尼泊尔(Nepal)
正式名称尼泊尔王国（Kingdom of Nepal）
亚洲南部国家。面积140,798平方公里。人口约25,284,000（2001）。首都︰加德满都。具有印度-雅利安血统的尼泊尔人占总人口的绝大多数，藏裔尼泊尔人为该国重要的少数民族。语言︰尼泊尔语（官方语）、尼瓦尔语（Newari）。宗教︰印度教（国教）；少数信奉佛教。货币︰尼泊尔卢比（NRs）。尼泊尔境内有世界最崎岖的高山地带，大喜马拉雅山脉，包括埃佛勒斯峰，位於中部和北部。由於地理封闭和多年来自我封闭，尼泊尔成为世界最低度开发的国家之一。其市场经济绝大部分以农业为基础，为重要的草药生产国，草药产自喜马拉雅山脉的山坡。政府形式为君主立宪政体，两院制。国家元首为国王，政府首脑是总理。
尼泊尔的早期历史受佛教影响，王朝建立追溯自西元前4世纪左右。1769年形成单一王国，18～19世纪与中国及英属印度进行边界战争。1923年独立，得到英国承认。1990年的新宪法约束王室的权力，阐明以人权和公民权为基础，并承认民主选举的议会政府。1997年与印度签订贸易协定，以拓展国家。
English version：
Nepal
Nation, southern Asia. Area: 54,362 sq mi (140,798 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 21,424,000. Capital: Kathmandu. Most of the people are Nepalese of Indo-Aryan ancestry; there is a significant minority of Tibeto-Nepalese peoples. Languages: Nepali (official), Newari. Religion: Hinduism (official); small minority, Buddhism. Currency: Nepalese rupee. Nepal contains some of the most rugged mountainous terrain in the world. The great Himalayas, including Mount Everest, are in its central and northern parts. As a result of its years of geographic and self-imposed isolation, it is one of the least-developed nations of the world. Its market economy is mostly based on agriculture, and it is a major producer of medicinal herbs, which grow on the slopes of the Himalayas. It is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament; its chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. The region developed under early Buddhist influence, and dynastic rule dates from c. 4th century AD. It was formed into a single kingdom in 1769 and fought border wars with China, Tibet, and British India in the 18th-19th century. Its independence was recognized by Britain in 1923. A new constitution in 1990 restricted royal authority, stated basic human and civil rights, and accepted a democratically elected parliamentary government. In its national outreach, it signed trade agreements with India in 1997.