About Nepal
Economy
Total Land Area
GDP (PPP) GDP per capita GDP composition by sector Labour force Labour force by occupation Unemployment rate Population below poverty line |
147, 181 sq km
$141.22 billion (2012 est.) $1,300 (2012 est.) Agriculture: 35% Industry: 16% Services: 49% 18 million Agriculture: 75% Industry: 7% Services 18% 46% (2008 est.) 25.2% (2011 est. |
People
Population
Population growth rate Net migration rate Life expectancy Infant mortality rate HIV/AIDS prevalence People living with HIV/AIDS Literacy School life expectancy Education expenditure |
30, 430, 267 (July 2013 est.)
1.81% (2013 est.) 3.3 migrants/1,000 population (2013 estimate) Total: 66.86 Male: 65.57 Female: 68.19 Total: 41.76 deaths/1,000 live births Male: 41.8 deaths/1,000 live births Female: 41.71 deaths/1,000 live births 0.4% adult prevalence (2009 estimate) 64, 000 (2009 estimate) Total: 57.4% Male: 71.1% Female: 46.7% Total: 9 years Male: 10 years Female: 8 years 4.7% of GDP (2010) |
MDG Progress: In 2000, United Nations members established eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached by the year 2015 in order to tackle some of the world’s key development challenges. They include:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
- Achieve universal primary education;
- Promote gender equality and empower women;
- Reduce child mortality;
- Improve maternal health;
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
- Ensure environmental sustainability; and
- Develop a global partnership for development.
Nepal has been making progress on some of the UNMDGs, while others will be more challenging to achieve. The first progress report for Nepal, released in 2005 and written jointly by the Government of Nepal and the UN Country Team, explained that despite the 10-year civil war the country has the potential to meet each of the UNMDGs with the exception of the goals pertaining to universal primary education and combating HIV/AIDS. When considering Nepal’s current status in reaching the UNMDGs, the UNDP states that the goals that are the furthest from being reached are those relating to eradicating hunger.
The goals that are said to be most likely to be achieved in Nepal by the UNDP include:
- Halving the number of people whose income is less than a dollar a day
- Reducing the children under five mortality rate by two-thirds
- Halting and beginning to reverse the spread of malaria and other major diseases (such as TB)
- Halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to drinking water
Goals that are said to be achievable in Nepal, with major changes, by the UNDP include:
- Ensuring that all boys and girls will be able to complete primary school
- Eliminating gender disparity at all levels of education by 2015
- Reducing the maternal mortality rate by three-quarters
- Halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/ AIDS
- Integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing the loss of environmental resources
- Developing a global partnership for development
In fact, the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people who live off of less than $1 (USD) per day was achieved ahead of schedule. However, this was accomplished at the national level and unfortunately certain groups, particularly those living in remote areas, have had their livelihoods worsened in the new millennium. This is especially applicable to Dalits and others belonging to lower castes. As an organization, FTG Nepal is trying to change this through hiring people from all castes in various positions as determined by their existing or potential skill sets.
One hindrance of development as a country is that Nepal produces less food than is required by internal demand. What is worse is the lack of transportation required to get resources to remote areas of the country which is why the malnutrition and child development rates greatly vary across the country.
Since the start of the new millennium there has been a huge increase in the proportion of students with a grade five or higher education, as well as their literacy rates. While there remains a wide gender disparity in literacy rates they have generally been narrowed over the past thirteen years. The government is currently working at redistributing teachers across the country to help balance these disproportionate literacy and development rates.
Since the implementation of UNMDGs the gender gap has significantly narrowed, but it is still existent. A law has passed enforcing that political parties must have women as at least one third of their total representation in parliament. Additionally, since the new millennium there has been an incredible increase in maternal health and infant mortality rates have decreased from 108 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 46 in 2013. The goal is to have decreased the infant mortality to 36 per 1000 live births by 2015 which is considered to be realistically achievable.
Rising Costs of Nepal The land of the Kathmandu valley is on the location of a former lake bed, meaning that the land on which the city is built is of soft sediment. This type of land is immensely valuable when considering its agricultural potential. Kathmandu has traditionally been a region of prosperous farming; however, in recent years, urban migration has been increasing at exponential rates as those living in poverty move to the capital seeking employment and a higher quality of life. As a result, the value of land has sky-rocketed and more farmers than ever are finding it far more profitable to sell their land for the construction of buildings than cultivate it.
As a result of this rapid urbanization, the declining amount of farm land and other factors (namely unemployment, political instability, blockages of roads, the rising cost of petroleum, transportation and fertilizers), food prices have been rising dramatically throughout the country. For instance, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the cost of sugar-related products has increased by 77.5%, the price of vegetables by 29% and the cost of meat, fish and eggs by 23% in the past year alone.
One must also keep in mind that incomes have not been increasing in the same manner. The most current Nepal Nutrition Report Card states that half of the population under the age of 5 is stunted or suffers from chronic malnutrition. Many families are unable to afford meat, rice and other nutritious foods and have been adapting their diets in the face of rising costs. As prices continue to rise, more and more families across Nepal may adapt their diets by either consuming different and less nutritious foods or by eating less, leading to more cases of malnutrition.
The issue of income disparity is also present throughout Nepal, whether considering rural or urban areas. In an article entitled Income Inequality in Nepal Shiva Sharma compares the average income of the richest 20% of the country was compared to the average income of the poorest 20%. The average income of the richest 20% increased from NRs. 19,325 to 40,486 between 1996 and 2004, an increase of 209.5%. On the other hand, the average income of the poorest 20% increased from NRs. 2,020 to 4,003, an increase of 198.2%. Not only are the average incomes of the richest 20% far higher than those of the poorest 20%, but also the rate at which their income increases is higher than the poor. In 1996 the poorest 20% of the population was making 10.45% of the income of the richest 20% and in 2004 that number declined to 9.89%; in the time period of nearly a decade the income gap has begun to be lowered, possibly because of policy implementations to achieve UNMDGs.
A sizable portion of the population of Nepal is involved with the production of handicrafts. A significant number of these producers and workers live in poverty and struggle to maintain a sustainable livelihood. Many of these people are driven even further into marginalization as a result of their low income and status. However, with the progression of the fair trade movement and the increasing number of organizations adopting fair trade principles, more opportunities have been opening up to these producers and workers to access stable employment, obtain a higher and fairer income and access more social programs which can contribute to a sustainable livelihood and an improved quality of life.
Sources consulted:
http://www.undp.org.np/mdg/mdg-process.php
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/np.html
http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2010/03/05/Nation/16856
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=16445
http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/10/13/oped/when-the-going-gets-tough/213867/
Income Inequality in Nepal by Shiva Sharma (Journal: Inequality and Social Justice in Asia)