Nepal

At a glance

Capital

Kathmandu

Official languages

Nepali

Currency

Nepalese rupee (NPR)

Time zone

UTC+5:45 (NPT)

Area

147,180 km²

People

Population

29.6 million (2025)

Population growth

-0.1% a year

Living in towns and cities

67.0%

Aged under 15

28.1%

Aged 65 and over

6.6%

Life expectancy

70.6 years

Economy

GDP

US$45.5 billion (2025)

GDP per person

US$1,536 (2025)

Economic growth

4.4% (2025)

Inflation

2.7% (2025)

Climate

Five altitude zones from tropical and subtropical (Terai, below 1,200 m) to arctic (above 4,400 m); five seasons including a summer monsoon, with annual monsoon flooding and landslides disrupting road transport.

Alcohol

Alcohol is

Legal

Legal drinking age

18 for purchase (a policy to raise it to 21 was reported; not confirmed), per Wikipedia Legal drinking age; the cabinet-endorsed National Policy on Regulation and Control of Alcohol 2017 sets 21 and bars sales to pregnant women, but it is a policy, not a statute (Kathmandu Post, Feb 2017)

Alcohol per adult a year

1.4 litres of pure alcohol (2019)

What people drink

Beer 28.3%, wine 0.6%, spirits 71.1% (2019)

Traditional drinks

Raksi (distilled from fermented rice, millet or other grain), Chhaang (brewed grain drink, base for raksi)