About Nepal
General Information
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. One of the reasons is the virtually complete lack of natural resources, so about 80% of the population are depending on agriculture. Yet as a country of mostly mountain regions, Nepal has a high amount of areas unsuitable for economical use. The excessive population growth (still 1.9%) in relation to the available area has resulted in the self supply with foodstuff not being secured any longer. Consequently, more and more of the younger population emigrate from the rural areas into the cities or look for work abroad, particularly in the Gulf States and in the Asian countries of India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. According to the World Bank, around 40% of the population live below the poverty line. Without the permanent financial support of the donor countries (approx. 50% of the budget) and the money transfers of the many Nepalese working abroad, the country would barely be capable of surviving.
For detailed information on Nepal go to www.inwent.org/v-ez/lis/nepal
