Nepal population
Nepal: 29.6 million people in 2025 (29,618,118), 52nd of 217 countries and areas — and 34.6 million projected for 2050.
Compare Nepal with another country
Where it stands
In 2025 Nepal has 29,618,118 people, which is 0.36% of the 8.19 billion counted across the 217 countries and areas on this site. That puts it 52nd by population, behind Cameroon and ahead of Venezuela.
Since 1960
In 1960 the figure was 10,123,658. Since then the population has grown 2.93×, an average of 1.67% a year upward. It doubled at some point along the way — the year it first reached 20,247,316 was 1992.
The projection keeps rising to the end of the data: 34,642,027 in 2050, 17% above 2025. The highest figure on this page is that last one, so no peak has been reached yet.
The ranking in 2050
In 2050 the projected rank is 58th, down 6 places from 52nd. Rankings move when other countries grow faster or slower, not only when Nepal changes.
People and land
Nepal covers 143,350 km² of land, so 2025 density is 207 people per km² — 65th most crowded of 216 places with an area figure. At that density a square 10 km on a side holds about 20,661 people.
The fertility rate was 1.96 births per woman in 2024, below the roughly 2.1 needed to keep a population steady without migration; life expectancy at birth was 70.6 years (2024); 28.1% of people were under 15 and 6.6% were 65 or older (2025); 67% of the population lived in cities. These shape the curve above: a young population keeps growing after fertility falls, an old one starts shrinking sooner.
Its nearest neighbours in the ranking are Cameroon just above, with 29.9 million (1.01× as many), and Venezuela just below, with 28.5 million (1.04× as many as Venezuela has).
How the numbers are taken. Total population from the World Bank's population estimates and projections (built from United Nations and national statistics). Values to 2025 are estimates; 2026–2050 are projections that continue current fertility, mortality and migration trends. Sources and limits.