Nepal - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Nepal. Landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga -- the world's tallest and third tallest mountains -- on the borders with China and India respectively. Mother's mean age at first birth is 20.4 years (2016 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 174 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Nepal
| Location | Southern Asia, between China and India |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 28 00 N, 84 00 E |
| Map references | Asia |
| Tarrain | Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south; central hill region with rugged Himalayas in north |
| Natural Resources | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
| Natural Hazards | severe thunderstorms; flooding; landslides; drought and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
| Irrigated Land | 13,320 sq km (2012) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin |
| Land Boundaries | 3,159 km |
| Border Countries | China 1,389 km; India 1,770 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 143,351 sq km |
| Water Area | 3,830 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly larger than New York state |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,849 m |
| Lowest point | Kanchan Kalan 70 m |
| Mean elevation | 2,565 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 28.8% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 15.1% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 1.2% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 12.5% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 25.4% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 45.8% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Most of the population is divided nearly equally between a concentration in the southern-most plains of the Tarai region and the central hilly region; overall density is quite low
People and Society
In Nepal, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Chhettri 16.5%, Brahman-Hill 11.3%, Magar 6.9%, Tharu 6.2%, Tamang 5.6%, Bishwokarma 5%, Musalman 4.9%, Newar 4.6%, Yadav 4.2%, Rai 2.2%, Pariyar 1.9%, Gurung 1.9%, Thakuri 1.7%, Mijar 1.6%, Teli 1.5%, Yakthung/Limbu 1.4%, Chamar/Harijan/Ram 1.4%, Koiri/Kushwaha 1.2%, other 20% (2021 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.7% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 17 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 5.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 5.2% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 0.3 beds/1,000 population (2012) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.85 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.9 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 46.7% (2019) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 74.6% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 4.2% of GDP (2020 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Nepali | Nepali (singular and plural) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Hindu 81.2%, Buddhist 8.2%, Muslim 5.1%, Kirat 3.2%, Christian 1.8%, other 0.5% (2021 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 25.8% (male 4,125,244/female 3,909,135) |
| 15-64 years | 67.8% (male 10,153,682/female 10,957,011) |
| 65 years and over | 6.4% (2024 est.) (male 961,717/female 1,015,598) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 54.9 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 45.5 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 9.4 |
| Potential support ratio | 10.7 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 27.6 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 26.5 years |
| Female | 28.6 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 21.9% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 3.09% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 1.571 million KATHMANDU (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.93 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.95 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 24 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 25.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 22.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 73 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 72.2 years |
| Female | 73.7 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 92.7% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 94.4% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 94.1% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 7.3% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 5.6% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 5.9% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 95.1% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 85.7% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 87.7% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 4.9% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 14.3% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 12.3% of population (2020 est.) |
| Major Infectious diseases | |
| Degree of risk | high (2023) |
| Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever |
| Vectorborne diseases | Japanese encephalitis, malaria, and dengue fever |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.22 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.13 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 30.4% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 47.9% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 12.8% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 7.9% |
| Women married by age 18 | 32.8% |
| Men married by age 18 | 9% (2019 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Nepal
Want to know more about Nepal? Check all different factbooks for Nepal below.
