Nepal ranks among the world’s poorest countries with more than 30% of the population living below the poverty line. Approximately 80 percent of all Nepalis depend on subsistence agriculture and forest products for their livelihoods.

The successful completion of the April 10, 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) election was a significant step towards strengthening democracy in Nepal. The CA is now charged with serving as the interim Parliament and drafting a new constitution that respects the basic rights of all citizens.

USAID's support in the health sector is one of the most longstanding and successful development assistance programs in Nepal. In spite of over ten years of insurgency, Nepal has made great strides in key health areas. However, discrepancies between urban and rural populations’ access to health care is evidenced by the fact that rural women, on average, give birth to four children while urban women now average only two children.

Following a decade-long insurgency, Nepal has sustained a Comprehensive Peace Agreement for more than three years and has taken major steps toward instituting democratic constitutional rule.

After eleven years of armed insurgency, a window of opportunity for peace and reconciliation opened in Nepal with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Government of Nepal and the Maoists in November 2006, the promulgation of an interim constitution, and the formation of an interim parliament that included the Maoists.