Below is a brief overview of Nepal with basic information that should also contribute to a better understanding of the importance of our school aid project.
Nepal, with approximately 147,000 sq km, is about 1.75 times larger than Austria (around 84,000 sq km) and lies at the same latitude as northern Egypt.
Nepal's population is just under 30 million, which is about 3.4 times higher than that of Austria (approximately 8.8 million).
Nepal lies between the Asian superpowers India (to the west, south and east) and China (to the north; sharing a border with the autonomous region of Tibet in the People's Republic of China).
Nepal is an extremely mountainous country (over 40% of the land area lies above 3000 meters) and can generally be divided into three main zones: the lowlands, the midlands and the highlands.
• the lowlands, the Terai
• the Swiss Plateau up to 3,000 m
• the mountainous region with the Himalayan range (up to 8,848 m – Mount Everest).
The location of the school we support, NEBS, is the city of Tikapur with about 60,000 inhabitants, in the Terai, the lowland region in southwest Nepal, which borders India.
Today, 47% of Nepal's population lives in the Terai region, which comprises only 14% of the country's land area. Excellent irrigation possibilities make it a very productive agricultural region.
Now, some information about the history, state, and politics of Nepal.
In the 18th century, the Kingdom of Gorkha was formed through the unification of about 50 principalities, which adopted the name Nepal at the beginning of the 20th century.
In 1951 a constitutional monarchy was proclaimed, in which all political parties were banned by the king in 1960.
From 1996 to 2006, the Communist Party of Nepal (the Maoists) was engaged in a civil war against the monarchy and the Hindu caste system.
Following the conclusion of a peace agreement between the government and the Maoists at the end of 2006, the monarchy in Nepal was finally abolished.
In 2008, the Constituent Assembly proclaimed a federal democratic republic as the form of government and swore in the first president of the republic.
Bidhya Devi Bhandari succeeded him in office in October 2015.
Since the last election in March 2023, Ram Chandra Paudel (Nepalese Congress Party) has been the acting President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
On March 27, 2026, Balendra "Balen" Shah, the candidate of the left-liberal Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), was sworn in as the new head of government (prime minister). He is a civil engineer and rapper and served as mayor of Kathmandu from 2022 to January 2026.
Balendra Shah replaces former Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli, who resigned on September 9, 2025, after more than 70 demonstrators were shot dead by police during protests against corruption and a social media ban, and Oli had made no effort to stop the bloody crackdown.
Nepal is an ethnic and cultural mosaic of over 100 different ethnic groups and castes, as well as 124 different languages and dialects.
The following is about religion
Approximately 81% of Nepal's population is Hindu. 9% are Buddhist. Muslims make up 4.4% of the population, while Christians comprise 1.4%. Several other small ethnic groups also exist.
In 1963, the caste system, or rather discrimination based on caste affiliation, was outlawed. This attempt failed. The caste system still plays a dominant role and has a significant influence on social life.
Our documentary film also addresses how the school deals with the mix of castes and religions.
68% of Nepal's working population is employed in agriculture, but its share of the gross national product is only 38%.
17% of Nepalese are employed in industry, while only 3% of the population work in the service sector.
Of Nepal's approximately 30 million people, almost 40% live below the poverty line, with an average monthly income of 18 euros.
With a GDP per capita of only US$5,153 in 2023, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.
In comparison, Austria's GDP per capita for 2023 is approximately USD 56,800.
What is the education situation in Nepal?
The future of children in Nepal is uncertain – only half complete the five-year primary school period.
The current three-tiered education system was established in 1971. Primary school attendance is compulsory for all Nepalese children between the ages of six and ten.
There are no fees for attending grades one through six at state schools.
The Nepalese government is in the process of restructuring the education system. This includes expanding access to primary (grades 1 to 8) and secondary (grades 9 to 12) schools and introducing vocational training programs in the upper grades.
In reality, however, many children are currently unable to attend primary school because they have to earn extra money or help with household chores. Only half of all children complete the five years of primary school. This is partly due to the lack of schools in rural areas and partly due to the poor training of teachers and the resulting low quality of instruction. There is also often a lack of basic supplies such as blackboards, pencils, and books. Many families therefore choose not to send their children to schools that are often far away.
At the end of 2017, the city government of Tikapur decided that in the future all private schools must award 10% scholarships – based on the total number of students – for needy students, otherwise the license to operate the school will be revoked.
NEBS is currently the only private school in the entire Tikapur district that significantly exceeds this requirement with scholarships of more than 20%.
The discrimination against girls is also extremely concerning.
Compared to other Asian countries, the level of education in Nepal is very low. The illiteracy rate (as of 2015) is 35% (45% for women and 24% for men). Women have particularly limited educational opportunities. Girls are much less likely to start school than their male peers and drop out even more frequently. Often, girls have to leave school prematurely because they are married off as early as ten or eleven years old. Almost half of all girls aged 15 to 19 are married.
With girls comprising 48% of the total student body, NEBS has been making a significant contribution to reducing the disadvantages faced by girls for many years.
NEBS was founded in 2012 by an enthusiastic group of trained and experienced teachers. Their previous, often painful experiences in a patriarchal and economically opaque private school prompted the creation of a collectively run school, unusual for Nepal.
Here, a teaching staff that is quite heterogeneous in terms of social, gender and age is attempting to realize an ambitious project in shared (= democratic) responsibility, despite the still prevailing caste mentality.
