About 20.27 Percent of Nepal’s Population Lives Below the Poverty Line

Around 20.27 percent of Nepal’s population is living below the poverty line, according to the Small Area Estimation of Poverty–2023 report. The report shows that poverty is higher in rural areas, where 24.66 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, compared to 18.34 percent in urban areas.

Data released on Friday by the National Statistics Office (NSO) indicate that, at the provincial level, Sudurpaschim Province has the highest poverty rate, while Gandaki Province has the lowest.

The NSO has been conducting the Nepal Living Standards Survey since 1996, following the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) methodology developed by the World Bank to measure living conditions and monetary poverty in Nepal.

According to the office, monetary poverty in Nepal is measured using the Cost of Basic Needs (CBN) method. For the latest assessment, a new poverty line has been set at NPR 72,908 per person per year. Previously, in fiscal year 2009/10, the poverty line was NPR 19,261. Under the new benchmark, individuals whose annual per capita consumption expenditure is less than NPR 72,908 are classified as poor.

Provincial data show that Sudurpaschim Province has the highest poverty rate at 34.16 percent, while Gandaki Province has the lowest at 11.88 percent. The poverty rates in other provinces are: Koshi 17.19 percent, Madhesh 22.53 percent, Bagmati 12.59 percent, Lumbini 24.34 percent, and Karnali 26.69 percent.

According to the report’s local-level analysis, 309 local governments have poverty rates below the national average of 20.27 percent, while 444 local governments have poverty rates above the national average. At the local level, poverty rates range from as low as 1.18 percent to as high as 77.89 percent.

Under the government’s 16th National Plan, the long-term vision for 2100 is to eliminate absolute poverty and reduce multidimensional poverty to 3 percent. The government aims to reduce the proportion of the population living below the poverty line from 20.3 percent to 12 percent by fiscal year 2085/86 (2028/29).

NSO Director Manohar Ghimire said that government policies on poverty alleviation need to be refined and better targeted. “Our role is to present data that reflect the current poverty situation,” he said. “Based on poverty numbers and rates, federal, provincial, and local governments should implement targeted poverty-reduction programs.”

For the first time, the NSO has calculated poverty rates and the number of poor people at the municipal (local government) level. Previously, poverty data were published only at the district and regional levels.

At the municipal level, the highest poverty rate—77.89 percent—was recorded in Junichande Rural Municipality of Jajarkot district, while the lowest rate, 1.18 percent, was recorded in Gharpajhong Rural Municipality of Mustang district. In absolute numbers, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has the largest number of people living below the poverty line, totaling 59,218 individuals, though its poverty rate stands at 6.87 percent.

“Due to its large population, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has a higher number of poor people in absolute terms,” Ghimire said. “However, the poverty rate appears lower because of the overall population size. The city has a population of 862,400, of whom 59,218 are poor.”

District-level analysis shows that Achham district in Sudurpaschim Province has the highest poverty rate at 49.58 percent, while Kaski district in Gandaki Province has the lowest at 5.63 percent. Of the country’s districts, 34 have poverty rates below the national average, while 43 districts are above it.

Ganesh Prasad Bhatt, spokesperson for the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, said that the federal government is currently focused on distributing state benefit identity cards. “At present, we are only distributing identity cards. Before 2018, more than NPR 14 billion in seed capital was distributed to local governments through the Poverty Alleviation Fund,” he said.

He added that under the Bishweshwar with the Poor Program, the government continues to provide funds to local governments to pay social mobilizers’ monthly salaries. In addition, various poverty-targeted programs are being implemented by ministries such as education and health.