The Kingdom of Nepal is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia, bordering the People's Republic of China to the north and India to the south, east and west. Nepal has the distinction of being the world's only Hindu state, with over eighty percent of the people following this faith. For a relatively small country, the Nepali landscape is uncommonly diverse, ranging from the humid Terai in the south to the lofty Himalayas in the north. Nepal boasts eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest on the border with China. Kathmandu is the capital and largest city. The exact origin of the name Nepal is uncertain, but the most popular understanding is that it is derived from Ne (holy) and pal (cave). After a long and complex history, during which the region has splintered and coalesced under a variety of absolute rulers, Nepal became a constitutional monarchy in 1990. This arrangement has been marked by increasing instability, both in the parliament and, since 1996, throughout large swathes of the country that have been fought over by Maoist insurgents. The Maoists have sought to overthrow the monarchy and establish their own form of republic; this has led to a civil war, known as the Nepalese civil war, in which more than 12,000 people have died. In 2002, the then-serving Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba dissolved Parliament to call Parliamentary elections, but later went to the King and said elections could not be held because of the deteriorating security situation due to the Maoist insurgency. The King then fired Deuba under Article 127 of the Constitution. Since Deuba's firing in 2002, the King appointed three Prime Ministers (including reappointing Deuba). On February 1, 2005 with the stated pretext of quashing the insurgents and restoring elected democracy to the country, the king declared a "state of emergency" and assumed the role of Chairman of the government, assuming all executive powers.Motto: (Sanskrit: Mother and Motherland are greater than the kingdom of heaven) Anthem: Rastriya Gaan Location of Nepal Capital Kathmandu 27°42′ N 85°19′ E Largest city Kathmandu Official language(s) Nepali Government King Prime Minister Constitutional Monarchy Gyanendra Office currently vacant Unification 1768-12-21 Area - Total - Water (%) 147,181 km² (94th) 56,827 mi² 2.8 Population - July 2005 est. - 2001 census - Density 27,676,547 (40th) 23,151,423 196/km² (39th) 508/mi² GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita 2005 estimate $42.17 billion (81st) $1,500 (196th) HDI (2003) 0.526 (136th) – medium Currency Rupee (NPR) Time zone - Summer (DST) NPT (UTC+5:45) not observed (UTC+5:45) Internet TLD .np Calling code +977