Rural population in Nepal
Nepal: Rural population was 9.77 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
9.77 million
Change on year
down 0.8%
World rank
54th
of 218 countries
All-time high
17.05 million
in 1998
All-time low
9.60 million
in 2018
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Nepal, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Nepal recorded 9.77 million for rural population in 2025.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Nepal peaked at 17.05 million in 1998 and was at its lowest, 9.60 million, in 2018.
Nepal ranks 54th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 9.77 million | — |
| 1961 | 9.95 million | +1.9% |
| 1962 | 10.14 million | +1.9% |
| 1963 | 10.34 million | +1.9% |
| 1964 | 10.54 million | +2.0% |
| 1965 | 10.76 million | +2.0% |
| 1966 | 10.98 million | +2.1% |
| 1967 | 11.21 million | +2.1% |
| 1968 | 11.45 million | +2.1% |
| 1969 | 11.70 million | +2.1% |
| 1970 | 11.95 million | +2.1% |
| 1971 | 12.20 million | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 12.43 million | +1.8% |
| 1973 | 12.60 million | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 12.73 million | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 12.83 million | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 12.90 million | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 12.97 million | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 13.05 million | +0.6% |
| 1979 | 13.15 million | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 13.28 million | +1.0% |
| 1981 | 13.46 million | +1.3% |
| 1982 | 13.67 million | +1.6% |
| 1983 | 13.91 million | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 14.16 million | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 14.41 million | +1.8% |
| 1986 | 14.67 million | +1.7% |
| 1987 | 14.91 million | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 15.15 million | +1.6% |
| 1989 | 15.40 million | +1.7% |
| 1990 | 15.67 million | +1.8% |
| 1991 | 15.95 million | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 16.25 million | +1.9% |
| 1993 | 16.51 million | +1.6% |
| 1994 | 16.72 million | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 16.88 million | +1.0% |
| 1996 | 16.99 million | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 17.05 million | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 17.05 million | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 17.01 million | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 16.91 million | -0.6% |
| 2001 | 16.76 million | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 16.45 million | -1.8% |
| 2003 | 15.92 million | -3.3% |
| 2004 | 15.19 million | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 14.34 million | -5.6% |
| 2006 | 13.41 million | -6.4% |
| 2007 | 12.49 million | -6.9% |
| 2008 | 11.63 million | -6.9% |
| 2009 | 10.91 million | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 10.39 million | -4.8% |
| 2011 | 10.12 million | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 10.01 million | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 9.90 million | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 9.81 million | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 9.75 million | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 9.70 million | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 9.64 million | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 9.60 million | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 9.66 million | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 9.82 million | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 9.98 million | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 10.01 million | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 9.93 million | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 9.85 million | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 9.77 million | -0.8% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 9.77 million is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 5.28 million, 1.8× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 9.77 million is below the median for South Asia, which is 13.54 million, 72% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.68 million | 9.77 million | 11.70 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 12.68 million | 11.95 million | 13.15 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 14.30 million | 13.28 million | 15.40 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.61 million | 15.67 million | 17.05 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.40 million | 10.91 million | 16.91 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.86 million | 9.60 million | 10.39 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.90 million | 9.77 million | 10.01 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More agriculture & rural data for Nepal
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 4.5 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.2156 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 331.1 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.7937 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.33 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 21.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 21.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.6% (2022)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Nepal?
- Rural population in Nepal was 9.77 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 17.05 million in 1998.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.60 million in 2018.
- How does Nepal rank for rural population?
- Nepal ranks 54th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.