NPR

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$963.5 million (2005)

Currency (code):

Nepalese rupee (NPR)

Currency code:

Exchange rates:

Nepalese rupees (NPR) per US dollar - NA (2007), 72.446 (2006), 72.16 (2005), 73.674 (2004), 76.141 (2003)

Communications
Nepal

Telephones - main lines in use:

766,400 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1.157 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile-cellular telephone network domestic: NA international: country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2000)

Radios:

840,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998)

Televisions:

130,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.np

Internet hosts:

42,219 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

6 (2000)

Internet users:

337,100 (2007)

Transportation
Nepal

Airports:

47 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 10 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 30 (2007)

Railways:

total: 59 km narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 17,280 km paved: 9,829 km unpaved: 7,451 km (2004)

Military
Nepal

Military branches:

Nepalese Army, Armed Police Force (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; 15 years of age for military training; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 7,322,965 females age 16-49: 6,859,064 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 5,146,958 females age 16-49: 4,724,495 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 335,747 female: 312,297 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1.6% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Nepal

Disputes - international:

joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities; approximately 106,000 Bhutanese Lhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps in southeastern Nepal since 1990

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 107,803 (Bhutan); 20,153 (Tibet/China) IDPs: 50,000-70,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; displacement spread across the country) (2007)

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Netherlands

Introduction
Netherlands

Background:

The Dutch United Provinces declared their independence from Spain in 1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural products. The country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Geography
Netherlands

Location:

Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany

Geographic coordinates: