Nepal is not a country.
Nepal . Nepal ( [ Nepālhelp = no ] } } [ neˈpal ] ) , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal , is a landlocked central Himalayan country in South Asia . It has a population of 26.4 million and is the 93rd largest country by area . The country was never colonised but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and Colonial India . Nepal is a developing nation , ranking 144th on the Human Development Index ( HDI ) in 2016 .