doteli is 3.0%, Urdu is 2.6%, Awadhi is 1.89%, and remaining other.

Administrative Divisions of Nepal:

• Nepal is a Federal Republic country with 7 provinces and 77 Districts.
• Previously, Nepal was divided into 75 districts, 14 zones, and 5 Development regions but after 2015 zones and development regions were changed into 7 provinces and 77 districts.
• Seven provinces of Nepal are Province Number 1, Province Number 2, Bagmati, Gandaki, Province Number 5, Karnali, and Sudurapaschim. Two provinces of Nepal have not yet finalized their names.

Laws and law enforcement in Nepal:

• Nepal has the Constitution of Nepal as the supreme law of the land.
• The Supreme Court of Nepal is the highest authority to interpret the laws.
• The laws of Nepal are considered generally more progressive in comparison to other developing countries, as well as many developed ones. There is no provision for capital punishment as the death penalty is abolished in Nepal for any kind of crime.
• Nepal has provisions for LGBT rights and gender equality. It also recognizes marital rape and supports abortion rights; however, constraints have been introduced for sex-selective abortions. Age of consent in Nepal is 16 years regardless of gender or sexual orientation and the legal age for marriage is 20 years for both males and females without judicial or parental consent but both males and females can marry at the age of 18 with parental consent.

Relationship with India:

• Nepal and India have signed the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Due to this treaty, Nepal shares an open border with India and doesn’t require a visa or passport to work or visit or stay in India as long as they want.
• Indians also can work or visit or stay in Nepal as long as they want without a visa or passport as per the treaty.
• Nepal is much closer to India, as they share a common culture and same ancient history and religions.
• Check also: Nepal India Relations – Similarities and Misconceptions

Relationship with China:

• Nepal and the People’s Republic of China have signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1960.
• Citizens of both countries, Nepal and China, can travel as far as 30Km without a visa.