(WIPO code: NP) (last revised January 2024)
by APEX LAW CHAMBER, Kathmandu - Mr. R.C. Subedi
Nepal
General Information
Area
147,516 sq. km.
Population
30,899,443 million (2023).
Capital
Kathmandu.
Language
Nepali.
Currency
Nepalese rupee.
Geography
Contrary to common belief, Nepal has a geographical characteristic other than a strictly South Himalayan one, for its territory extends also to the northern side of the great Himalayan range.
Administration
Nepal is a Federal Democratic State, further subdivided into 77 administrative districts. A new Constitution came into force in September 2015, which designates Nepal as a Secular State. Now, Nepal has 7 provinces and a three-tier government - federal, provincial and local. The Supreme Court forms the apex of its three-tiered judiciary, the others being the High Courts and the District Courts.
Economy
With its 800 km long stretch of the mighty Himalayan mountains (including Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak) on the one hand, and its uniquely rich architectural and sculptural heritage on the other, mountaineering, tourism and trekking activities have, over the last decade or more, picked up as the country's major growth industry. Export industries include, jute, timber, herbs, hides, semi-precious stones, etc., while textiles, petroleum products, cement steel and hardware, etc., constitute its major import items. Nepal became a signatory to the South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement (SAPTA) in November 1995, the WIPO Convention in February 1997, the Paris Convention in June 2001, the WTO's TRIPS Agreement in April 2004 and the Berne Convention in 2006.
Transportation
Closed off, both physically and politically, from the outside world until 1950, and making a start with a rough 58 km of gravel roads at the time, Nepal is now linked with India in the south and Tibet (China) in the north by a number of motorable roads (estimated road network in 2005: 9,000 km). It has direct air-links with New Delhi, Bombay, Patna, Benares and Calcutta (India), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Lhasa (Tibet), Thimphu (Bhutan), Karachi (Pakistan), Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc., besides Malaysia, Qatar, Dubai, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey, Thailand, Korea, Osaka (Japan), Shanghai and Guangzhou (China). Internally, the mountainous countryside is dotted with over 40 airstrips, most of them seasonal. These are serviced by one State-owned airline and about ten privately owned airlines.
| Statistics (registered up to Nov. 29, 2023) | |
| Patents | 87 |
| Trademarks | 61,211 |
| Designs | 303 |