Nepal Population

Population now

31,420,781
  • World: 49th
  • Asia: 20th
Male:14,822,809(47.10 %)
Female:16,596,710(52.90 %)
Births in 2024:692,882
Deaths in 2024:245,824

Life expectancy & Rates (2024)

Male:70.46 years
Female:73.61 years
Total:72.08 years
Median Age:26.12 years
Birth Rate:17.56
Death Rate:6.23
Growth Rate:1.82 %
Fertility Rate:1.76

Population Data Graphs

  • Total population
  • Birth & Death rate
  • Life expectancy
  • Median Age
  • Population structure (mid 2024)
  • Urbanization

Nepal Population Review

The country of Nepal sits nestled between India and China with a population of 29.1 million people. This relatively small country is well known as a mountaineering destination with Mount Everest and 8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world. Officially called the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the country’s capital is Kathmandu and Nepali is the official language.

Much of the country’s population is rural, with only 21.4% living in urban areas. Nepal’s population has risen steadily in the past 60 years and the country is now the 49th most populated country in the world, and the 93rd largest by land area.

A country of ethnic diversity

Nepal is a country with a huge amount of ethnic diversity. There are over a hundred identified ethnic groups living in Nepal, with the largest being the Kshetri/Chhetri caste of the Khas group—of which there are an estimated 4,398,053 living in Nepal. The next largest group is another caste among the Khas people—the Bahun, of which 12.2% of the population identify as.

Unfortunately, Nepal’s caste system still places many people who are not part of the Khas Gorkha tribe and the Newar ethnicity at a marked disadvantage. Members of these privileged castes dominate the civil service, and the upper ranks of the army.

A growing urban population

Nepal is still a majority rural country. There are 23 million people living in rural areas, with only 6.2 million living in urban areas. The vast majority of this urban population lives in Kathmandu—the country’s capital—, which has around 1 million people and 24% of Nepal’s urban population. While the country’s urban population is expected to continue growing to around 13.2 million by 2050, the country’s rural population is still predicted to dwarf that. Currently, Nepal’s urban population is increasing 5% to 7% each year, with even higher numbers in Kathmandu.

An impoverished nation

Nepal is one of the least developed and most impoverished countries in the world. About 25% of Nepal’s 30 million residents live on less than 50 cents a day. Much of Nepal’s staggering poverty can be attributed to displacement due to the country’s civil war that occurred between 1996 and 2006. The country has also experienced many earthquakes, which have further contributed to its delicate economic and socioeconomic position.

An ongoing issue with food insecurity

While food security issues in Nepal have improved in recent years, there are still an estimated 5 million people in Nepal that are undernourished. There are at least 20 percent of households that are mildly food insecure and 22 percent that are moderately food insecure. Rural areas often suffer more since food prices are higher and people have less money. Malnutrition and food insecurity also contribute to 40 percent of Nepalese children younger than five being stunted in growth and 10 percent suffering from a wasting disease related to malnutrition.

Tourism driven by mountain climbers

Nepal is a haven for mountain climbers and many tourists arrive in the country to scale their own mountain. The best-paying and longest staying tourists are mountain climbers, which directly translates into income for the impoverished country’s citizens. So many tourists arrive to climb Mount Everest that—from March to May—the Khumba region at the base of the mountain balloons from 30,000 people to 70,000 people. In 2019, Nepal received 1.17 million tourists with the most coming from India and China providing the second most tourists.

Infant mortality rate in Nepal

Like many impoverished nations, Nepal suffers from a high infant mortality rates. The country’s current infant mortality rate of 26 deaths per 1,000 live births has dropped 3.38% from 2019. However, it is still much higher than more developed nations.

Review Updated: August 13, 2020

Nepal Population History

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YearTotalMaleFemaleSex RatioGrowth rateBirth rateDeath rateFerti­lity rate
Life exp., total
Life expectancy
Life exp., maleLife exp., femaleMedian AgeUrbani­zation
Density, people / km2
Density, people/km2
196010M5M5M0.990.64%44.8227.255.9635.5835.5535.5718.883.48%71.77
196110M5M5M10.66%44.4626.865.9635.9435.9135.9218.853.57%72.92
196210M5M5M10.67%44.1426.415.9636.3636.3236.3418.783.61%74.10
196311M5M5M0.990.69%43.8525.935.9636.8336.7836.8218.703.65%75.32
196411M5M5M0.990.72%43.6125.425.9737.3537.2937.3518.613.70%76.59
196511M5M6M0.990.74%43.3924.905.9737.9037.8337.9118.543.74%77.93
196611M6M6M0.990.77%43.2124.365.9638.4938.4038.5118.403.78%79.35
196711M6M6M0.990.81%43.0523.835.9639.0938.9939.1218.283.82%80.84
196812M6M6M0.990.84%42.9123.315.9539.6939.5839.7418.203.87%82.41
196912M6M6M0.990.88%42.7822.815.9340.2940.1640.3518.173.91%84.05
197012M6M6M0.990.91%42.6622.335.9240.8840.7440.9518.173.96%85.76
197112M6M6M0.990.95%42.5621.875.9041.4641.3041.5418.154.01%87.53
197213M6M6M0.990.98%42.4821.435.8842.0241.8542.1218.184.20%89.37
197313M6M6M11.02%42.4221.015.8742.5942.4042.7018.254.40%91.28
197413M7M7M11.06%42.3720.595.8543.1542.9543.2818.314.61%93.26
197513M7M7M11.10%42.3220.175.8443.7243.5043.8618.374.83%95.32
197614M7M7M11.14%42.2619.765.8244.2944.0644.4518.355.06%97.44
197714M7M7M11.18%42.1819.335.8044.8944.6345.0618.325.30%99.63
197814M7M7M11.23%42.0718.895.7845.4945.2145.7018.305.55%101.90
197915M7M7M11.27%41.9318.445.7646.1245.8146.3518.275.82%104.24
198015M8M7M11.32%41.7517.975.7346.7846.4347.0418.266.09%106.65
198115M8M8M11.37%41.5317.495.6947.4547.0747.7518.186.38%109.14
198216M8M8M1.011.43%41.2917.005.6548.1447.7348.4718.116.62%111.71
198316M8M8M11.49%41.0216.505.6048.8548.4149.2118.066.86%114.35
198416M8M8M11.55%40.7316.005.5549.5849.1049.9618.017.12%117.03
198517M8M8M11.61%40.4215.485.4950.3249.8250.7417.987.39%119.73
198617M9M9M11.68%40.0814.975.4351.1050.5651.5417.897.66%122.44
198718M9M9M0.991.75%39.7214.445.3751.8951.3352.3717.837.94%125.17
198818M9M9M0.991.83%39.3213.915.3152.7152.1153.2217.778.24%127.99
198918M9M9M0.991.91%38.9013.375.2453.5552.9154.1017.738.54%131.00
199019M9M10M0.992.00%38.4612.845.1754.4053.7254.9917.708.85%134.27
199119M10M10M0.992.09%38.0112.315.1055.2654.5455.9017.709.18%137.82
199220M10M10M12.18%37.5411.805.0256.1255.3556.8017.739.58%141.61
199320M10M10M1.012.28%37.0611.314.9356.9656.1557.7017.7910.00%145.53
199421M11M10M1.022.37%36.5510.844.8457.7956.9358.5817.8810.43%149.44
199522M11M11M1.022.46%35.9910.394.7358.6057.6959.4317.9810.88%153.24
199622M11M11M1.022.54%35.329.974.6159.3858.4360.2618.0311.35%156.89
199723M11M11M1.012.61%34.549.574.4660.1459.1561.0718.0811.83%160.40
199823M12M12M12.66%33.659.194.3160.8859.8461.8618.1312.34%163.76
199924M12M12M12.69%32.648.844.1461.6060.5262.6118.2012.86%166.97
200024M12M12M0.992.70%31.558.523.9662.2961.1763.3418.3013.40%170.04
200124M12M12M0.992.69%30.408.233.7762.9561.7964.0418.4713.95%172.92
200225M12M12M0.992.67%29.247.963.5963.5762.3864.7118.6614.24%175.61
200325M12M13M0.992.64%28.117.733.4264.1762.9465.3518.8414.54%178.13
200425M13M13M0.992.59%27.047.533.2664.7363.4865.9519.0114.84%180.54
200526M13M13M0.992.54%26.067.363.1265.2664.0066.5319.1915.15%182.84
200626M13M13M0.992.49%25.207.222.9965.7764.4967.0819.5215.46%185.13
200726M13M13M0.992.44%24.437.102.8766.2664.9667.6019.8215.78%187.38
200827M13M13M0.992.40%23.776.992.7566.7365.4268.0920.0916.11%189.39
200927M13M14M0.982.36%23.196.902.6467.1865.8668.5620.3716.43%190.93
201027M13M14M0.972.33%22.696.822.5467.6166.2969.0120.6616.77%191.86
201127M13M14M0.952.30%22.266.742.4468.0366.7069.4420.7717.11%192.05
201227M13M14M0.922.28%21.886.672.3568.4367.0969.8420.8817.46%191.68
201327M13M14M0.892.26%21.526.612.2668.8167.4570.2320.9917.82%191.17
201427M12M14M0.872.23%21.186.562.1869.1767.7970.5921.1118.18%191.09
201527M12M15M0.852.21%20.846.502.1069.5268.1170.9321.2318.56%191.87
201627M12M15M0.842.18%20.526.452.0369.8568.4271.2621.7118.94%193.63
201728M13M15M0.832.16%20.206.401.9770.1768.7171.5922.1919.34%196.25
201828M13M15M0.832.13%19.896.361.9270.4868.9971.9022.6719.74%199.54
201929M13M16M0.842.10%19.586.321.8870.7869.2672.2123.1520.15%203.19
202029M13M16M0.852.06%19.266.291.8571.0769.5272.5123.6320.58%206.94
202130M14M16M0.852.06%19.266.291.8571.0769.5272.5124.2421.01%210.76
202230M14M16M0.872.06%19.266.291.8571.0769.5272.5124.8921.45%214.67
202331M14M16M0.881.88%17.996.251.7871.8370.2273.3425.5121.90%218.54
202431M15M17M0.891.82%17.566.231.7672.0870.4673.6126.1222.37%222.20

Nepal Population Projections

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YearTotalMaleFemaleSex RatioGrowth rateBirth rateDeath rateFerti­lity rate
Life exp., total
Life expectancy
Life exp., maleLife exp., femaleMedian AgeUrbani­zation
Density, people / km2
Density, people/km2
202532M15M17M0.91.76%17.146.221.7472.3370.6973.8926.7322.84%225.55
202632M15M17M0.91.67%16.656.241.7272.5470.8974.1227.1823.32%228.52
202733M15M17M0.911.58%16.156.261.7072.7571.0874.3627.6723.81%231.10
202833M16M17M0.911.50%15.666.271.6972.9771.2874.5928.2024.32%233.35
202933M16M17M0.911.41%15.166.291.6773.1871.4774.8328.7424.83%235.34
203033M16M17M0.911.32%14.676.311.6573.3971.6775.0629.2825.35%237.14
203134M16M18M0.911.25%14.286.361.6473.5971.8575.2629.7825.88%238.76
203234M16M18M0.911.17%13.896.411.6373.7972.0275.4730.2726.42%240.18
203334M16M18M0.911.09%13.496.461.6273.9872.2075.6730.7626.97%241.43
203434M16M18M0.911.01%13.106.511.6174.1872.3775.8831.2627.53%242.56
203534M16M18M0.910.94%12.716.561.6074.3872.5576.0831.7728.10%243.61
203634M16M18M0.910.87%12.446.641.5974.5672.7276.2632.2828.67%244.58
203735M17M18M0.910.81%12.176.731.5874.7572.8976.4432.8029.25%245.50
203835M17M18M0.910.75%11.906.811.5874.9373.0676.6333.3229.84%246.34
203935M17M18M0.910.69%11.636.901.5775.1273.2376.8133.8530.44%247.11
204035M17M18M0.910.63%11.366.981.5675.3073.4076.9934.3631.04%247.79
204135M17M18M0.920.58%11.207.091.5675.4773.5677.1634.8431.64%248.40
204235M17M18M0.920.53%11.047.211.5675.6573.7377.3235.3232.26%248.93
204335M17M18M0.920.48%10.877.321.5575.8273.8977.4935.8132.88%249.40
204435M17M18M0.920.44%10.717.441.5576.0074.0677.6536.2933.50%249.81
204535M17M18M0.920.40%10.557.551.5576.1774.2277.8236.7934.14%250.15
204635M17M18M0.920.36%10.427.691.5576.3474.3877.9837.2634.77%250.43
204735M17M18M0.920.31%10.297.831.5576.5074.5578.1437.7435.42%250.64
204835M17M18M0.920.27%10.167.971.5576.6774.7178.2938.2136.07%250.79
204935M17M18M0.920.24%10.038.111.5576.8374.8878.4538.6836.72%250.87
205035M17M18M0.920.20%9.908.251.5577.0075.0478.6139.1537.38%250.88

Highest City Populations in Nepal

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RankCityPopulation, Urban AreaPopulation, City
1Kathmandu1,533,8341,442,271
2Pokhara462,976200,000

Map of Nepal

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