Nepal is a landlocked Asian country bordered by the People's Republic of China to the north and India to the south, east and west. The Himalayan mountain range stretches through Nepal and the country is home to eight of the world's ten highest peaks, including Mount Everest (8,848m).
Nepal was a closed country until 1951. Since then there have been great advances in development and infrastructure, but it is still one of the poorest countries in Asia. The economy is largely agriculturally based and nearly one third of the people of Nepal live below the poverty line.
