Nepal

Home-based workers (HBWs) are vital to Nepal’s economy comprising about one-third of its non-agricultural labour force. The contributions they make to the country’s economy cannot be discounted because they are in the informal sector. By producing products that are mostly exported they contribute directly to GDP and to the preservation of cultural heritage.

Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and His Majesty’s Government of Nepal Regarding the Surrender of Persons to the International Criminal Court. Kathmandu 31 December 2002

This research brief provides a snapshot of Girls’ Access To Education (GATE) a non-formal education programme that aims to bring the most marginalized adolescent girls in Nepal into school. The nine-month programme provides out-of-school girls with the basic literacy numeracy and life skills they need to enter and learn in formal schooling. The analysis draws on GATE monitoring data for 2018/19 covering 7394 GATE beneficiaries in five districts of Nepal and is combined with qualitative evidence including case studies and focus group discussions with former GATE participants conducted in 2019. The mixed-methods analysis finds that the GATE programme has been highly effective with 95% completion of the programme by enrolled girls and 89% of girls making the successful transition to formal school. Moreover GATE graduates enrolled in Grades 3 to 5 in formal schools outperformed non-GATE girls enrolled in the same grades even though GATE girls overwhelmingly had no prior formal school experience. Qualitative evidence reveals that poverty caring responsibilities and parents’ traditional views may be important factors in explaining why GATE girls had never previously attended school. Despite this GATE beneficiaries who were interviewed maintain a positive outlook on the future and have clear career goals. One of the recommendations stemming from this brief is to explore the feasibility of expanding GATE approaches to target out-of-school children in other contexts as GATE has been a cost-effective solution in the context of Nepal.

This publication forms part of the background research for the study titled “Effective market access for least developed countries’ services exports; An analysis of the World Trade Organization services waiver for least developed countries” (UNCTAD/DITC/TNCD/2019/1). The research was originally undertaken in 2017 and has been released for publication to help policymakers understand some of the intricacies behind the original study. Some details may have since changed.

This pilot case study for Nepal was prepared by the UNCTAD secretariat with co-financing from Sweden for which UNCTAD is thankful.

This paper focuses on Nepal as an LDC and a services exporter. It does so embedded in the immediate context of the overall question of LDC services exports their promotion and the operationalisation of the WTO’s LDC Services Waiver. It thus serves as a case study — one of an initial set of four — and should be read in conjunction with the overview paper “Effective Market Access for LDC Services Exports — An Analysis of the WTO Services Waiver for LDCs” which considers cross-cutting observations and conclusions.

Nepal is a mountainous landlocked country in South Asia that shares its borders with India to the south east and west and China to the north. It is a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Integration (SAARC) along with Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Nepal’s capital Kathmandu is the seat of the SAARC Secretariat. In 2016 Nepal’s population numbered 28.9 million and its GDP was worth $ 21.13 billion. The country reported the second highest level of health and primary education in the region and among South Asian countries was the best performer in terms of macroeconomic environment.