8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Asia / Southern Asia

Born in Nepal

About 1 in 230 people born in 2023 started life in Nepal. A boy can expect to live 69 years and a girl 72, up from 37 and 38 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and 93% have basic drinking water.

1 in 230
odds of being born here
574,300 births · Ranked 49th of 230
69 / 72
years of life, boys / girls
Was 37 / 38 in 1950
$3,526
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 140th of 203 · extrapolated
67%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 33 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 340 in every 1,000 births to 26.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth68.8 years for boys, 71.8 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 526.2 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year206,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.0World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles93%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year231 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 2.0, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.98UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth25.3 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 39 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2022
9%Poorest fifth
13%Second
17%Middle
22%Fourth
39%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $3,526 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth39% / 9% (2022)World Bank PIP
Unemployment10.4% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises7.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.1% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming24% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed79% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment90% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Kathmandu, with 1.4 million people.

67%
live in cities
94%
have electricity at home
93%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Kathmandu1.4 million
Pokhara600,051
Bharatpur369,377
Pātan299,283
Birgañj268,273
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Nepali44%
Maithili11%
Bhojpuri7%
Newari3%
English3%
Nepali is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Bagmati Province2.7 million
Madhesh732,308
Koshi689,329
Gandaki Pradesh645,214
Lumbini Province540,537
Sudurpashchim Pradesh409,226
Karnali Pradesh175,794

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 8.9% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are India, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
India663,518
Malaysia502,596
Saudi Arabia297,561
Residents born abroad1.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 8.9% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostIndia (663,518), Malaysia (502,596), Saudi Arabia (297,561)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $14.7 billion a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

77% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

77%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202412,031Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 195011; the deadliest, in 2015, killed about 8,957 people (magnitude 7.8)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence12,327 between 1996 and 2007UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Nepal, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Nepal

Elsewhere in Asia

All countries

How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences