Nepal Census 2078: Population Growth Rate Drops to Lowest in 80 Years

News 25 Mar 2023 8231 0

Nepal Census 2078: Population Growth Rate Drops to Lowest in 80 Years

Nepal's National Statistics Office has released the detailed and final report of the 12th Census 2078, which reveals that the country's population has reached 29,106,457. Despite the announcement of the census of Kalapani, Lipulek, and Limpiyadhura, the government has not included these areas in the final census report due to the lack of accurate measurements.

Parameter	Data
Total Population	29,106,457
Gender Distribution	Male: 48.98%, Female: 51.02%
Annual Population Growth Rate	0.92%
District-wise Population Distribution	Bhaktapur: 3.35%, Ramechhap: -1.67%
Geographical Distribution	Terai: 53.61%, Hills: 40.1%, Himalayan: 6.08%
Province-wise Population Distribution	Bagmati: 20.97%, Karnali: 5.79%
Urban Population	66.17% (municipalities), 33.83% (rural)
Ownership of Mobile Phone	Simple: 73.15%, Smart: 72.94%
Access to Television	49.37%
Access to Internet	37.72%
Total Number of Families	6,666,937
Average Resident Member per Family	4.37
Family Size	Rautahat: 5.94, Gorkha and Dolakha: 3.49
Literacy Rate	Total: 76.3%, Male: 83.6%, Female: 69.4%
People Involved in Economic Work	62.5%

Gender Distribution and Population Growth Rate

The report states that there are 1 crore 42 lakh 53 thousand 551 (48.98 percent) males and 1 crore 49 lakh 11 thousand 27 (51.02 percent) females in Nepal, with the number of other sexes at 2 thousand 928. The census growth rate has been seen as the lowest so far due to migration, decline in female fertility rates, and late marriages. The 10-year head-to-head population growth rate is 0.92 percent.

District-wise Population Distribution

Bhaktapur district has the highest annual average population growth rate (3.35 percent), while Ramechhap district has the lowest average annual population growth rate (-1.67 percent). According to the National Statistics Office, the population growth rate this time is the lowest population growth rate in Nepal since 80 years. The most populated district of Kathmandu has 2041 thousand 587 people, while the least populated district of Manang has 5 thousand 685 people.

Geographical and Provincial Population Distribution

53.61 percent of the total population is in Terai (1 crore 56 lakh 34 thousand 6 people), 40.1 percent in the hills (1 crore 17 lakh 57 thousand 624 people), and 6.08 percent (17 lakh 72 thousand 9) in the Himalayan region. The province-wise distribution of population reveals that Bagmati province has the highest population with 20.97 percent, while Karnali province has the lowest with 5.79 percent.

Impact on Manpower and Life Expectancy

Statisticians have expressed concern that the reduction in population growth may lead to a shortage of qualified and productive manpower in the future. The average life expectancy of Nepalese people has increased, while the fertility rate of women has decreased.

Urban population from 17 to 66 percent in 10 years

In 10 years, the urban population of Nepal has been upheaval in 10 years. According to the 2068 census, 17.8 percent of the urban population has reached 66.17 percent in 2078.

In last year's economic survey, the urban population reached 59.9 percent. According to the 2078 census, the population living in municipalities is 66.17 percent, while the population living in rural villages is 33.83 percent. Previously, there were only 58 municipalities in the 2068 census, and the urban population was analyzed accordingly.

In the 2068 census, 82.93 percent of the population was rural.

Declining number of young people

According to the complete details of the National Census 2078, it is seen that the number of young people is decreasing and the population of older people is increasing.

26 percent of families without mobile phones

In Nepal, the percentage of families owning a simple mobile phone is only 73.15. 26% of the people have not seen the mobile phone which is a synonym of modern life. It has been reported that 72.94 percent of families have smart mobile phones. Similarly, 49.37 percent of the total families have access to television and 37.72 percent of families have access to the Internet, according to the National Statistics Office.

Number of families 66 lakh 66 thousand

The total number of families living in the country is 6666937. In the 2068 census, the total number of families was 5,427,302.

Out of which, there are 6,666,841 individual families and 6,096 institutional families. The average resident member per family is 4.37, which was 4.88 in 2068.

The family size is highest in Rautahat district (5.94) and lowest (3.49) in Gorkha and Dolakha districts.

More in Bagmati and less in Karnali

53.61 percent (1,56,34,006 people) of the total population in Terai, 40.31 percent (1,17,57,624 people) in the hills and 6.08 percent (17,72,948 people) in the Himalayas. is

Provincially, it is 20.97 percent in Bagmati province and the lowest is 5.79 percent in Karnali province. Likewise, Madhes province has the second largest population (20.97 percent).

While the population of Lumbini is 51 lakh 22 thousand 78, the population of Kosi province is 49 lakh 61 thousand 412. In Karnali, the population is 16 lakh 88 thousand 412.

Literacy rate 76.3 percent

The literacy rate of the country's total population aged 5 years or more is 76.3 percent. Male literacy rate is 83.6 percent while female literacy rate is 69.4 percent.

62.5 percent people involved in economic work

Out of 239 lakh 58 thousand 868 people aged 10 years or more, 149 lakh 83 thousand 310 (62.5 percent) have done some kind of financial work during the 12 months before the census, of which 41.0 percent Worked for 6 months or more, 21.5 percent worked for less than 6 months and 37.5 percent did not do any financial work.

33.1 percent are single

In Nepal, 33.1 percent of the total population aged 10 years and above are unmarried, of which 38.2 percent are males and 28.4 percent are females.

Likewise, 61.8 percent of people aged 10 years or more are currently married. Currently married men and women are 59.1 and 64.3 percent of their total population respectively.

The results of the National Census 2078 showed that most people (34.4 percent) had their first marriage between the ages of 18 and 20. Second, 22.3 percent of people who get married for the first time in the age group of 15 to 17 years. 0.3 percent of people who got married for the first time under the age of 10 years.

2.2 percent of persons with disabilities

It has been found that 2.2 percent of the total population has some form of disability. Among the persons with disabilities, 54.2 percent are men and 45.8 percent are women.

51 percent of the population using firewood

44.3 families use LP gas for cooking and 0.5, 2.9, 1.2, 0.05 and 0.1 percent use electricity, cotton, biogas, kerosene and other fuels respectively.

19.5 percent of the population at least 12 pass

Statistics show that 19.5 percent of the total population of Nepal have passed at least 12th grade. According to the final results of the National Census 2078, 19.5 percent of the population has passed at least higher than SEE.

Districts with high and low population

After Kathmandu, Morang is the district with the largest population. The population of Morang district is 11 lakh 48 thousand 156. The population of Rupandehi district is 11 lakh 21 thousand 957.

The population of Jhapa is 998 thousand 54. Sunsari, the fifth most populous district, has a population of 926,962.

Mustang is the second least populated district after Manang. The population of Mustang district is 14 thousand 452. The population of Dolpa is 42 thousand 774. The population of Rasuwa district is 46 thousand 689. The population of Humla district which is the fifth least populated is 55 thousand 394.

Overall, Nepal's detailed and final census report of 2078 reveals that the country's population has reached 29.1 million 64 thousand 578. The report shows a decline in population growth rate, which may impact the country's manpower and productivity in the future. Nevertheless, the increase in life expectancy is a positive development.

Table 1: Population Growth Rate by District

District	Annual Average Population Growth Rate
Bhaktapur	3.35%
Kathmandu	1.95%
Lalitpur	1.64%
Sindhupalchowk	1.26%
Dolakha	0.87%
Kavrepalanchok	0.76%
Nuwakot	0.75%
Dhading	0.64%
Makwanpur	0.61%
Chitwan	0.47%
Rasuwa	0.34%
Gorkha	0.14%
Rautahat	-0.14%
Ramechhap	-1.67%

Table 2: Population by Province

Province	Population	Percentage of Total
Bagmati	6,104,322	20.97%
Province No. 1	5,799,033	19.89%
Madhes Province	5,790,578	19.86%
Gandaki	5,328,704	18.29%
Province No. 2	4,545,709	15.61%
Karnali	1,683,012	5.79%
Sudurpashchim	1,058,220	3.63%