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Perched on the southern slopes of the Himalayan Mountains, the Kingdom of Nepal is as ethnically diverse as its terrain of fertile plains, broad valleys, and the highest mountain peaks in the world. The Nepalese are descendants of three major migrations from India, Tibet, and Central Asia.
Among the earliest inhabitants were the Newar of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharu in the southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Brahman and Chetri caste groups came from India, while other ethnic groups trace their origins to Central Asia and Tibet, including the Gurung and Magar in the west, Rai and Limbu in the east, and Sherpa and Bhotia in the north.
In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20% of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the Indo-Aryans of northern India. Indo-Aryan and East Asian looking mixed people live in the hill region. The mountainous highlands are sparsely populated. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost 5% of the population.
Nepal is a multilingual, multireligious and multiethnic society.
These data are largely derived from Nepal's 2001 census results published in the ''Nepal Population Report 2002.''

Contents

Languages

Religion

Ethnicity

Vital statistics

References

External links

Languages

Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Mongolian and various indigenous language isolates. According to the 2001 national census, 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal (a 93rd category was "unidentified"). The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are Nepali (49%), Maithili (12%), Bhojpuri (8%), Tharu (6%), Tamang (5%), Newari/Nepal Bhasa (4%), Magar (3%), Awadhi (2%), Bantawa (2%), Limbu (1%), and Bajjika (1%). The remaining 81 languages are each spoken as mother tongue by less than one percent of the population.
Derived from Sanskrit, Nepali is related to the Indian language Hindi and written in Devanagari script. Nepali is the official, national language and serves as ''lingua franca'' among Nepalis of different ethnolinguistic groups. Hindi is also widely spoken, especially in the southern Terai Region. Many Nepalese in government and business also speak English.

Religion

Religion is important in Nepal; the Kathmandu Valley alone has more than 2,700 religious shrines. The constitution of Nepal describes the country as a "Hindu Kingdom," although it does not establish Hinduism as the state religion. Nepal's constitution continues long-standing legal provisions prohibiting discrimination against other religions and proselytization. On May 19 2006, the government facing a constitutional crisis, the House of Representatives which had been just reformed, having been previously dissolved, declared Nepal a "secular state" Nevertheless, Nepal remained the only officially Hindu country in the world. The king is deified as the earthly manifestation of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
The 2001 census identified 80.2% of the population as Hindu and Buddhism was practiced by about 20% of the population (although many people labelled Hindu or Buddhist often practice a syncretic blend of Hinduism, Buddhism or animist traditions). About 2.8% of the population is Muslim and 0.7% of the population follows the indigenous Kirant Mundum religion. Christianity is practiced by less than 0.5% of the population.
Buddhist and Hindu shrines and festivals are respected and celebrated by most Nepalis. Certain animist practices of old indigenous religions survive.

Ethnicity

Nepal’s 2001 census enumerated 103 distinct castes and ethnic groups including an "unidentified group". The caste system of Nepal is rooted in the Hindu religion while the ethnic system is rooted in mutually exclusive origin myths, historical mutual seclusion and the occasional state intervention.
The major caste/ethnic groups identified by the 2001 census are Chetri (15.8%), Hill Brahmin (12.7%), Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), Tamang (5.6%), Newar (5.5%), Muslim (4.3%),  Kami (3.9%), Rai (3.9), Gurung (2.8%), and Damai/Dholi (2.4%). The remaining 92 caste/ethnic groups (including the world-famous Sherpa) each constitute less than 2 % of the population ^[1].

'CASTE/ETHNIC GROUPS OF NEPAL'

CASTE OR ETHNIC GROUP	POPULATION	PERCENT OF TOTAL
Chetri	3,593,496	15.80
Hill-Brahmin	2,896,477	12.74
Magar	1,622,421	7.14
Tharu	1,533,879	6.75
Tamang	1,282,304	5.64
Newar	1,245,232	5.48
Muslim	971,056	4.27
Kami	895,954	3.94
Yadav	895,423	3.94
Rai	635,151	2.79
Gurung	543,571	2.39
Damai/Dholi	390,305	1.72
Limbu	359,379	1.58
Thakuri	334,120	1.47
Sarki	318,989	1.40
Teli	304,536	1.34
Chamar, Harijan, Ram	269,661	1.19
Koiri	251,274	1.11
Kurmi	212,842	0.94
Sanyasi	199,127	0.88
Dhanuk	188,150	0.83
Musahar	172,434	0.76
Dusad/Paswan/Pasi	158,525	0.70
Sherpa	154,622	0.68
Sonar	145,088	0.64
Kewat	136,953	0.60
Terai-Brahmin	134,496	0.59
Baniya	126,971	0.56
Gharti/Bhujel	117,568	0.52
Mallah	115,986	0.51
Kalwar	115,606	0.51
Kumal	99,389	0.44
Hajam/Thakur	98,169	0.43
Kanu	95,826	0.42
Rajbansi	95,812	0.42
Sunuwar	95,254	0.42
Sudhi	89,846	0.40
Lohar	82,637	0.36
Tatma	76,512	0.34
Khatwe	74,972	0.33
Dhobi	73,413	0.32
Majhi	72,614	0.32
Nuniya	66,873	0.29
Kumhar	54,413	0.24
Danuwar	53,229	0.23
Chepang	52,237	0.23
Haluwai	50,583	0.22
Rajput	48,454	0.21
Kayastha	46,071	0.20
Budhae	45,975	0.20
Marwadi	43,971	0.19
Santhal/Satar	42,698	0.19
Dhagar/Jhagar	41,764	0.18
Bantar	35,839	0.16
Barae	35,434	0.16
Kahar	34,531	0.15
Gangai	31,318	0.14
Lodha	24,738	0.11
Rajbhar	24,263	0.11
Thami	22,999	0.10
Dhimal	19,537	0.09
Bhote	19,261	0.08
Bing/Binda	18,720	0.08
Bhediyar/Gaderi	17,729	0.08
Nurang	17,522	0.08
Yakkha	17,003	0.07
Darai	14,859	0.07
Tajpuriya	13,250	0.06
Thakali	12,973	0.06
Chidimar	12,296	0.05
Pahari	11,505	0.05
Mali	11,390	0.05
Bangali	9,860	0.04
Chhantel	9,814	0.04
Dom	8,931	0.04
Kamar	8,761	0.04
Bote	7,969	0.04
Brahmu/Baramu	7,383	0.03
Gaine/Gandarbha	5,887	0.03
Jirel	5,316	0.02
Adivasi/Janajati	5,259	0.02
Duga	5,169	0.02
Churaute	4,893	0.02
Badi	4,442	0.02
Meche	3,763	0.02
Lepcha	3,660	0.02
Halkhor	3,621	0.02
Punjabi/Sikh	3,054	0.01
Kisan	2,876	0.01
Raji	2,399	0.01
Byangsi	2,103	0.01
Hayu	1,821	0.01
Koche	1,429	0.01
Dhunia	1,231	0.01
Walung	1,148	0.01
Jaine	1,015	0.00
Munda	660	0.00
Raute	658	0.00
Yehlmo	579	0.00
Patharkata/Kuswadiya	552	0.00
Kusunda	164	0.00
Dalit/Unidentified	173,401	0.76
Unidentified Caste/Ethnicity	231,641	1.02
NEPAL	22,736,934	100.00

See also: ''Nepal, Caste''

Vital statistics

'Population:' 26,469,569 (July 2003 est.)
'Age structure:'

''0-14 years:'' 39.7% (male 5,424,396; female 5,080,171)

''15-64 years:'' 56.7% (male 7,692,134; female 7,320,059)

''65 years and over:'' 3.6% (male 468,697; female 484,112) (2003 est.)
'Median age:'

''total:'' 19.7 years

''male:'' 19.6 years

''female:'' 19.9 years (2002)
'Population growth rate:' 2.17% (2006 est.)
'Birth rate:' 32.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
'Death rate:' 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
'Net migration rate:' 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
'Sex ratio:'

''at birth:'' 1.05 male(s)/female

''under 15 years:'' 1.07 male(s)/female

''15-64 years:'' 1.05 male(s)/female

''65 years and over:'' 0.97 male(s)/female

''total population:'' 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
'Infant mortality rate:'

''total:'' 70.57 deaths/1,000 live births

''female:'' 72.27 deaths/1,000 live births

''male:'' 68.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
'Life expectancy at birth:'

''total population:'' 59 years

''male:'' 59.36 years

''female:'' 58.63 years (2003 est.)
'Total fertility rate:' 4.39 children born/woman (2003 est.)
'Nationality:'

''noun:'' Nepalese (singular and plural)

''adjective:'' Nepalese
'Ethnic groups:'
Newar, Indian, Tharu, Maithili, Tibetan, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Bhotia, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa
'Religions:' Hinduism 80.2%, Buddhism 21%, Islam 2.8%, other 1.2% (2006).

''note:'' Only official Hindu state in the world
'Languages:' Nepali (official; spoken by majority of the male population), about a 90 other languages and major dialects;
''note'' - many in government and business also speak English (1995)
'Literacy:'

''definition:'' age 15 and over can read and write

''total population:'' 45.2%

''male:'' 62.7%

''female:'' 27.6% (2003 est.)
'People - note:'
Refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 96,500 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps. Presence and activity of Tibetan refugee population in Nepal also raises sporadic diplomatic conflicts with the People's Republic of China.

References

External links

★ CIA Fact Book