Population: 26 million; area 53,000 square miles; population density: 490 per sq. mi. (US: 80); constitutional monarchy;

12 TV Sets per 1,000 population (US: 847); 30 radios per 1,000 population (US: 2,100)

Life expectancy: 59 years (US: 77); Infant mortality per 1,000 live births: 72.4 (US: 6.7)

Major cities: Kathmandu - 760,000; Lalitpur - 200,000; Biratnagar: 130,000

1934 Earthquake, Kathmandu: magnitude 8.4, over 300,000 homes were destroyed, more than 16,000 people died

1969 July 12th. Airplane Crash near Hitauda: a Royal Nepal Airlines Douglas DC-3 crashed. All 35 passengers and crew aboard died.

1988 Earthquake, eastern Nepal: almost 1,000 people died and 6,500 were injured, and around 65,000 homes were destroyed in the Nepal/India border region

1992 July 31st. Airplane crash, Kathmandu Airport, Thai Airways Airbus A 310, 133 (113?) people died

1992 September 28th. Airplane crash, Kathmandu Airport, Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A-300, crashed into hill south of the airport 117 (167?) people died

1993 Flood: heaviest rains in Nepal's history caused the Bagmati River to overflow; many villages were deluged and 687 people were drowned

1999 September 5th. Airplane crash near Katmandu: Necon Air HS-748 struck telecom tower, all 15 people on board died

2000, July 27th Airplane crash, western region, near Jogbudha: A Royal Nepal Airlines Twin Otter plane crashed minutes before its scheduled landing near Jogbudha, 450 miles west of the capital, Katmandu, all 25 people (22 passengers and three crew members) on board died.