Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal

Nepal: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 was 67.0% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
67.0%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
115th
of 238 countries
All-time high
67.0%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal, 1000–2025

0204060100015122025

Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2025, share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal stood at 67.0%. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal peaked at 67.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

Nepal ranks 115th of 238 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal, year by year

Annual values for Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal, 1000 to 2025.
Year % Change
1000 0.0%
1100 0.0% +200.0%
1200 0.0% +200.0%
1300 0.0% +200.0%
1400 0.0% +200.0%
1500 0.0% +200.0%
1600 0.1% +200.0%
1700 0.3% +200.0%
1710 0.3% +12.7%
1720 0.3% +9.5%
1730 0.3% +9.5%
1740 0.4% +9.5%
1750 0.4% +9.5%
1760 0.5% +9.5%
1770 0.5% +9.5%
1780 0.5% +9.5%
1790 0.6% +9.5%
1800 0.7% +9.5%
1810 0.7% +9.5%
1820 0.8% +9.5%
1830 0.9% +9.5%
1840 0.9% +9.5%
1850 1.0% +9.5%
1860 1.1% +9.5%
1870 1.2% +9.5%
1880 1.4% +9.5%
1890 1.5% +9.5%
1900 1.6% +9.5%
1910 1.8% +9.5%
1920 2.0% +9.5%
1930 2.1% +9.5%
1940 2.3% +9.5%
1950 2.7% +16.6%
1951 2.8% +2.9%
1952 2.9% +2.9%
1953 3.0% +3.1%
1954 3.1% +2.9%
1955 3.2% +2.8%
1956 3.2% +2.6%
1957 3.3% +2.4%
1958 3.4% +2.2%
1959 3.5% +2.0%
1960 3.5% +1.8%
1961 3.6% +1.6%
1962 3.6% +1.4%
1963 3.7% +1.1%
1964 3.7% +0.9%
1965 3.7% +0.8%
1966 3.8% +0.8%
1967 3.8% +0.8%
1968 3.8% +1.0%
1969 3.9% +1.2%
1970 3.9% +1.5%
1971 4.0% +1.9%
1972 4.3% +8.4%
1973 5.1% +17.5%
1974 6.2% +21.4%
1975 7.5% +21.5%
1976 9.0% +19.7%
1977 10.5% +17.1%
1978 12.0% +14.3%
1979 13.4% +11.5%
1980 14.6% +8.7%
1981 15.5% +6.0%
1982 16.1% +4.1%
1983 16.6% +3.3%
1984 17.1% +2.8%
1985 17.5% +2.4%
1986 17.9% +2.2%
1987 18.3% +2.2%
1988 18.7% +2.3%
1989 19.2% +2.5%
1990 19.8% +2.9%
1991 20.4% +3.3%
1992 21.2% +3.7%
1993 22.0% +4.1%
1994 23.0% +4.4%
1995 24.1% +4.7%
1996 25.3% +4.9%
1997 26.6% +5.1%
1998 28.0% +5.3%
1999 29.5% +5.4%
2000 31.1% +5.5%
2001 32.8% +5.5%
2002 35.0% +6.8%
2003 38.0% +8.6%
2004 41.6% +9.4%
2005 45.5% +9.4%
2006 49.5% +8.8%
2007 53.4% +7.8%
2008 56.9% +6.6%
2009 59.9% +5.2%
2010 62.0% +3.6%
2011 63.1% +1.8%
2012 63.7% +0.8%
2013 64.1% +0.7%
2014 64.6% +0.7%
2015 65.0% +0.6%
2016 65.3% +0.5%
2017 65.6% +0.4%
2018 65.8% +0.4%
2019 66.0% +0.3%
2020 66.1% +0.2%
2021 66.1% +0.1%
2022 66.3% +0.2%
2023 66.5% +0.4%
2024 66.8% +0.3%
2025 67.0% +0.3%

Nepal compared with similar countries

  • Nepal's 67.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.9%, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Nepal's 67.0% is above the median for South Asia, which is 39.1%, 1.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1100 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1200 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1300 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1400 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1500 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1600 +200.0% 0.0% 0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1300s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1400s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1500s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1600s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1700s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1710s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1720s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1730s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1740s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1750s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1760s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1770s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1780s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1790s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1800s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1810s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1820s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
1830s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1840s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1850s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1
1860s 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1
1870s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1880s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1890s 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1
1900s 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1
1910s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1
1920s 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1
1930s 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1
1940s 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% 1
1950s 3.1% 2.7% 3.5% 10
1960s 3.7% 3.5% 3.9% 10
1970s 7.6% 3.9% 13.4% 10
1980s 17.2% 14.6% 19.2% 10
1990s 24.0% 19.8% 29.5% 10
2000s 44.4% 31.1% 59.9% 10
2010s 64.5% 62.0% 66.0% 10
2020s 66.5% 66.1% 67.0% 6

Countries ranked near Nepal

  1. 112 Latvia 68.6% compare
  2. 113 New Caledonia 68.2% compare
  3. 114 Botswana 68.0% compare
  4. 116 Cyprus 66.7% compare
  5. 117 China 66.3% compare
  6. 118 Panama 66.2% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Nepal

All data for Nepal →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal?
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal was 67.0% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Nepal?
The highest recorded value was 67.0% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Nepal?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Nepal rank for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
Nepal ranks 115th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 rising or falling in Nepal?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Nepal data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Nepal. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-share-2050/nepal/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.