chnological backwardness, its remoteness,
and susceptibility to natural disaster. Nepal experienced severe
flooding in August 1993 which caused at least $50 million in damage to
the country's infrastructure.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $20.5 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
2.9% (FY93)
National product per capita:
$1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% (September 1993)
Unemployment rate:
5%; underemployment estimated at 25%-40% (1987)
Budget:
revenues:
$457 million
expenditures:
$725 million, including capital expenditures of $427 million (FY93
est.)
Exports:
$369 million (f.o.b., FY93) but does not include unrecorded border
trade with India
commodities:
carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
partners:
US, Germany, India, UK
Imports:
$789 million (c.i.f., FY93 est.)
commodities:
petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
partners:
India, Singapore, Japan, Germany
External debt:
$2 billion (FY93 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate 6% (FY91 est.); accounts for 16% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
300,000 kW
production:
1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
50 kWh (1992)
Industries:
small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette, textile,
carpet, cement, and brick production; tourism
Agriculture:
accounts for 60% of GDP and 93% of work force; farm products - rice,
corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops, milk, buffalo meat; not
self-sufficient in food, particularly in drought years
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug
markets; transit point for heroin from Southeast Asia to the West
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $304 million; Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1980-89), $2.23
billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $30 million; Communist
countries (1970-89), $286 million
Currency:
1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa
Exchange rates:
Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1 - 49.240 (January 1994), 48.607 (1993),
42.742 (1992), 37.255 (1991), 29.370 (1990), 27.189 (1989)
Fiscal year:
16 July - 15 July

@Nepal, Communications

Railroads:
52 km (1990), all 0.762-meter narrow gauge; all in Terai close to
Indian border; 10 km from Raxaul to Birganj is government owned
Highways:
total:
7,080 km
paved:
2,898 km
unpaved