Industries

* **Agriculture**: The backbone of the economy, employing over half the workforce, focused on rice, maize, wheat, and cash crops. * **Tourism**: A massive driver of foreign exchange and employment, centered around mountaineering, trekking, wildlife safaris, and religious pilgrimage. * **Hydropower**: A rapidly growing sector utilizing Nepal's vast river network, expected to become the nation's primary export. * **Remittances & Labor Export**: Not a traditional industry, but the export of labor is a primary source of national income. * **Manufacturing**: Small to medium-scale operations producing garments, carpets, brick and cement, handicrafts, and processed foods. * **Services & IT**: An emerging sector, particularly in the Kathmandu Valley, driven by a growing class of tech-savvy youth engaging in outsourcing and software development.