Per capita income in Nepali rupee terms increased by 8.8 percent to 27,209 Nepali rupees ( around 415 U.S. dollars) in the current fiscal year 2006/07, local newspaper The Kathmandu Post reported Wednesday.

Thanks to continued healthy remittance income, which is expected to cross the 100 billion Nepali rupees (around 1.5 billion U.S. dollars), despite deepening economic sluggishness, per capita income in Nepali rupee terms increased. And per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in U.S. dollar terms increased to 383 U.S. dollars from last year's 350 U.S. dollars a 9.4 percent increment which is much higher than the annual average population growth rate of 2.25 percent.

According to the national accounts for fiscal year 2006/07 prepared by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Nepal and circulated among top government officials, the overall economy of Nepal is estimated to expand by 2.29 percent to 486.84 billion rupees (6.85 billion U.S. dollars) at constant prices of 2000/01.

The expected GDP growth for the current fiscal year is less than half the targeted rate. The government had set a target of achieving 5 percent GDP growth this year.

Source: Xinhua