Nepal Economy Profile 2009

Economy - overview

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population and accounting for about one-third of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural products, including pulses, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Bumper crops, better security, improved transportation, and increased tourism pushed growth past 5% in 2008, after growth had hovered around 3% - barely above the rate of population growth - for the previous three years. The deteriorating world economy in 2009 will challenge tourism and remittance growth, a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness and landlocked geographic location, its civil strife and labor unrest, and its susceptibility to natural disaster.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$31.08 billion (2008 est.)
$29.68 billion (2007 est.)
$28.76 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$12.7 billion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.7% (2008 est.)
3.2% (2007 est.)
3.7% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$1,100 (2008 est.)
$1,100 (2007 est.)
$1,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 32.5%
industry: 16.6%
services: 50.9% (FY07 est.)

Population below poverty line

30.9% (2004)

Labor force

14.6 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 76%
industry: 6%
services: 18% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate

46% (2008 est.)
42% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 40.6% (2006)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

47.2 (2008)
36.7 (1996)

Budget

revenues: $1.7 billion
expenditures: $2.3 billion (FY08)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7.7% (2008 est.)
6.4% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate

6.5% (31 December 2008)
6.25% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA% (31 December 2008)

Stock of money

$2.204 billion (16 July 2008)
$2.184 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$4.872 billion (16 July 2008)
$4.745 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit

$6.027 billion (16 July 2008)
$5.636 billion (31 December 2007)

Industries

tourism, carpets, textiles; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production

Industrial production growth rate

1.8% (FY08)

Electricity - production

2.703 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 8.5%
hydro: 91.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

2.276 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports

165 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports

560 million kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - consumption

12,500 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - imports

12,500 bbl/day (2008 est.)

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2008)

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current Account Balance

$241 million (2008)
$58 million (2007)

Agriculture - products

pulses, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, jute, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat

Exports

$868 million (2008)
$830 million (2006)

Exports - commodities

clothing, carpets, leather goods, jute goods, pulses, grain

Exports - partners

India 67%, US 7%, Bangladesh 6.7% (2008)

Imports

$3.229 billion (2008)
$2.398 billion (2006)

Imports - commodities

petroleum products, machinery and equipment, electrical goods

Imports - partners

India 59.4%, China 13%, Singapore 1.8% (2008)

Debt - external

$3.285 billion (2008)
$3.07 billion (March 2006)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares

$5.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$4.909 billion (31 December 2007)
$1.805 billion (31 December 2006)

Economic aid - recipient

$427.9 million (2005)

Currency (code)

Nepalese rupee (NPR)

Currency (code)

NPR

Exchange rates

Nepalese rupees (NPR) per US dollar - 65.21 (2008), 70.35 (2007), 72.446 (2006), 72.16 (2005), 73.674 (2004)

Fiscal year

16 July - 15 July