Country or area · Southern Asia · Asia · UN WPP 2024

Nepal population

Nepal population now

29,639,871

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 28.8–30.4 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 29,694,614

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 29.6294 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 28.8–30.4 million
Median age: 26.7
Aged 65+: 6.7%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2067

male female projection · one cell = 5,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

NPL · 1950–2100 · in brief

Nepal in numbers

The UN counts 29,694,614 people in Nepal in mid-2023, which makes it the 51st-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.37% of the world's people. That is 3.5 times its 1950 population of 8.4 million.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2067 at 35.8 million, then falling to 31.8 million by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 11.1 million to 63.2 million.

The medium projection has deaths passing births in 2070 and staying above them from then on.

The median age was 19.6 in 1950 and 25.7 in 2023; the projection has 48.4 in 2100. 6.4% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 28.8% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2056 at 24.3 million.

Its place in the world by population: 51st in 2023, 58th in 2050, 65th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Ukraine in 2045, Poland in 2046 and South Korea in 2068. It is overtaken by Cameroon in 2025, Niger in 2028 and Mali in 2033.

Population, mid-2023: 29,694,614
Rank by population, 2023: 51 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.37%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: −0.07% · −20,822 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 207
Land area, 2023: 143,350 km²
Births, 2023: 574,297
Deaths, 2023: 205,841
Net migration, 2023: −409,782
Children per woman, 2023: 1.98
Median age, 2023: 25.7 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 70.3 years
In a city, 2025: 19 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 8,396,602
Projected, mid-2050: 34,642,027
Projected, mid-2100: 31,831,434

NPL · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2067estimates | projections020 m40 m60 m80 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Nepal, 1950–2100

Nepal: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	8,308,568		390,784	218,575	6.06	37.6
1951	estimate	8,484,637		398,352	222,301	6.06	37.6
1952	estimate	8,660,691		404,946	226,162	6.06	37.6
1953	estimate	8,833,897		412,055	230,155	6.07	37.7
1954	estimate	9,002,548		418,206	233,393	6.07	37.8
1955	estimate	9,173,003		423,392	236,982	6.07	37.9
1956	estimate	9,342,951		428,307	240,487	6.06	37.9
1957	estimate	9,512,831		433,505	243,400	6.05	38.0
1958	estimate	9,683,239		439,290	246,229	6.04	38.1
1959	estimate	9,849,241		443,962	247,665	6.03	38.4
1960	estimate	10,028,583		453,600	250,227	6.07	38.6
1961	estimate	10,218,734		462,442	252,522	6.09	39.0
1962	estimate	10,418,057		469,653	254,286	6.08	39.3
1963	estimate	10,624,175		476,270	256,679	6.06	39.6
1964	estimate	10,835,462		484,031	256,084	6.04	40.2
1965	estimate	11,057,322		490,606	256,878	6.01	40.7
1966	estimate	11,289,500		498,725	257,005	5.98	41.2
1967	estimate	11,527,921		507,190	257,939	5.95	41.7
1968	estimate	11,777,511		517,529	259,269	5.94	42.2
1969	estimate	12,035,022		523,936	259,377	5.89	42.7
1970	estimate	12,299,050		533,148	260,713	5.87	43.1
1971	estimate	12,573,329		542,538	261,795	5.84	43.6
1972	estimate	12,846,793		549,324	262,610	5.80	44.1
1973	estimate	13,131,404		551,919	263,162	5.70	44.5
1974	estimate	13,419,075		567,657	264,579	5.75	44.9
1975	estimate	13,717,795		577,074	264,598	5.73	45.5
1976	estimate	14,023,595		588,745	265,523	5.72	46.0
1977	estimate	14,331,704		597,469	264,631	5.69	46.6
1978	estimate	14,666,646		610,591	264,826	5.68	47.2
1979	estimate	15,012,745		620,488	264,894	5.64	47.8
1980	estimate	15,368,434		628,851	264,589	5.60	48.3
1981	estimate	15,737,777		641,057	266,914	5.58	48.7
1982	estimate	16,107,068		652,897	267,150	5.55	49.2
1983	estimate	16,488,907		666,917	267,807	5.54	49.7
1984	estimate	16,889,331		678,967	267,848	5.51	50.2
1985	estimate	17,281,153		689,042	265,803	5.46	50.9
1986	estimate	17,674,230		698,463	263,663	5.40	51.6
1987	estimate	18,062,018		709,585	260,177	5.35	52.4
1988	estimate	18,438,993		720,699	257,119	5.31	53.1
1989	estimate	18,838,329		730,945	252,176	5.26	54.0
1990	estimate	19,277,286		744,419	249,218	5.21	54.8
1991	estimate	19,771,860		757,520	245,295	5.15	55.6
1992	estimate	20,301,141		772,907	239,880	5.07	56.7
1993	estimate	20,918,273		798,710	237,158	5.04	57.6
1994	estimate	21,442,044		809,338	231,056	4.96	58.6
1995	estimate	21,992,913		819,693	228,412	4.87	59.3
1996	estimate	22,497,965		803,512	223,412	4.67	60.0
1997	estimate	22,985,759		782,834	216,970	4.44	60.8
1998	estimate	23,453,166		774,644	211,867	4.28	61.5
1999	estimate	23,907,548		766,984	209,142	4.13	62.0
2000	estimate	24,342,850		759,927	205,421	3.98	62.6
2001	estimate	24,750,168		742,840	200,718	3.79	63.3
2002	estimate	25,143,328		725,448	200,410	3.60	63.5
2003	estimate	25,514,634		712,403	195,833	3.44	64.2
2004	estimate	25,862,883		698,220	193,352	3.28	64.7
2005	estimate	26,170,429		679,767	190,673	3.12	65.3
2006	estimate	26,448,487		662,426	187,103	2.97	65.9
2007	estimate	26,682,362		652,335	187,549	2.86	66.2
2008	estimate	26,894,622		640,452	188,085	2.74	66.4
2009	estimate	27,085,452		631,403	190,091	2.63	66.6
2010	estimate	27,260,617		624,784	192,146	2.54	66.8
2011	estimate	27,423,288		622,163	192,202	2.46	67.1
2012	estimate	27,505,700		623,697	193,555	2.42	67.4
2013	estimate	27,564,130		619,613	194,817	2.36	67.6
2014	estimate	27,615,862		619,578	196,408	2.32	67.8
2015	estimate	27,728,877		616,049	205,486	2.27	67.4
2016	estimate	27,918,381		613,425	197,511	2.23	68.4
2017	estimate	27,992,543		604,268	198,051	2.17	68.7
2018	estimate	28,029,973		593,089	198,513	2.12	69.0
2019	estimate	28,129,405		586,696	199,574	2.08	69.3
2020	estimate	28,698,722		584,195	210,634	2.05	69.1
2021	estimate	29,234,427		579,915	228,750	2.02	68.4
2022	estimate	29,715,593		583,699	204,694	2.00	70.1
2023	estimate	29,715,279		574,297	205,841	1.98	70.3
2024	estimate	29,673,950		562,232	206,740	1.96	70.6
2025	projection	29,628,159	29.4–29.8 million	551,647	207,032	1.94	70.9
2026	projection	29,608,076	29.1–30.0 million	542,047	207,364	1.92	71.2
2027	projection	29,650,743	28.8–30.4 million	533,762	208,265	1.90	71.4
2028	projection	29,803,582	28.7–30.8 million	527,550	209,651	1.89	71.7
2029	projection	30,091,587	28.6–31.3 million	523,168	211,321	1.88	71.9
2030	projection	30,372,637	28.6–31.9 million	517,956	212,891	1.86	72.1
2031	projection	30,647,354	28.5–32.4 million	512,429	214,577	1.85	72.3
2032	projection	30,914,481	28.4–32.9 million	507,575	216,441	1.84	72.5
2033	projection	31,176,348	28.3–33.4 million	502,269	218,409	1.83	72.8
2034	projection	31,431,713	28.2–34.0 million	497,079	220,508	1.82	73.0
2035	projection	31,678,419	28.0–34.4 million	491,103	222,493	1.81	73.2
2036	projection	31,917,590	27.9–35.0 million	486,481	224,336	1.80	73.4
2037	projection	32,149,843	27.7–35.5 million	481,898	226,449	1.79	73.6
2038	projection	32,374,722	27.5–36.0 million	476,944	228,670	1.79	73.8
2039	projection	32,594,881	27.3–36.5 million	472,674	231,095	1.78	74.0
2040	projection	32,806,503	27.0–37.0 million	468,338	233,538	1.77	74.2
2041	projection	33,012,570	26.8–37.4 million	464,934	236,098	1.77	74.4
2042	projection	33,211,947	26.5–38.0 million	461,391	238,945	1.77	74.6
2043	projection	33,406,171	26.5–38.6 million	457,984	241,693	1.76	74.8
2044	projection	33,592,704	26.4–39.1 million	454,325	244,778	1.76	75.0
2045	projection	33,773,952	26.2–39.6 million	450,912	247,976	1.75	75.2
2046	projection	33,948,169	25.8–40.1 million	446,810	251,333	1.75	75.3
2047	projection	34,117,820	25.7–40.7 million	443,084	255,094	1.74	75.5
2048	projection	34,276,697	25.5–41.1 million	439,376	258,600	1.74	75.7
2049	projection	34,427,462	25.4–41.7 million	436,023	262,455	1.74	75.9
2050	projection	34,572,943	25.0–42.1 million	432,533	266,361	1.73	76.0
2051	projection	34,711,111	24.7–42.6 million	429,310	270,305	1.73	76.2
2052	projection	34,842,894	24.7–43.1 million	425,147	274,429	1.73	76.4
2053	projection	34,963,572	24.5–43.4 million	421,575	278,831	1.73	76.6
2054	projection	35,077,396	24.3–44.2 million	417,793	282,894	1.72	76.8
2055	projection	35,182,580	24.1–44.6 million	414,324	287,224	1.72	76.9
2056	projection	35,280,867	23.8–45.1 million	410,119	291,699	1.72	77.1
2057	projection	35,372,927	23.6–45.5 million	406,156	296,213	1.72	77.3
2058	projection	35,454,776	23.4–45.9 million	402,374	300,623	1.72	77.5
2059	projection	35,530,458	23.3–46.5 million	398,296	305,411	1.71	77.6
2060	projection	35,595,193	23.0–46.9 million	394,701	310,436	1.71	77.8
2061	projection	35,650,873	22.7–47.5 million	391,436	315,361	1.71	77.9
2062	projection	35,697,383	22.4–48.2 million	387,533	320,430	1.71	78.1
2063	projection	35,737,520	22.2–48.6 million	383,776	325,621	1.71	78.3
2064	projection	35,765,257	22.1–49.1 million	380,454	330,743	1.71	78.4
2065	projection	35,786,437	21.8–49.6 million	376,569	335,838	1.70	78.6
2066	projection	35,797,842	21.5–50.0 million	373,512	341,049	1.70	78.7
2067	projection	35,801,706	21.2–50.5 million	369,973	346,512	1.70	78.9
2068	projection	35,798,027	20.9–51.0 million	367,332	351,784	1.70	79.0
2069	projection	35,786,806	20.7–51.4 million	364,224	356,906	1.70	79.2
2070	projection	35,767,178	20.4–52.1 million	361,289	362,103	1.70	79.3
2071	projection	35,737,554	20.3–52.8 million	358,015	367,540	1.70	79.5
2072	projection	35,698,431	19.9–53.1 million	354,851	372,849	1.70	79.7
2073	projection	35,654,886	19.4–53.7 million	351,817	378,259	1.70	79.8
2074	projection	35,600,563	19.1–54.2 million	348,675	383,584	1.69	80.0
2075	projection	35,537,712	18.9–54.8 million	345,402	388,841	1.69	80.1
2076	projection	35,468,113	18.6–55.0 million	342,600	394,143	1.69	80.3
2077	projection	35,389,965	18.3–55.3 million	339,726	399,362	1.69	80.4
2078	projection	35,304,495	17.8–55.7 million	336,958	403,987	1.69	80.5
2079	projection	35,210,753	17.5–56.1 million	333,928	409,166	1.69	80.7
2080	projection	35,107,872	17.1–56.8 million	330,865	413,814	1.69	80.8
2081	projection	34,999,080	16.9–57.2 million	328,124	418,108	1.69	81.0
2082	projection	34,883,854	16.7–57.8 million	325,112	422,532	1.69	81.1
2083	projection	34,761,936	16.4–58.2 million	322,052	426,737	1.69	81.3
2084	projection	34,632,235	16.2–58.6 million	319,179	430,432	1.69	81.4
2085	projection	34,495,057	15.9–58.7 million	316,301	433,770	1.68	81.6
2086	projection	34,349,449	15.6–59.2 million	313,361	437,158	1.68	81.7
2087	projection	34,201,847	15.3–59.5 million	310,655	439,953	1.68	81.9
2088	projection	34,048,869	15.0–59.7 million	307,809	442,480	1.68	82.0
2089	projection	33,889,785	14.6–60.0 million	305,073	444,555	1.68	82.2
2090	projection	33,725,683	14.0–60.5 million	302,311	446,128	1.68	82.3
2091	projection	33,558,399	13.8–60.7 million	299,870	447,453	1.68	82.4
2092	projection	33,387,089	13.3–60.9 million	297,298	448,552	1.68	82.6
2093	projection	33,211,916	13.0–61.4 million	295,061	449,355	1.68	82.7
2094	projection	33,034,950	12.7–61.8 million	292,253	449,384	1.68	82.9
2095	projection	32,853,944	12.4–62.0 million	289,944	449,652	1.68	83.0
2096	projection	32,673,102	12.1–62.1 million	287,384	449,129	1.68	83.1
2097	projection	32,489,387	11.9–62.5 million	284,775	448,653	1.68	83.3
2098	projection	32,302,714	11.7–63.1 million	282,575	448,062	1.68	83.4
2099	projection	32,115,542	11.4–63.4 million	280,016	446,754	1.68	83.5
2100	projection	31,927,012	11.1–63.2 million	277,714	445,765	1.67	83.7

Show the numbers: Nepal, mid-2026, by single year of age

Nepal: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	269,356	260,012
1	267,796	260,889
2	269,406	263,228
3	273,184	266,158
4	274,816	267,182
5	274,503	266,202
6	274,234	263,617
7	275,860	261,717
8	280,731	263,258
9	285,677	266,090
10	288,757	269,144
11	290,196	271,664
12	290,362	272,796
13	291,286	273,962
14	291,384	274,316
15	291,895	276,212
16	292,186	279,620
17	290,479	282,508
18	289,116	286,174
19	286,263	288,142
20	284,166	289,752
21	282,803	291,782
22	277,750	292,282
23	270,184	291,776
24	262,364	290,605
25	255,904	289,928
26	249,519	288,124
27	242,029	284,476
28	234,634	280,665
29	229,292	277,962
30	224,314	275,407
31	215,678	269,386
32	205,573	261,462
33	195,728	253,239
34	187,032	245,584
35	180,708	240,056
36	174,632	234,508
37	168,281	228,308
38	162,687	222,449
39	159,541	217,688
40	158,752	213,920
41	157,874	209,774
42	156,091	204,614
43	153,400	198,702
44	150,122	191,996
45	146,622	184,538
46	143,278	177,670
47	139,981	171,505
48	136,366	165,250
49	132,926	159,479
50	129,909	154,474
51	127,344	150,207
52	124,616	145,846
53	123,334	142,361
54	123,048	139,496
55	120,322	135,004
56	113,110	128,583
57	103,128	120,982
58	96,944	114,828
59	94,636	110,484
60	92,456	106,414
61	90,024	102,447
62	87,440	98,551
63	85,014	94,888
64	82,637	91,442
65	79,840	87,792
66	76,036	83,679
67	72,030	79,881
68	68,424	76,630
69	64,714	73,369
70	60,969	70,086
71	57,146	66,616
72	53,150	62,844
73	48,972	58,769
74	44,759	54,554
75	40,538	50,216
76	37,129	46,260
77	34,460	42,988
78	30,868	38,851
79	26,265	33,605
80	22,337	28,979
81	19,190	25,228
82	16,424	21,904
83	13,746	18,635
84	11,202	15,475
85	8,880	12,540
86	6,710	9,746
87	5,008	7,512
88	3,778	5,868
89	2,764	4,477
90	1,953	3,332
91	1,332	2,416
92	879	1,703
93	560	1,164
94	346	770
95	208	489
96	120	298
97	68	174
98	38	98
99	20	53
100+	20	56

NPL · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Nepal, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

NPL · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Nepal

On the UN's projection, Nepal will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2056: 24,312,400 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 19,279,500.

100 aged 15–64

44 children

10 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 35 years: 2030–2064.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: the strip runs 1950 to 2100. Coloured years are the ones with under 50 dependants for every 100 people aged 15–64; grey years are the rest, and a hatched year has not happened yet.

How every country compares

NPL · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Nepal, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Nepal loses 232,334 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 55,842 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 10,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

Its best and worst years between 1950 and 2023: a gain of 182,203 (2019), and a loss of 409,782 (2023).

In 2024, 470,719 people living in Nepal had been born in another country, 2 of every 100 people there, against 2 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

NPL · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Nepal

Of every 100 babies born in Nepal in 2023, 18 had a mother under 20, 77 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 5 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 14 under 20 and 18 aged 35 or older.

1950
14 · 68 · 18

2023
18 · 77 · 5

2050 · projected
15 · 81 · 4

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 574,297
Average age when women have a baby: 25.3 years; 29.4 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 67; 125 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Nepal by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	2,355	2,347	5,153	629	58	14
15–19	52,674	80,930	150,885	101,271	64,329	15,659
20–24	98,681	158,904	264,786	225,560	162,810	64,619
25–29	93,633	142,102	176,319	153,446	127,883	96,654
30–34	72,625	101,163	96,358	66,056	59,574	73,594
35–39	46,463	59,289	46,460	20,624	14,189	22,288
40–44	21,165	26,518	16,764	5,957	3,473	4,665
45–49	3,086	5,566	3,062	701	195	211
50–54	102	255	140	53	22	10
All babies	390,784	577,074	759,927	574,297	432,533	277,714

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

NPL · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Nepal

A baby born in Nepal in 2021 could expect 70.0 years of life, 60.2 of them in full health (95% range 59.4–61.1). That leaves 9.8 years in less than full health, close to the world's 9.5.

Women

60.7 in full health, 11.1 not: 71.8 years

Men

59.8 in full health, 8.5 not: 68.3 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 60.7 healthy years of 71.8. Men: 59.8 of 68.3. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 61.5.

NPL · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Nepal

At the end of 2025, Nepal was hosting 19,915 people who had crossed a border into it, about 0.7 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad19,915
Nepal nationals abroad22,583

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: count the squares — 500 people each, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Nepal living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 43 people asked for asylum in Nepal for the first time; 7,573 people from Nepal asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from Nepal whose claims were decided that year, 14 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

NPL · of every 100 people

How people live in Nepal

Of every 100 people in Nepal in 2025, 19 lived in a city, 54 in a town or suburb and 27 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

2.1 of every 100 have no electricity at home (2024). 53.7 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every 100th person, coloured by where they live, as the key says. The same rule is used in every country.

How the world's people live

NPL · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Nepal went in school

Of every 100 adults in Nepal in 2020, 42 never went to school and 30 finished upper secondary or went further.

42 never went to school 7 some primary 12 finished primary 9 finished lower secondary 25 finished upper secondary 5 studied after school

Compare two generations. Aged 60–64, 86.8 of every 100 women and 50 of every 100 men never went to school; aged 25–29, 16.3 and 8.6.

Its people aged 15 to 64 are projected to be most numerous in 2050; the ones who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2065.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

NPL · cities · 2025

Cities in Nepal

Nepal had 19 cities in 2025, home to 5.6 million people. The largest, Kathmandu, holds 11 of every 100 people in Nepal.

Kathmandu3,231,516
Biratnagar398,453
Pokhara297,320
Pokhariya242,966
Bharatpur161,441
Sitāpur155,726
Laksmipur136,748
Biratnagar122,466
Nepalgunj119,892
Banjariya118,088

How to read this: the 10 largest cities in 2025, bars on one scale. A city is the whole built-up area on the UN's rule, not the city's own boundary.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Nepal are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.