Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The population of Nepal has reached 29,164,578.
According to the findings of 12th National Census 2021 released by the Nepal Statistics Office released on Friday, 51.02% of the total women, or 14,911,027, are women, while 48.98%, or 14,253,551, are men. Similarly, the population of the other sexes is 2,928.
The report shows that the annual population growth rate fell to 0.92% in the 2021 census, compared to 1.35% in the 2011 census. Bhaktapur has the highest population growth rate (3.35%), while Ramechhap has the lowest (-1.67%).
In its preliminary report in January, the office had put Nepal’s population at 29,192,480. The total population in the 2011 census was 26,494,504.
A total of 6,666,937 families are residing in Nepal as per the latest census, up from 5,427,302 in the 2011 census.
In terms of geography, more than half of the population (53.61%), or 15,634,000, live in the plains of Tarai, while 40.31%, or 11,757,624) live in the hilly region. Likewise, 6.08% of the total population, or 1,772,948, live in the mountainous region.
Provincewise, the highest population (30.97%) is in Bagmati Province, which also houses the federal capital, while the lowest is in Karnali Province (5.79%). Districtwise, Kathmandu is the most populous district with a population of 2,041,587, while Manang has the lowest population of 5,658.
The population density in the country as per the latest census is 198 per square kilometers, compared to 180 per square kilometer in the 2011 census. Kathmandu, naturally has the highest population density, 5,169 per square kilometer, while Manang has the lowest 3 per square kilometer.
According to the report, 2.2% of the total population has some form of disability. Among people with disabilities, 54.2% are men, and 45.8% are women. The average literacy rate in the country has reached 76.3%. The literacy rate among men is 83.6% and among women is 69.4%, according to the report.
