Dec 16 (Reuters) - The following are some key facts about Nepal, where the ruling alliance and Maoists on Saturday approved the draft of an interim constitution, a key step to implement their landmark peace deal ending a decade-long conflict.

* Landlocked Nepal, wedged in the Himalayas between India and China, occupies an area of 147,000 sq km (57,000 sq miles) and has a population of over 26 million. It has eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including Mount Everest.

* Until June, it was the world's only Hindu kingdom, and tradition has it that the king is an incarnation of the god Vishnu. That belief is much less widely held since King Gyanendra grabbed power and plunged the country into fresh turmoil. Almost 90 percent of Nepal's people are Hindus, with the rest being Buddhists, Muslims and Christians.

* Gyanendra was forced to hand over power to political parties and reinstate parliament in April after weeks of street protests. He was stripped of his powers a month later when the legislature took away his control over the army and declared the kingdom a secular state.

* Maoist guerrillas, bent on toppling the monarchy and replacing Nepal's feudal caste-based system with a communist republic, began a revolt in 1996 but the signing of the peace pact last month effectively ended the revolt in which more than 13,000 people have died.

* Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and its economy depends on aid and tourism. More than 80 percent of the people earn their livelihood from agriculture. Western aid, at $450 million in 2004, was nearly 30 percent of the annual budget.

* Tourism accounted for about 4 percent of the country's $6.3 billion GDP in 2004. Source: Reuters

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