Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Nepal's
Economy
By nearly any measure, Nepal ranks as one of the world's poor-
est countries. It, like many African and several other Asian
states, is undergoing a huge cultural and economic transition.
Most Nepaleseﾭabout four of every fiveﾭcontinue to live in the
country, where they practice a very traditional lifestyle. Most survive
on a subsistence economy. They raise their own food, build their
own homes, and otherwise provide for the majority of their material
needs. What they cannot grow or make, they trade for in an ancient
barter system, in remote villages. They are independent, largely self-
sufficient, and proud. Only about 20 percent of the rural homes have
electricity, and few have modern indoor plumbing.
Geographers refer to such a lifestyle as a
folk culture
. Such
people work long, hard hours, but little of what they do “counts”
in monetary terms, the way economies are measured today. They
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