Nepal is a small, landlocked country in South Asia, located between India and China. While it may not appear large on a map—covering about 56,000 square miles—it contains some of the most extreme and diverse geography in the world. For comparison, Nepal is slightly larger than the state of Illinois but has more vertical terrain than the entire Rocky Mountain range. Within a short 100-mile stretch, the landscape rises from the flat Terai plains at around 230 feet above sea level to the summit of Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 29,032 feet. This is a greater elevation gain than anywhere else on Earth. The country is divided into three main geographical regions: the Terai (southern lowlands), the Hill Region (central mid-hills), and the Mountain Region (northern Himalayas). Nepal’s topography creates diverse climates ranging from tropical in the south to arctic in the far north, making it home to ecosystems as varied as Bengal tiger habitats and alpine snow leopards. The Himalayan range, which stretches across Nepal’s northern border, includes eight of the world’s ten highest peaks—an astonishing fact considering the country’s modest size.

Latitude: 260 22″ North to 300 27″ North
Longitude: 800 04″ East to 88012″ East
Area: 147181 sq. km
Borders: North-Tibet, Autonomous Region of China; East, West, and South-India
Population (2024 est.): 31.07 Millions
Capital city: Kathmandu, 1.62 million
Monetary unit: Nepalese rupee
Internet TLD: .np .नेपाल Religion: 81.3% Hinduism, 9% Buddhism, 4.4% Islam, 3% Kirant, 1.4% Christianity, 0.4% Animism, 0.5% Irreligion