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NepalSOCIETY
Population: 15,022,839 at time of 1981 census;
estimated
19,145,800 in July 1990 (July 1991 estimate 19,611,900).
Growth
rate in 1980s 2.6 percent; birth rate 44 per 1,000 in 1985
(39 per
1,000 in 1991); crude death rate 14 per 1,000 in 1985 (15
per 1,000
in 1991--increase from steady decline). Nearly 44 percent
of
population resides in Tarai Region; about 48 percent in
Hill
Region, nearly 9 percent in Mountain Region. Population
density per
square kilometer total land 102 persons; 61 persons per
hectare of
cultivatable land. Only 6.3 percent total population in
urban areas
in 1981. Sex ratio 105 males to 100 females in 1981. Life
expectancy at birth close to fifty years in 1985; in 1991,
fiftyone years male, fifty years female.
Ethnic Groups: Three major ethnic groups in
terms of
origin: Indo-Nepalese, Tibeto-Nepalese, and indigenous
Nepalese,
composed of Newar, Bhote, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Gurung,
Tamang,
Magar, Thakali, Brahman, and other smaller ethnic groups.
Languages: Nepali, written in Devanagari script,
official, national language; spoken by almost 60 percent
of
population. More than twelve other languages with numerous
dialects, although rarely spoken outside ethnic enclaves.
Religion: Only official Hindu state in world
although
intermingling and synthesis of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs
in
practice. About 89.5 percent of population Hindu,
approximately 5.3
percent and 2.7 percent, Buddhist and Muslim,
respectively;
remainder, other religions, including Christianity.
Education: Literacy rate in 1990 estimated at 33
percent;
higher percentage males literate; also higher literacy
rates in
urban areas. Free, compulsory primary education, five
years; total
school enrollment approximately 52 percent school-age
children (70
percent male, 30 percent female) in 1984. In 1987 primary
and
secondary education included 12,491 primary schools
(15,834 in
1989), 3,824 lower-secondary schools (3,941 in 1989),
1,501 highersecondary schools (1,791 in 1989); apparent primary school
enrollment ratio 85 percent in 1987. In 1989 there were
63,945
primary school teachers, 12,245 lower-secondary school
teachers,
33,779 higher-secondary school teachers. In 1989 students
numbered
2,536,147 at the primary school level, 325,237 in
lower-secondary
school, and 338,779 in higher-secondary school. National
Education
Plan set framework for universal education; national
development
goals stressed through curriculum. Tribhuvan University
sole
doctoral-granting institution; sixty-nine public colleges
under
Tribhuvan University; sixty-three private colleges. In
1987, almost
83,000 students, mostly male, enrolled in higher education
institutions. Longstanding prejudice against education of
women
gradually diminishing, but social class and geography
continue to
bias educational attainment.
Health: Infant mortality 98 per 1,000 in 1991.
Poor
nutrition, sanitation, general absence of modern medical
care and
other social services, especially in rural areas. Goiter,
leprosy,
intestinal parasites, diarrhea, gastrointestinal
disorders, and
tuberculosis prevalent although latter somewhat reduced
since
1970s. Three types health-care practices--popular folk
medical
care, Ayurvedic treatment, and modern medicine, sometimes
intertwined. Limited health-care delivery system; public
and
private health-care facilities. Hospitals, mostly confined
to urban
areas, provide wider range of services than predominantly
rural
health centers and health posts. In 1990 only 123
hospitals, 16
health centers, 816 health posts, and 153 Ayurvedic
dispensaries;
951 physicians, or 1 physician for approximately 19,000
persons.
Data as of September 1991
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