Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is bordered by China to the northeast and India to the south and west. The Himalaya mountain range runs across Nepal's north and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, are situated within its territory.

Nepali (or Nepalese) people are descendants of 3 major migrations from India, Tibet, and north Burma. Nepalese culture is diverse, reflecting the different ethnic origins of the people.

Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in Asia, and is the 12th poorest country in the world. 31% of the population still live below the poverty line, and years of political instability have made poverty reduction difficult.

Key Facts

Just 81% of the population have access to clean, safe drinking water, only 87% of children are thought to be attending primary school, and the literacy rate is as low as 29% among some ethnic groups. Only 56% of people aged 15 or over are thought to be able to read.

In Nepal, approximately 70,000 people are thought to be living with HIV/ AIDS. The disease is most common amongst drug users and moving populations, but there is a risk that it will become a much bigger problem by the end of this decade, which would make HIV the nation’s number one killer amongst 15 to 49 year olds.

The Department For International Development (or DFID, who fund Platform2) provided Nepal with £30 million in 2006/7, and the UK is the second largest provider of aid to Nepal in the world.

Although there has been some progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (or MDGs), a great deal remains to be done. Nepal is on track to meet four of the MDGs – Poverty and Hunger, Gender Equality, Child Mortality and Diseases (Tuberculosis). However, Nepal needs to continue making progress if all 8 goals are to be achieved.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight international development goals that 189 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organisations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include halving extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development.