Nepal’s population is 29,192,480

© 2021 Anadolu Agency KATHMANDU, NEPAL – APRIL 18: A view from Nepal’s Kathmandu on April 18, 2021. Nepal, one of the most interesting and attractive countries in South Asia, hosts thousands of local and foreign visitors in every year. A colorful life prevails in the streets of Kathmandu, the capital city of the country, most of which are located on the foothills of the Himalayas and some in the Indo-Ganges Plain. The country, with a population of nearly 30 million, creates a rich plateau especially for photography and adventure lovers. (Photo by Ozkan Bilgin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)As per the bureau, there are around 750 people in the region.

Unveiling the preliminary data of the national census conducted from November 11 to November 25 last year, the national data agency said Nepal’s population grew by 0.93 percent annually on an average, the lowest in 80 years in the country’s history since it started counting the population in 1911-111 years ago.

The average population growth rate shown by the last census in 2011 was 1.35 percent.

Nepal’s population stood at 26,494,504 during the 2011 census.

Nepal’s annual population growth rate now is less than the global average of 1.01 percent in 2020, according to the World Bank statistics.

“Low growth rate of population indicates that birth rate in the country has decreased,” said Hem Raj Regmi, deputy director general of the Central Bureau of Statistics. “Out-migration also appears to be another reason behind the slowest growth rate in eight decades.”

Official data show that the fertility rate of Nepali women has been declining over the years.

According to Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2016, the latest such survey, Nepal’s fertility rate stood at 2.3 per woman, down from 2.6 per woman in 2011. The fertility rate of Nepali women has been on a downward trend since 1996 when the per woman fertility rate was as high as 4.6, according to the survey.

According to the new census, the average size of a family in 2021 stood at 4.32 members, down from 4.88 members earlier.

“Though the trend of living in a unitary family is also growing, the main factor behind small family size is the low fertility rate,” said Rudra Suwal, former deputy director general of the bureau.

The population growth rate has been in a decreasing trend since 2011, but Nepal witnessed a decrease in overall population in two consecutive censuses in 1920 and 1930, the first two decades since Nepal officially started counting the population.

Suwal said that the reason may be due to the participation of Nepali people in the first world war (1914-1918) and the subsequent Spanish flu pandemic that began in 1918.

In the last six decades, the country saw over two percent population growth in the first four decades. The population growth had started to decrease significantly since the 2011 census, according to the bureau’s records.

Though out-migration has also been touted as the reason behind the low population growth over the last one decade, Suwal said he believes that it is not the primary reason, as there has not been a significant jump in migrated population from 2011 to 2021.

According to the bureau, as many as 2,169,478 Nepalis were living abroad most of the time as per the new census. Ten years ago, a total of 1,921,494 people were living abroad most of the time.

According to the bureau, it counts seasonal migrant workers who go to India for work as Nepal’s own population.

“The census also showed that Nepal’s out-migrated population is not as large as it has been believed to be,” said Regmi. “This census however has failed to cover the migrated people whose entire family has stayed abroad.”

Among the migrated population, 81.28 percent of people are male. As per the latest census, though the number of Nepali women abroad is far lower than the number of men, there has been a rise of 71.09 percent in migrated Nepali women in 2021 compared to 2011.

According to the preliminary census report, the population in the Tarai region has increased while there has been a decrease in population in the hills and the mountain region.

Geography-wise, more than a half of the population lives in the Tarai.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from EKantipur.com.

Nepal’s population is 29,192,480 (msn.com)