Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual country. The most spoken language is Nepali followed by several other ethnic languages.

The Anglo-Nepalese War, also known as the Gorkha War, was fought between the Gorkhali army of the Kingdom of Nepal and the British forces of the East India Company. Both sides had ambitious expansion plans for the mountainous north of the Indian Subcontinent. The war ended with the signing of the Sugauli Treaty in 1816, which ceded some of the Nepalese-controlled territory to the EIC.