Share of population living in urban areas in Nepal
Nepal: Share of population living in urban areas was 72.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Nepal, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in urban areas in Nepal stood at 72.6%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Nepal peaked at 72.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 31.7%, in 1950.
That places Nepal 129th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 31.7% | — |
| 1955 | 34.0% | +7.1% |
| 1960 | 36.1% | +6.3% |
| 1965 | 38.5% | +6.6% |
| 1970 | 41.1% | +6.9% |
| 1975 | 43.9% | +6.8% |
| 1980 | 49.0% | +11.6% |
| 1985 | 54.2% | +10.4% |
| 1990 | 58.2% | +7.5% |
| 1995 | 63.4% | +8.9% |
| 2000 | 66.9% | +5.5% |
| 2005 | 69.1% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 70.5% | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 71.0% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 72.6% | +2.3% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 72.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 71.3%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 72.6% is below the median for South Asia, which is 78.0%, 93% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 32.8% | 31.7% | 34.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 37.3% | 36.1% | 38.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 42.5% | 41.1% | 43.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 51.6% | 49.0% | 54.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 60.8% | 58.2% | 63.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 68.0% | 66.9% | 69.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 70.7% | 70.5% | 71.0% | 2 |
| 2020s | 72.6% | 72.6% | 72.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More reference data data for Nepal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7753 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7853 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7974 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.28 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Nepal?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Nepal was 72.6% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 72.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.7% in 1950.
- How does Nepal rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Nepal ranks 129th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.