Nepal Demographics Profile 2008

Population

29,519,114 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 38% (male 5,792,042/female 5,427,370)
15-64 years: 58.2% (male 8,832,488/female 8,345,724)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 542,192/female 579,298) (2008 est.)

Median age

total: 20.7 years
male: 20.5 years
female: 20.8 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate

2.095% (2008 est.)

Birth rate

29.92 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate

8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate

NA

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 60.94 years
male: 61.12 years
female: 60.75 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.91 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.5% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

61,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

3,100 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: Japanese encephalitis and malaria (2008)

Nationality

noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese

Ethnic groups

Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8% (2001 census)

Religions

Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
note: only official Hindu state in the world

Languages

Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.6%
male: 62.7%
female: 34.9% (2001 census)