8% of total
budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of
growth.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$31.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.2% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$1,370 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 21%
services: 39% (1997 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 7.5% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
total: 10 million (1996 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3%
note: severe lack of skilled labor

Unemployment rate: NA%; substantial underemployment (1996)

Budget:
revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $818 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY96/97 est.)

Industries: tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and
oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production

Industrial production growth rate: 14.7% (FY94/95 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 292,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 980 million kWh (1996)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 48 kWh (1996 est.)

Agriculture-products: rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk,
water buffalo meat

Exports:
total value: $419 million (f.o.b., 1997 est.) but does not include
unrecorded border trade with India
commodities: carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
partners: India, US, Germany, UK

Imports:
total value: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.)
commodities: petroleum products 20%, fertilizer 11%, machinery 10%
partners: India, Singapore, Japan, Germany

Debt-external: $2.6 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $411 million (FY97/98)

Currency: 1 Nepalese rupee (NR) = 100 paisa

Exchange rates: Nepalese rupees (NRs) per US$1-63.265 (January 1998),
58.010 (1997), 56.692 (1996), 51.890 (1995), 49.398 (1994), 48.607
(1993)

Fiscal year: 16 July-15 July

Communications

Telephones: 115,911 (1996 est.)

Telephone system: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair
radiotelephone communication service
domestic: NA
international: radiotelephone communications; satellite earth
station-1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 88, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios: 690,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 9 (1996 est.)

Televisions: 45,000 (1992 est.)

@Nepal:Transportation

Railways:
total: 101 km; note-all in Kosi close to Indian border
narrow gauge: 101 km 0.762-m gauge

Highways:
total: 7,700 km
paved: 3,196 km
unpaved: 4,504 km (199