bhavana (Goodwill)
Party 3%, NWPP 1%; seats by party-- CPN/UML 88, NCP 83, NDP 20, NWPP
4, Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party 3, independents 7

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Sarbochha Adalat), chief justice
is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional
Council, the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the
recommendation of the Judicial Council

Political parties and leaders: Communist Party of Nepal/United
Madhar KUMAR, general secretary]; Nepali Congress Party or NCP
general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called
party chair]

Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous small,
left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical
Nepalese antimonarchist groups

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW,
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador THAPA Bekh Bahadur
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
mailing address: use embassy street address

Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape
of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle
bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a
white 12-pointed sun

Economy

Economy--overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed
countries in the world with nearly half of its population living
below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy,
providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting
for 41% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing
of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and
grain. Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and
accounted for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past
three years. Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable
natural resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural
production is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual
population growth of 2.5%.