Nepal - Region Profile

Nepal, officially the Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres and a population of approximately 27 million (and nearly 2 million absentee workers living abroad), Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass and the 41st most populous country. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India. It lies between latitudes 26° and 31°N, and longitudes 80° and 89°E. Nepal's gross domestic product (GDP) for 2012 was estimated at over $17.921 billion (adjusted to Nominal GDP). In 2010, agriculture accounted for 36.1%, services comprise 48.5%, and industry 15.4% of Nepal's GDP. While agriculture and industry is contracting, the contribution by service sector is increasing.


Agriculture employs 76% of the workforce in Nepal. Agricultural produce – mostly grown in the Terai region bordering India – includes tea, rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane and root crops. Vegetables make up over one-third of the total GDP contribution from the agricultural sector. Per capita availability of fresh vegetables increased to 86.4 kg in 2008/09, which is a significant rise from 66.7 kg recorded in 2001-02. Table 1 illustrates the current area, productivity and production statistics of major crops in Nepal. Nutrient consumption in Nepal in the past decade is given in Fig. 2. There was a sharp drop in nutrient consumption, particularly N and P, between 2003-04 and 2005-06. Using the area and production of major crops, the total nutrient (N, P₂O₅ and K₂O) removal by each crop was calculated and a nutrient balance sheet was prepared (table 2).

Table 1: Latest Crop Production Statistics of Nepal-2012-13

Parameters	Rice	Wheat	Maize	Total Cereals	Total Pulses
Area	1531.493	765.317	871.387	3485	296
Production	5072.248	1846.142	2179.414	9458	283
Productivity	3312	2412	2501	2714	956

Area ('000 ha); Production ('000 tonnes); Productivity (kg/ha)

Table 2: Nutrient balance sheet for major crops of Nepal (2012-13)

Crop	Area (in '000 ha)	Production (in '000 tonnes)	Nutrient Removal (kg/tonne)			Total Removal (tonnes)
			N	P2O5	K2O	N	P2O5	K2O
Rice	1531.493	5072.248	20.1	11.2	30	101952.2	56809.18	152167.4
Wheat	765.317	1846.142	24.4	8.6	32.8	45045.86	15876.82	60553.46
Maize	871.387	2179.414	8.2	3.1	15.5	17871.19	6756.183	33780.92
Total Pulses	296	283	40	5	20	11320	1415	5660
		Total removal by major crops				176189.2	80857.18	252161.8
		Total fertilizer consumption in Nepal				20000	20000	1000
		Consumption * Efficiency factor				8000	6000	700
		Balance/Deficit				-168189	-74857.2	-251462

Efficiency of N=40%; P2O5= 30%; and K2O=70%

*Crop production and fertilizer use data are retrieved from Fertiliser Statistics, 2013-14, The Fertiliser Association of India, New Delhi