Nirjana Sharma

The population of Nepal has gone up to 26,620,809 in the last 10 years, which is 3.5 million more than what was recorded in 2001, the Central Bureau of Statistics’ (CBS) preliminary report revealed on Tuesday. The population in 2001 was 23.1 million.

The population increased by 14.99 percent in the past decade, with an average annual growth rate of 1.40 percent, which is way too low than the 2.25 percent growth rate recorded in the 2001 census.
 Experts said the growth rate was low mainly because of the outflux of migrant workers.
 “The population growth rate is said to have stopped at 1.2 percent. Given the standards, the recorded growth rate is very low,” said census expert Bal Kumar KC. “But it has to be noted that over 1.92 million youths are absent, which is the main reason for the low growth rate.” The “absent” population has more than doubled in the past decade as it shot up from 762,181 to 1,917,903. According to Rudra Suwal, the chief of the population unit at the CBS, the “absent” population comprises migrant workers and those who were not in Nepal for more than six months at the time of the census. “The absent population is excluded from the overall population,” Suwal said.

Skewed male-female ratio
The census revealed a slightly skewed female-to-male ratio with the female population at 51.44 percent against the 48.56 males. The census recorded 13.6 million females (13,693,378), while the male population stood at 12.9 million (12,927,431).

Compared regionwise, population in the Tarai region has gone up by 2 percent, while the population of the hilly and mountain regions has decreased by 1 percent each. At present, Tarai covers 50.2 percent of the total population with the headcount of 13.3 million (13,350,454). The hilly region covers 43.1 percent with 11.4 million (11,475,001) and the mountain region 6.7 percent with 1.79 million population.

The Central Development Region (CDR) is the most densely populated with 9.71 million holding 36 percent of the overall population, while the far-west remains the least populated with 2.5 million people making 9.6 percent of the total population.

The population density of urban areas is 1,380/sq km, while in the rural areas, it is 153/sq km, the report said. In 2001, the population density of the areas was 985 and 138/sq km respectively. As per the 2011 census, 17 percent (4.5 million) of the population reside in urban areas.“This shows development is the major factor that attracts the population,” KC said. “The centralised resources and facilities have centralised the population in a particular area.”

Kathmandu most populated As per the report, Kathmandu district recorded the highest population growth rate in a decade with 60.93 percent and a population density of 4408/sq km. The population of Kathmandu district currently stands at 1.74 million. Currently, the population of Kathmandu Valley—which was 1.6 million 10 years ago—is 2.51 million, the report said.Manang held a negative growth rate in decadal ratio with -31.92 percent. The population there is 6,527 currently as compared to the 9,587 in 2001. The annual growth there is -3.84, according to the statistics. Along with Manang, 23 districts had a negative growth rate, the report said.

                                                        CENSUS 2001                      CENSUS 2011

Country’s total population                     23,151,423                          26,620,809

Male                                                    11,563,921                          12,927,431

Female                                                 11,587,502                          13,693,378

Population growth rate                       2.25 percent                           1.40 percent

Most populated district (Kathmandu)    1,081,845                            1,740,977

Urban                                              3,227,879 (13 percent)            4,525,787 (17 percent)

Rural                                               19,923,544 (86.1)                    22,095,022 83 percent)

Tarai                                               11,212,453 (48.4 percent)       13,350,454 (50 percent)

Hill                                                 10,251,111 (44.3 percent)       11,475,001 (43.1 percent)

Mountain                                       1,687,859 (7.3 percent)           1,795,354 (6.7 percent)

Published on: 28 September 2011 | The Kathmandu Post