Location: Between China and India. Area: Approximately 147,000 sq km, stretching 800 km from east to west and from 90 to 230 km north to south. Population: An estimated 29.5 million . Annual rate of growth of 2.5%. Latitude & Longitude: 26’12’ and 30’27’ North & 80 degree 4′ and 88 degree 12′ East Capital city: Kathmandu. Population of about 800,000 in the city itself. Believed to be approximately 1.5m in the fertile Kathmandu valley. Peoples: Over 100 Ethnic Groups . Indigenous peoples include Gurung, Limbu, Newar, Rai, Sherpa, Tamang and Tharu with diverse smaller groups. Major caste groups are the Brahmans and Chhetris. Language(s): Nepali 58% (official language), Newari 3%, mainly in Kathmandu. Tibeto- Burman languages (20%) mainly in the hill areas, and Indian languages (20%) mainly in the Terai areas bordering India. Nepal has over 70 Spoken Languages and dozens of dialects. Religion(s): Officially 90% Hindu, 8% Buddhist and 2% Muslim – but these figures are thought misleading. Hinduism and Buddhism overlap considerably in Nepal. Other estimates also suggest that there are some 400,000 Christians in the country. Topography: … [ Read More ... ]