Capital: Kathmandu
Population: 30,986,975 (July 2014 est.)
Ethnic groups: Chhettri 16.6%, Brahman-Hill 12.2%, Magar 7.1%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.8%, Newar 5%, Kami 4.8%,
Muslim 4.4%, Yadav 4%, Rai 2.3%, Gurung 2%, Damai/Dholii 1.8%, Thakuri 1.6%, Limbu 1.5%, Sarki 1.4%, Teli 1.4%,
Chamar/Harijan/Ram 1.3%, Koiri/Kushwaha 1.2%, other 19% (2011 est.)
Religions: Hindu 81.3%, Buddhist 9%, Muslim 4.4%, Kirant 3.1%, Christian 1.4%, other 0.5%, unspecifed 0.2% (2011 est.)
History of Nepal:
The first civilizations in Nepal, which flourished around the 6th century B.C., were confined to the Kathmandu Valley where the present-day capital is located. It was in this region that Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born 563 B.C. Gautama spawned Buddhism.

Nepali rulers' early patronage of Buddhism gave way to Hinduism, reflecting the increased influence of India, around the 12th century. Though the successive dynasties of the Gopalas, the Kiratis, and the Licchavis expanded their rule, it was not until the reign of the Malla kings from 1200-1769 that Nepal assumed the approximate dimensions of the modern state.

The kingdom of Nepal was unified in 1768 by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, who fled India following the Moghul conquests of the subcontinent. A commercial treaty was signed with Britain in 1792 and again in 1816 after more than a year of hostilities with the British East India Company.

In 1923, Britain recognized the independence of Nepal. Between 1846 and 1951, the country was ruled by the Rana family, which held the office of prime minister. In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah became king in 1955. After Mahendra died of a heart attack in 1972, Prince Birendra, at 26, succeeded to the throne.

In 1990, a pro-democracy movement forced King Birendra to lift the ban on political parties. The first free election in three decades provided a victory for the Nepali Congress Party in 1991, although the Communists made a strong showing. An insurgency led by Maoist extremists broke out in 1996. The ensuing ten-year civil war between insurgents and government forces witnessed the dissolution of the cabinet and parliament and assumption of absolute power by the king.

On June 1, 2001, King Birendra was shot and killed by his son, Crown Prince Dipendra. Angered by his family's disapproval of his choice of a bride, the crown prince also killed his mother and several other members of the royal family before shooting himself. Prince Gyanendra, the younger brother of King Birendra, was then crowned king.

King Gyanendra fired the entire government in February 2005 and assumed direct power. Many politicians were placed under house arrest, and severe restrictions on civil liberties were instituted.

In April 2006, massive pro-democracy protests organized by seven opposition parties and supported by the Maoists took place. King Gyanendra's offer to hand over executive power to a prime minister was rejected. As protests intensified, King Gyanendra agreed to reinstate Parliament. The new parliament selected Girija Prasad Koirala as prime minister. In May, it voted unanimously to declare Nepal a secular nation and strip the king of his authority over the military.

In November 2006, The Maoist rebels and the government signed a landmark peace agreement. In March 2007, the Maoists achieved another milestone when they joined the interim government. In September 2007, the Maoists quit the interim government, claiming that not enough progress had been made in abolishing the monarchy and forming a republic. They agreed to rejoin the interim government in December, when Parliament voted to abolish the monarchy and become a federal democratic republic.

In 2007, Sunil Babu Pant won a case in the Supreme Court that forced the government to guarantee equal rights to all sexual and gender minorities. In 2008, Pant became the first openly gay lawmaker elected to parliament.

Following a nation-wide election in April 2008, the Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a federal democratic republic. The Maoist rebels won 120 out of 240 directly elected seats. In May, the assembly voted to dissolve the monarchy. King Gyanendra vacated Narayanhiti Palace in June.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala resigned in June. In July, the Maoists said they would not participate in the government when their candidate for president, Ramraja Prasad Singh, was defeated. Other parties in the Constituent Assembly united to elect Ram Baran Yadav as the country's first president. A Maoist was elected prime minister in August. The Constituent Assembly voted in favor of Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal over Sher Bahadur Deuba, a member of the Nepali Congress Party. In a compromise, the Maoists said they would not hold posts in the party's armed faction and would return private property it had seized.

In May 2009, the fragile compromise government fell apart when Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned and the Maoists quit the government. Dahal's resignation came after President Ram Baran Yadav reinstated General Rookmangud Katawal. Katawal had been fired for refusing to work with the Maoists. Dahal said he would not rejoin the government unless General Katawal was permanently removed.

On May 23, 2009, Madhav Kumar Nepal became the new prime minister, with the backing of 21 of the 24 political parties in Nepal's National Assembly.

In June 2010, Prime Minister Nepal reached a deal with the Maoists in which he agreed to resign and in exchange the Maoists extended both the term of Parliament and the deadline to complete a draft constitution.

On February 6, 2011, Jhalanath Khanal, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) was sworn in as prime minister. On May 29, 2011, a last-minute deal was reached by Nepal's political parties to extend the new constitution deadline. Also in 2011, Nepal became the first country to take a census including a "third gender" category.

In May 2012, rival political parties could not agree on a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly was dissolved. President Yadav set a November 29 deadline to reach an agreement for a new government. The deadline passed without any progress so it was extended.

In early 2013, Nepal's political parties agreed on an interim government to hold elections. Chief Justice Khil Raj Regm was appointed prime minister to lead the interim government and assumed office on March 14, 2013.

The Constituent Assembly election was held on November 19, 2013. The Nepali Congress won 105 of the 240 seats. The Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) won 26 seats and claimed the elections were fraudulent.

On February 10, 2014, Sushil Koirala was elected as prime minister.

On April 18, 2014, the deadliest avalanche ever recorded on Mount Everest killed 16 Sherpa guides, who were fixing ropes for climbers when the avalanche hit. Dozens of Sherpa guides walked off the job in protest over the Nepalese government's response to the tragedy.
The following are some Scriptures that deal with end-time events.  All prophecies concerning the nations are leading up to fulfillment of end-time judgments (events).

Ezekiel chapters 38 & 39
Zechariah 13: 8-9
Zechariah 14: 1-16
Daniel chapters 2, 4, 7-12
Matthew 24: 1-51
Mark 13: 1-37
Luke 21: 6-38
The book of Revelation
The book of Joel
Please wait while we load thousands of articles for you to search...
World Ministries International