Symbolism of Flag: red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle displays a white 12-pointed sun; the color red represents the rhododendron (Nepal's national flower) and is a sign of victory and bravery, the blue border signifies peace and harmony; the two right triangles are a combination of two single pennons (pennants) that originally symbolized the Himalaya Mountains while their charges represented the families of the king (upper) and the prime minister, but today they are understood to denote Hinduism and Buddhism, the country's two main religions; the moon represents the serenity of the Nepalese people and the shade and cool weather in the Himalayas, while the sun depicts the heat and higher temperatures of the lower parts of Nepal; the moon and the sun are also said to express the hope that the nation will endure as long as these heavenly bodies
note: Nepal is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular or square
Executive Branch: president elected by Parliament; term extends until the new constitution is promulgated; president elected on 21 July 2008; date of next election NA Judicial Branch: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and up to 14 judgesnote - Nepal's judiciary was restructured under its 2007 Interim Constitution Legislative Branch: unicameral Constituent Assembly (601 seats; 240 members elected by direct popular vote, 335 by proportional representation, and 26 appointed by the Cabinet (Council of Ministers) Their US Ambassador: Ambassador Shankar Prasad SHARMA Their US Embassy: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 Their Consulates: New York Our Ambassador: Ambassador Peter W. BODDE U.S. EMBASSY (THERE): Maharajgunj, Kathmandu Our Consulates: N/A UN Representatives: Durga P. Bhattarai
Khil Raj REGMI - Head of Government
Conventional Long Form Country Name: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Capital City: Kathmandu Type of Government: Federal Democratic Republic Date of Independence: 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH) National Holiday: Republic Day, 29 May Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal National Symbol: rhododendron
blossom
President Ram Baran YADAV -
Chief of State
International Disputes: Joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities Refugees: 15,0000-20,000 (Tibet/China); about 43,000 (Bhutan) (2012) Internally Displaced Persons: 50,000 (remaining from ten-year Maoist insurgency that officially ended in 2006; figure does not include people displaced since 2007 by inter-communal violence and insecurity in the Terai region) (2012) Stateless Persons: 800,000 (2011); note - in 2007-2008 the government distributed 2.6 million citizenship certificates to the 3.4 million people without one; the remaining 800,000 without citizenship certificates are not necessarily stateless, and the UNHCR is working with the Nepali Government to clarify their situation; lesser numbers of Bhutanese Hindu refugees of Nepali origin (the Lhotsampa) who were stripped of Bhutanese nationality and forced to flee their country in the late 1980s and early 1990s - and undocumented Tibetan refugees who arrived in Nepal prior to the 1990s - are considered stateless Human Trafficking Issues: N/A Illicit Drug trafficking/use: illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West