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 178th out of 215 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.
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
- Population, total 29.62 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.2% (2025)
- Urban population 19.84 million (2025)
- Urban population 67.0% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 5.6% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 9.5 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 4.8% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 23.6% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 23.6% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 2.8 1=low to 6=high (2025)
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 178th out of 215 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.