Short facts about people of Nepal

Population:

25,284,463 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years:  40.35% (male 5,267,234; female 4,933,910) 15-64 years:  56.16% (male 7,264,575; female 6,934,384) 65 years and over:  3.49% (male 437,813; female 446,547) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.32% (2001 est.)

Birth rate:

33.4 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate:

10.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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:  0.98 male(s)/female total population:  1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

74.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population:  58.22 years male:  58.65 years female:  57.77 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate:

4.58 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.29% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

34,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

2,500 (1999 est.)

Nationality:

noun:  Nepalese (singular and plural) adjective:  Nepalese

Ethnic groups:

Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995)

Religions:

Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2% note:  only official Hindu state in the world (1995)

Languages:

Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995)

Literacy:

definition:  age 15 and over can read and write total population:  27.5% male:  40.9% female:  14% (1995 est.)

Source: World Factbook