Introduction

NEPAL


Nepal (pronounced /nəˈpal/ nə-PAHL, /-pal/ -PAWL;[5] Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpal] (help•info)), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a state in South Asia and, as of 2010, the world's most recent nation to become a republic. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolitan city.

Nepal is a country of highly diverse and rich geography, culture, and religions. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Sagarmatha (सगरमाथा), known in English as Mount Everest. It contains over 240 peaks more than 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level.The fertile and humid south is heavily urbanized.

By some measures, Hinduism is practised by a larger majority of people in Nepal than in any other nation. Buddhism, though a minority faith in the country, is linked historically with Nepal as the birthplace of the Buddha.