Location and Size: Landlocked between China and India; total land area 147,181 square kilometers.
Topography: Mountainous and hilly, although with physical diversity. Three broad physiographic areas run laterally--lowland Tarai Region in south; central lower mountains and hills constituting Hill Region; high Himalayas, with 8,796-meters-high Mount Everest and other peaks forming Mountain Region in north. Of total land area, only 20 percent cultivatable. Deforestation severe problem; by 1988 forests covered approximately 30 percent of land area.
Climate: Five climatic zones based on altitude range from subtropical in south, to cool summers and severe winters in north. Annual rainfall with seasonal variations depending on monsoon cycle, which provides 60 to 80 percent of total annual rainfall; 2,500 millimeters in eastern part of country; 1,420 millimeters around Kathmandu; 1,000 millimeters in western Nepal.
Data as of September 1991