Demographics of Nepal

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Nepal's population (1960-2010)

The population of Nepal is estimated to be 26,494,504 people based on the 2011 census, with a population growth rate of 1.596% and a median age of 21.6 years. Female median age is estimated to be 22.5 years, and male median age to be 20.7 years. Only 4.4% of the population is estimated to be more than 65 years old, comprising 681,252 females and 597,628 males. 61% of the population is between 15 and 64 years old, and 34.6% is younger than 14 years. Birth rate is estimated to be 22.17 births/1,000 population with an infant mortality rate of 44.54 deaths per 1000 live births. Life expectancy at birth is estimated to be 67.44 years for females and 64.94 years for males. The mortality rate is estimated to be 681 deaths per 100,000 people. Net migration rate is estimated to be 61 migrants per 100,000 people. According to the 2011 census, 65.9% of the total population is literate.[1]

Demographic history

Nepali or Nepalese or Gurkha or Gorkhali are descendants of migrants from parts of Kashmir, Greater Nepal, Tibet, and parts of Burma and Yunnan, and much further traces origin to Central Asia, along with indigenous peoples.

Nepal is multicultural and multiethnic country because It became a country by occupying several small kingdoms in 18th century. The oldest settlements in northern Nepal are Kirants Mongoloid. The mountainous region is sparsely populated above 3,000 m (9,800 ft), but in central and western Nepal ethnic Sherpa and Lama people inhabit even higher semi-arid valleys north of the Himalaya. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost 5 percent of the nation's population.

Population growth

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Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR1 CDR1 NC1 TFR1 IMR1
1975–1980 597 000 254 000 343 000 42.0 17.9 24.1 5.92 139.2
1980–1985 651 000 253 000 398 000 40.7 15.8 24.9 5.72 122.9
1985–1990 707 000 249 000 458 000 39.3 13.8 25.5 5.39 106.8
1990–1995 767 000 244 000 523 000 37.7 12.0 25.7 4.96 91.5
1995–2000 805 000 224 000 581 000 35.0 9.7 25.3 4.41 72.3
2000–2005 797 000 201 000 596 000 30.9 7.8 23.1 3.74 54.9
2005–2010 732 000 177 000 555 000 25.6 6.2 19.4 2.95 38.7
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Source:[2]

Structure of the population [3]

Structure of the population (22.06.2011) (Census) :

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 12 849 041 13 645 463 26 494 504 100
0-4 1 314 957 1 253 006 2 567 963 9,69
5-9 1 635 176 1 569 683 3 204 859 12,10
10-14 1 764 630 1 710 794 3 475 424 13,12
15-19 1 443 191 1 488 789 2 931 980 11,07
20-24 1 043 981 1 314 090 2 358 071 8,90
25-29 917 243 1 162 111 2 079 354 7,85
30-34 770 577 964 728 1 735 305 6,55
35-39 740 200 864 119 1 604 319 6,06
40-44 660 290 725 831 1 386 121 5,23
45-49 575 101 597 858 1 172 959 4,43
50-54 505 864 499 612 1 005 476 3,80
55-59 412 892 405 371 818 263 3,09
60-64 368 451 388 376 756 827 2,86
65-69 277 782 276 667 554 449 2,09
70-74 199 610 195 543 395 153 1,49
75-79 117 358 117 777 235 135 0,89
80-84 62 787 65 990 128 777 0,49
85-89 25 810 26 716 52 526 0,20
90-94 8 940 11 395 20 335 0,08
95+ 4 201 7 007 11 208 0,04
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0-14 4 714 763 4 533 483 9 248 246 34,91
15-64 7 437 790 8 410 885 15 848 675 59,82
65+ 696 488 701 095 1 397 583 5,27

Ethinic groups

     Bhotia,      Sherpa,      Thakali,      Gurung,      Kiranti Sunuwar,      Rai,      Limbu,      Newari,      Pahari,      Tamang Nepalese people have historically migrated from other countries ( mainly from Tibet or India), while few are from the Kathmandu Valley itself. The Northern Nepal and the North eastern region mainly consists of ethnic groups such as Gurung, Limbu, Rai, Sherpas, Tamangs and Thakalis whose ancestors comes from Tibet, China, Myanmar, Mongolia and the Far East . The central Nepal, mainly the Kathmandu valley, consists of Newars who are the amalgamation of waves of immigration by various ethnic groups into Kathmandu Valley, both from present Tibet and India; the Southern Nepal or the Terai consists of people from mainly Indian ancestors in the neighbouring states of India such as Tharus(originally Dravidians) and Madhesis(originally from Uttar pradesh and Bihar), while some groups of people such as Muslim origin people have also migrated to Terai from India and beyond.

Demographic statistics

Most Populous Caste/Ethnic groups (Census 2011)[4] Population  % of total
Khas-Chhetri 4,398,053 16.6%
Khas/Hill-Brahmin 3,226,903 12.2%
Magar 1,887,733 7.1%
Tharu 1,737,470 6.5%
Tamang 1,539,830 5.8%
Newar (taken as a single communal group) 1,321,933 5.0%
Khas-Kami 1,258,554 4.7%
Muslim (taken as a single religious group) 1,164,255 4.4%
Yadav 1,054,458 4.0%
Rai 620,004 2.3%
Gurung 522,641 1.9%
Damai/Dholi 472,862 1.8%
Thakuri 425,623 1.6%
Limbu 387,300 1.4%
Sarki 374,816 1.41%
Teli 369,688 1.4%
Chamar/Harijan/Ram 335,893 1.3%
Koiri/Kushwaha 306,393 1.1%
Musahar 234,490 0.88%
Kurmi 231,129 0.87%
Sanyasi/Dasnami 227,822 0.86%
Dhanuk 219,808 0.8%
Dusadh/Pasawan 208,910 0.79%
Sherpa 112,946 0.4%
Sunuwar 100,000 0.3%
Other (more than 100 caste/ethnic groups) 4,229,290 15.9%

Nepal Demographic and Health Survey

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):[5]

Year CBR (Total) TFR (Total) CBR (Urban) TFR (Urban) CBR (Rural) TFR (Rural)
1996 37 4.64 (2,9) 27 2.85 (1,9) 38 4.83 (3,1)
2001 33.5 4.1 (2,5) 20.6 2.1 (1,4) 34.9 4.4 (2,6)
2006 28.4 3.1 (2,0) 21.9 2.1 (1,4) 29.5 3.3 (2,1)
2011 24.3 2.6 (1,8) 16.6 1.6 (1,2) 25.5 2.8 (1,8)

The following demographic statistics are from the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS).[6]

Median birth intervals (Median number of months since preceding birth)

Total: 36.2
Rural: 35.9
Urban: 40.3 (2011)

Median age at first birth

Median age: 20.1 (2011)

Fertility rate - past trend and present

Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1996)
Total fertility rate: 4.1 children born/woman (2001)
Total fertility rate: 3.1 children born/woman (2006)
Total fertiltiy rate: 2.6 children born/woman
Rural fertility rate: 2.8 children born/woman
Urban fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2011)

Ideal family size - Mean ideal number of children

Overall (female/male): 2.1 / 2.3
Currently married (female/male): 2.2 / 2.3
Urban (female/male): 1.9 / 2.0
Rural (female/male): 2.2 / 2.3 (2011)

Ideal family size by gender and age group

Below is a table of the ideal family size by gender and age for 2011.
Age Women Men
15-19 1.9 2.2
20-24 1.9 2.1
25-29 2.1 2.1
30-34 2.2 2.3
35-39 2.3 2.4
40-44 2.5 2.4
45-49 2.6 2.6

CIA World Factbook

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Nationality

noun: Nepali, Nepalese, Gorkhali (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepali, Nepalese, Gorkhali

Religions

Hindu 81.34%, Buddhist 9.04%, Muslim 4.38%, Kirant 3.04%, other 2.2% (2011 census).

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.6%
male: 62.7%
female: 34.9% (2001 census)

Population

29,890,686 (July 2012 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 34.6% (male 5,177,264/female 4,983,864)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 8,607,338/female 9,344,537)
65 years and over: 4.4% (male 597,628/female 681,252) (2011 est.)

Median age

total: 21.6 years
male: 20.7 years
female: 22.5 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

1.768% (2012 est.)

Birth rate

21.85 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death rate

6.75 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

Net migration rate

2.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.41 children born/woman (2012 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 19% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 4.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2012 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 66.51 years
male: 65.26 years
female: 67.82 years (2012 est.)

Languages

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Main article: Languages of Nepal

Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from three major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman languages, and various indigenous language isolates. According to the 2001 national census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal (a 93rd category was "unidentified"). The major languages of Nepal as of 2011 census.[7] (percent spoken as mother tongue language) includes

Nepali (derived from Khas bhasa) is considered to be a member of Indo-European language and is written in Devanagari script. Nepali was the language of the house of Gorkhas in the late 18th century and became the official, national language that serves as the lingua franca among Nepalese of different ethnolinguistic groups. Maithili—along with regional dialects Awadhi and Bhojpuri—are originated in Terai of Nepal and spoken in the southern Terai Region. Many Nepali in government and business uses English as an official language. English is the language of technical, medical and scientific community as well as the elite bankers, traders and entrepreneurs. There has been a surge in the number and percentage of people who understand English. Majority of the urban and a significant number of the rural schools are English-medium schools. Higher education in technical, medical, scientific and engineering fields are entirely in English. Nepal Bhasa, the mother-tongue of the Newars, is widely used and spoken in and around Kathmandu Valley and in major Newar trade towns across Nepal.

Other languages, particularly in the Inner Terai, hill and mountain regions are remnants of the country's pre-unification history of dozens of political entities isolated by mountains and gorges. These languages typically are limited to an area spanning about one day's walk. Beyond that distance dialects and languages lose mutual intelligibility.

Religion

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Further information: Religion in Nepal

As of the 2011 census, 81.3% of the Nepalese population was Hindu, 9.0% Buddhist, 4.4% Muslim, 3.0% Kirant/Yumaist, 1.42% Christian, and 0.9% followed other religions or no religion.[8]

Religion is important in Nepal; the Kathmandu Valley alone has more than 2,700 religious shrines. The dissolved constitution of Nepal described the country as a "Hindu kingdom", although it did not establish Hinduism as the state religion. Nepal's constitution continues long-standing legal provisions prohibiting discrimination against other religions (but also proselytization). The king was deified as the earthly manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu. Then on May 19, 2006, the government facing a constitutional crisis, the House of Representatives which had been just reformed, having been previously dissolved, declared Nepal a "secular state".

The 2001 census identified 80.6% of the population as Hindu and 10.7% as Buddhist (although many people labeled Hindu or Buddhist often practice a synthetic blend of Hinduism, Buddhism, or animist traditions), 4.2% of the population was Muslim, 3.6% of the population followed the indigenous Kirant Mundhum religion and Christianity was practiced by 0.45% of the population.[9]

Buddhist and Hindu shrines and festivals are respected and celebrated by most Nepalese. Certain animist practices of old indigenous religions survive.

Ethnic and regional equity

Pahari Hill Hindus of the Khas Gorkha tribe (Bahun and Chhetri castes) and the Newar ethnicity dominated the civil service, the judiciary and upper ranks of the army throughout the Shah regime (1768–2008). Nepali was the national language and Sanskrit became a required school subject. Children who spoke Nepali natively and who were exposed to Sanskrit had much better chances of passing the national examinations at the end of high school, which meant they had better employment prospects and could continue into higher education. Children who natively spoke local languages of the Terai and Hills, or Tibetan dialects prevailing in the high mountains were at a considerable disadvantage. This history of exclusion coupled with poor prospects for improvement created grievances that encouraged many in ethnic communities such as Madhesi and Tharu in the Terai and Kham Magar in the mid-western hills to support the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and various other armed Maoist opposition groups such as the JTMM during and after the Nepalese Civil War. The negotiated end to this war forced King Gyanendra to abdicate in 2008. Issues of ethnic and regional equity have tended to dominate the agenda of the new republican government and continue to be divisive.[10][11][12][13][14]

Nepalese in the U.K.

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Main article: Nepalese British

According to latest figure from Office for National Statistics estimates that 35,000 Nepal-born people are currently resident in the UK .[15]

Nepalese in Hong Kong

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Main article: South Asians in Hong Kong

Nepali people in Hong Kong are mainly the children of ex-Gurkhas born in Hong Kong during their parents' service with the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, which was based in Hong Kong from the 1970s until the handover. Large groups can be found in Shek Kong, Yuen Long District, of the main bases of the British army. Many ex-Gurkhas remained in Hong Kong after the end of their service under the sponsorship of their Hong Kong-born children, who held right of abode.

Nepalese of middle age or older generations in Hong Kong are predominantly found in security, while those of younger generations are predominantly found in the business industry.

Nepalese overseas

Nepalese migrants abroad have suffered tremendous hardships, including some 7,500 deaths in the Middle East and Malaysia alone since the year 2000, some 3,500 in Saudi Arabia.[16]

Overseas Nepalese Population
Country Articles Population
India Nepalese Indian 12,100,000
Burma Burmese Gurkha 1,400,000
Saudi Arabia Nepalese in Saudi Arabia 250,000
Malaysia Nepalese people in Malaysia 217,587
United States Nepalese American 300,490
Bhutan Lhotshampa 50,000
Qatar Nepalis in Qatar 400,000[18]
Japan 36,107
United Arab Emirates Nepalese in the United Arab Emirates 150,000
United Kingdom[15] Nepalis in the United Kingdom 50,000
Iraq[19] 30,000
China Nepalis in China 21,000
Continental Europe 20,000
Hong Kong Nepalis in Hong Kong 16,000
Australia Nepalese Australian 35,000
South Korea Nepalis in South Korea 22,015
Singapore Nepalese in Singapore 4000
Canada Nepalese Canadian 6,000
Total Overseas Nepal Population ~15,643,000

Foreign population in Nepal

As per census of 2001 there are 116,571 foreign born citizens in Nepal out of which 90% are Indian origin[20] followed by Bhutan, Pakistan and China. This number does not include the refugees from Bhutan and Tibet.

Foreign population in Nepal as per census of 2001

References

  1. ↑ CIA (2011) The World Factbook : Nepal.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ [1] Archived April 9, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Indian Gorkha
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2003 edition".

External links

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