kathmandu

Kathmandu (Nepali: काठमांडौ [kɑːʈʰmɑːɳɖuː];Nepal Bhasa: येँ देय्‌) is the capital and, with close to one million inhabitants, the largestmetropolitan city of Nepal. The city is the urban core of the Kathmandu Valley in the Himalayas, which contains two sister cities: Lalitpur (Patan), 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to its south and Bhaktapur or Bhadgaon, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to its east, and a number of smaller towns. It is also acronymed as 'KTM' and named 'tri-city'.^[5] In the last census (2001), the city of Kathmandu had 671,846 inhabitants. Population estimates for 2005 were 790,612 and for 2010 they stood at 989,273.^[3][4] The municipal area is (50.67 square kilometres (19.56 sq mi))^[6]and the population density is 19,500 per km². However, the population of Kathmandu Valley comprising five sister cities is 5 million as estimated in 2011.

The city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) in the bowl-shaped valley in central Nepal surrounded by four major hills: Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and Chandragiri. Kathmandu valley is part of three districts,Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District andBhaktapur District, with the highest population density in the country and accounting for about 1/15 of its population.

Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal but also the headquarters of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) among the five development regions constituted by the 14 administrative zones of Nepal located at the central part of the country. The Central region has three zones: Bagmati, Narayaniand Janakpur. Kathmandu is located in theBagmati Zone.^[7]

Kathmandu, as the gateway to Nepal Tourism, is the nerve centre of the country’s economy. With the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu's economy is tourism centric accounting for 3.8% of the GDP in 1995–96 (had declined since then due to political unrest but has picked up again).

The city’s rich history is nearly 2000 years old, as inferred from an inscription in the valley. Most of Kathmandu's people follow both Hinduism followed by Buddhism. People of other religious beliefs also live in Kathmandu giving it a cosmopolitan culture.Nepali is the most common language of the city. Nepal Bhasa is the indigenous language spoken by older residents as it is the center of the Newar people and culture.English is understood by the educated population of the city. The literacy rate is 98% in the city.^[8]