Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia located in the Himalaya. It has an estimated population of 26.4 million and borders China in the north and India in the south, east, and west. A Himalayan state, Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, sub-alpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic nation with Nepali as the official language.