Nepal (Nepali: नेपाल [neˈpaːl] (help·info)) is a landlocked nation in South Asia, bordering the People's Republic of China to the North and India to the South, East and West.
In 2006, Nepal was the only known officially-declared Hindu kingdom in the world. On May 18, 2006, Nepal was declared a secular state by the Interim Parliament of Nepal. On December 28, 2007, the interim parliament passed a bill and declared Nepal to be a federal democratic republic.
For a relatively small country, Nepal has a diverse landscape, ranging from the humid Terai plain lands in the south to the mountainous Himalayas in the north. Eight of the world's top ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest, are in Nepal.
Nepal's flag is the only national flag that is not quadrilateral in shape.
Geography of Nepal is uncommonly diverse. Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and 200 kilometres (125 mi) wide, with an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi). Nepal is commonly divided into four physiographic areas: the Mountain, Hill, Siwalik region and Terai Regions. These ecological belts run east-west and are bisected by Nepal's major river systems. Nepal is roughly the same size as England or the US states of Michigan and Arkansas.