Nepal is the ONLY country in the world that takes Hinduism as its national religion. Hinduism, according to the Random House Dictionary, is the common religion of India, based upon the religion of the original Aryan settlers as expounded and evolved in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad-Gita, etc. Christians are very few compared to that of other countries; but they are united to join forces in witnessing and many other aspects. It has the magnificant Mt. Everest and wonderful Natural Beauty.
Dialy Photo update on Mt. Everest. The Religion situation (Operation World, 1987) The world's only Hindu kingdom. Hinduism is the state religion, and it is unlawful to convert anyone from the religion of their fathers. Open Christian evanglism is illegal. Hindu 98%. Much interwined in Buddhism and a strong, underlying animism. A complex caster stystem exists despite its illegality since 1963. Buddhist 7%. Lamaistic Buddhism is dominant among the Tibeto-Burman peoples. The Buddha was born in Nepal. Muslim 3.5%. Predominantly in the Terai. Christian 0.3%. Almost entirely Protestant Evangelicals. --- Roman Catholic about 250 adherents. --- Protestant 0.3%. 47,000 first adherents; 26,000 adult or communicant members. --- Missionaries to Nepal approx. 600 (1:26,700 people) in two large inter-mission fellowships and several independent agencies. (Note that the figure is around 1986 -1990 and the nominal Christians are not counted, only the affiliated figure is used.)
The Sorrow of Nepali Women Basic Info Sheet on Nepal Population: 24,302,653 (July 1999 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 41% (male 5,182,829; female 4,869,895) 15-64 years: 55% (male 6,856,905; female 6,571,916) 65 years and over: 4% (male 407,797; female 413,311) (1999 est.) Population growth rate: 2.51% (1999 est.) Birth rate: 35.32 births/1,000 population (1999 est.) Death rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.) Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (1999 est.) Infant mortality rate: 73.58 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
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