Language

Official language
Nepali

T-index
0.032%

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.

Other languages
English (About 40% of the population of Armenia have basic knowledge of English), Russian (0.8% of Armenians speak Russian as the first language but 52.7% speak it as a second language.

English
Low proficiency (EF) – of 112 countries in the world- 9/24 position in Asia.

Conventions

Numbering system
Arabic numbering system, point as decimal separator and space or comma as separator of thousands.

Date format: yyyy-mm-dd / dd-mm-yyyy 
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00 977

Demography

Capital: Kathmandu 
Currency:  Nepalese rupee
Population: 29,674,920 million
Population density: 104/km2

Economy

GDP: 36.29 billion USD (2021)
GDP per capita: 1,222.9 USD ‎(2021) ‎
Exports: $874 million (2020)

Statistics

Internet users: 38.4% penetration, 11.51 million
Unemployment rate: 1.25% (2019)
Urbanisation: 53.06% (2020)
Literacy: 67.9% (2018)

Economy

Imports
$8.2 billion (2020).  Refined Petroleum ($818M), Semi-Finished Iron ($388M), Broadcasting Equipment ($339M), Rice ($331M), and Petroleum Gas ($236M), importing mostly from India ($5.85B), China ($1.17B), United Arab Emirates ($194M), Hong Kong ($130M), and Singapore ($115M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 45% have an account with a financial institution
• 0.7% have a credit card
• 2.2% make online purchases

Ease of doing business
Very Easy to conduct business (74.5 out of 100) 9th out of 24 European and Central Asian countries, 47th worldwide out of 190 countries (2022, World Bank)

Exports
$874 million (2020). Soybean Oil ($198M), Knotted Carpets ($55.2M), Non-Retail Synthetic Staple Fibers Yarn ($53.5M), Nutmeg, mace and cardamons ($48.4M), and Palm Oil ($44.9M), exporting mostly to India ($611M), United States ($90M), Germany ($26M), United Kingdom ($17.1M), and China ($15.3M).

Economic freedom
‘Mostly not free’ (49.7 out of 100) 31th out of 39 countries in the Asian-Pacific region, 148th worldwide out of 186 countries (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 10th out of 19 South East Asian, East Asian,
and Oceanian countries, 111th out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Media

Media language
Nepali, English

Information channels
Private broadcasting has flourished. The government operates radio and TV services and publishes a Nepali-language daily and an English-language paper. Radio is a key news source and there are few barriers to setting up an outlet, says US-based NGO Freedom House.

There are around 250 community stations. Covering demonstrations can be dangerous for Nepalese journalists, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in its 2016 World Press Freedom Index.

There is a small film industry, nicknamed “Kollywood”. Indian films are stapled fare in cinemas. BBC World Service broadcasts on 103 FM in Kathmandu.

There were around 5 million internet users by 2016 (Internetlivestats.com). Facebook is a popular platform and the use of Twitter is on the rise. Prominent bloggers write about political issues. RSF says a 2016 directive allows the authorities to block online content deemed to be immoral or misleading.

Press

The Kathmandu Post – private, English-language daily
The Rising Nepal – semi-official English-language daily
Gorkhapatra – semi-official daily, Nepal’s oldest newspaper
Kantipur – daily, one of the first private newspapers
Annapurna Post – daily
The Himalayan Times – English-language
The Nepali Times – English-language weekly
Republica – private, English-language daily

Television

Nepal Television Corporation (NTV) – state-run, operates NTV and NTV Metro channels
Kantipur TV – private
Image Channel TV – private
Avenues TV – private

Radio

Radio Nepal – state-run, operates national and regional services
Hits FM – commercial, music-based
HBC 94 FM – operated by Himalayan Broadcasting Company
Radio Sagarmatha – FM, public, community station
Kantipur FM – commercial
Image FM – commercial

News Agencies

National News Agency (RSS) – state-run

Internet Data

Internet users
38.4% penetration, 11.51 million

Share of web traffic by device
76.14% mobile phones, 22.71% computers (laptops and desktops), 1.15% tablet devices

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
18.42 Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
28.32 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population 135.5%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G) 62.6%

Most popular web search engines
Google (97.32%), Bing (2.18%), Yahoo (0.35%), DuckDuckgo (0.08%), Petal Search (0.03%), Ecosia (0.02%)

Most used social media
Facebook (95.82%), Twitter (2.75%), YouTube (0.76%), Linkedin (0.27%), Instagram (0.23%), Pinterest (0.1%).

Social statistics

Life expectancy
71 yrs (2020)

Average age of the population
24.6 yrs (2020) 

Healthcare expenditure
4.45% of GDP (2020)

Religion
Although more than 80% of Nepalese are Hindus, people of different religions live harmoniously with each other. Religion is not a source of tension, as in neighboring countries like India or Pakistan.

Ethnicity and Class
Ethnicity is one of the main topics of conversation in the current political climate. Upper caste people known as ‘Bahuns’ hold most of the higher positions in the government, yet other marginalized ethnic groups are demanding an equal share in decision-making processes.

Gender
Nepalese society is deeply rooted in tradition. However, gender relations are changing rapidly among younger generations. Traditionally, men are breadwinners and married women are homemakers. In Kathmandu (the capital), women are increasingly seen as breadwinners as well. In rural settings, women typically take care of household duties such as cooking, washing, and childcare.

In the workplace, few women are in management-level positions. Men occupy most of the top positions, especially in the private and government sectors. Management structures at non-governmental organizations may be different, having more men and women working in similar positions.