Nepal is a landlocked South Asian nation, sandwiched between India and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. In terms of land area, it is roughly the size of the U.S. state of New York, and its current (2004) estimated population is around 27 million people. Nepal is probably best known for its mountains, including Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world, and seven other peaks on the "world's top ten highest peaks" list. The Ganges River, one of the main sources of water in India, is fed by many tributaries flowing from the Himalayan mountain range. Nepal's scenic beauty is a major draw for tourists, but overall the country is not blessed with an abundance of commercially viable resources and over 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. As the country struggles to become more developed, health and environmental problems are being addressed, but progress is slow.

Nepal is the world's only officially Hindu nation, although other religions also have adherents, and many citizens observe a mixture of Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The Kathmandu Valley was the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) during the 6th century B.C.E.

The current territory has been under unified rule since the 18th century, and although major commercial treaties were signed with Britain during the 1700s and 1800s, the country was not a part of the British Empire. During most of its more recent history, the country has been governed by some combination of kings and prime ministers, with kings wielding more power since 1951. Political turmoil has been the norm over the last decade, which has seen the rise of a Maoist insurgence, a massacre of the royal family, dissolution of parliament and sacking of the elected prime minister, frequent anti-monarchy demonstrations by students and members of the major political parties, and the deaths, attributed to Maoist and government violence, of over 9,000 people. The dire political situation threatens to jeopardize international development aid, upon which the country is heavily dependent.

For additional background information about Nepal, we recommend the following sources:

MSU Global Access Nepal Country Page
This page is linked to other Nepal-related MSU Global Access pages, including the Nepal Map Page, the Nepal News Page, and the Nepal Travel Page. In addition to helpful resources linked directly to those pages, additional annotated resources can be identified through searches from those pages of the MSU Global Access database.
http://www.msuglobalaccess.net/geo/asia/country.php?subGeoID=101

Library of Congress Portals to the World Nepal Page
This site, and the General Resources page in particular, offer links to a number of helpful resources. Especially helpful is the "Nepal, a country study" pages previously published by the Library of Congress as a printed book.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/asian/nepal/nepal.html

World Factbook Nepal Page
The World Factbook is a publication of the CIA and is updated on a yearly basis to reflect the latest information about the countries and territories of the world. The Nepal page has a wealth of data.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/np.html

Peace Corps World Wise Schools Destination: Nepal study guide and video
The study guide has been written by Peace Corps volunteers and others for teachers to use in the classroom. It includes activities designed for grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12. The Resources page lists a robust selection of books. We are currently arranging to digitize the Destination: Nepal video and plan to stream it from this website before fall 2004. http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/guides/nepal/index.html

In addition, please explore what we hope will be a growing set of resources on the "Additional Resources" list at the bottom of the "Study Guide Units" page. http://www.isp.msu.edu/nepal/studyguideunits.htm.

The Units in this Study Guide contain specific resources (including maps, books, websites and videos) that the authors have identified as being beneficial for your and your students in further studies. The single best source for additional information on those resources is the author of each respective Unit. For that reason, the author's e-mail addresses are also listed on the "Study Guide Units" page.
http://www.isp.msu.edu/nepal/studyguideunits.htm