Population growth in Nepal
Nepal: Population growth was -0.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Nepal, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Nepal stood at -0.1%.
That represents a change of up 24.3% on the previous year and down 120.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Nepal peaked at 2.8% in 1992 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 2024.
That places Nepal 179th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Population growth in Nepal, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.9% | — |
| 1962 | 1.9% | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 2.0% | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 2.0% | +1.7% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | +2.7% |
| 1966 | 2.1% | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 2.1% | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 2.2% | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 2.2% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 2.2% | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 2.2% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 2.2% | -0.3% |
| 1973 | 2.2% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 2.2% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 2.2% | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 2.2% | -0.7% |
| 1977 | 2.2% | +2.5% |
| 1978 | 2.3% | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 2.3% | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 2.4% | +0.9% |
| 1981 | 2.3% | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 2.3% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 2.4% | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 2.3% | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 2.3% | -3.2% |
| 1986 | 2.2% | -2.7% |
| 1987 | 2.1% | -4.2% |
| 1988 | 2.1% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 2.2% | +5.7% |
| 1990 | 2.4% | +8.8% |
| 1991 | 2.6% | +7.0% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | +9.0% |
| 1993 | 2.7% | -3.2% |
| 1994 | 2.5% | -8.2% |
| 1995 | 2.4% | -4.1% |
| 1996 | 2.2% | -8.1% |
| 1997 | 2.1% | -5.8% |
| 1998 | 2.0% | -5.4% |
| 1999 | 1.9% | -5.3% |
| 2000 | 1.7% | -7.0% |
| 2001 | 1.6% | -6.6% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | -6.0% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | -7.2% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | -10.1% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | -11.8% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | -13.5% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -13.6% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | -10.4% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | -9.8% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | -8.3% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | -27.8% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -42.7% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | -22.0% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | +49.2% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | +82.9% |
| 2016 | 0.5% | -13.3% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | -57.8% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +22.4% |
| 2019 | 1.2% | +385.2% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | +62.7% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -9.6% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | -53.3% |
| 2023 | -0.1% | -108.6% |
| 2024 | -0.1% | +109.4% |
| 2025 | -0.1% | -24.3% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's -0.1% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.7%. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's -0.1% is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.5%. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Nepal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | +385.2% | 0.2% | 1.2% |
| 2024 | -109.4% | -0.1% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | -108.6% | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | +82.9% | 0.3% | 0.5% |
| 2020 | +62.7% | 1.2% | 1.9% |
| 2017 | -57.8% | 0.5% | 0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.0% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 1.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | -0.1% | 1.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More climate change data for Nepal
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 14.93 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 23,478 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 3,890 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 19,588 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 14.68 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 699.59 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 5,853 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,263 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,590 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 4.76 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Nepal?
- Population growth in Nepal was -0.1% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 1992.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 2024.
- How does Nepal rank for population growth?
- Nepal ranks 179th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 120.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.