KATHMANDU, June 2: Although Nepal has historically had a Hindu majority, the number of Hindu followers has declined in recent times due to conversions to various other religions. According to the 2078 (2021 AD) National Census results, Hinduism remains the largest religion in Nepal based on the number of followers. On Wednesday, it was revealed that 81.2% of the total population follows Hinduism.
Binodsharan Acharya, Director of the National Statistics Office, announced the census results and noted that 81.2% of the total population identified as Hindu. Based on the population data, Buddhism is the second-largest religion in Nepal, with 8.2% of the population identifying as Buddhists.
Similarly, 5.1% of the population follows Islam, placing it third. Furthermore, 3.2% follow the Kirat religion, while Christians account for 1.8%. The Nature-based (Prakriti) religion is followed by 0.3%. The Bon religion has 0.2% followers, while Sikhism and Jainism each have 0.01% of the population. Only 537 people across the country follow the Baháʼí faith.
Although the Hindu population increased in raw numbers across all eight censuses, the percentage of Hindus relative to the total population has declined between 2048 BS and 2078 BS. However, between 2058 and 2068 BS, there was a slight increase in the Hindu population.
The number of Buddhists has seen fluctuations from the 2009/11 census to the 2078 census. Between the 2018 and 2038 censuses, the Buddhist population decreased, but there was growth in the 2048 and 2068 censuses. The 2078 census shows a decline in the number of Buddhists.
In the 2009/11 census, Hindus made up 88.9% of the population, increasing to 89.5% in 2038. Since 2048, the Hindu share of the population has consistently declined. The 2048 census recorded 86.5% Hindus, which dropped to 80.6% in 2058. It slightly rose to 81.3% in 2068, but again fell to 81.2% in 2078.
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“Analyzing historical data, the population of Muslims and Christians has increased continuously from 2009/11 to 2078,” Director Acharya said. “In the 2009/11 census, Islam was Nepal's third-largest religion, accounting for 2.5%. By 2078, this had risen to 5.1%.”
He added, “Christianity was included in the census for the first time in 1961. At that time, there were only 458 Christians. From 2018 to 2078, the number increased ninefold.”
Director Acharya noted that in the 2048 census, three indigenous religions were officially recorded. The Kirat religion saw a threefold increase from 2048 to 2058. After the political changes in 2046 BS, Indigenous nationalities and other religious communities began to reconnect with their original faiths and identities. “The Prakriti and Bon religions were recorded for the first time in the 2068 census,” said Director Acharya. “Compared to 2068, the number of people following the Prakriti religion slightly declined in 2078, while Bon followers increased fivefold,” he said. “Minority religions like Jainism, Sikhism, and the Baháʼí faith have shown fluctuating patterns across different censuses.”
More Hindus in the Terai
By geographic region, most Hindus live in the Terai. According to the census, the population distribution of 10 religions varies across the Himalayas, Hills, and Terai. The majority of Hindus reside in the Terai, said Dhundiraj Lamichhane, spokesperson and Deputy Chief Statistical Officer at the Statistics Office.
After the Terai, the Hill region has the second-largest Hindu population. Among all Hindus, only 5.4% live in the Himalayan region, according to the census. Among Buddhists, 80% reside in the Hills and Himalayas, while 20% live in the Terai.
Similarly, among the total Muslim population, 95.2% reside in the Terai. Out of 1.4 million Muslims, only 1,172 live in the Himalayas, and 4.7% reside in the Hill region.
Among Nepal’s total Christian population, 55.7% live in the Hills, and 30.4% live in the Terai. “Approximately 58% of the Kirat population resides in the Hills, while a striking 84% of Bon followers live in the Hill region,” Lamichhane said. “Meanwhile, 95% of Muslims, 81% of Baháʼís, and 75% of Sikhs live in the Terai.”
He added, “One reason for the decline in Hinduism in recent years is political interference in religion. After 2046 BS, certain sections of Nepal’s population began shifting toward other religions. The trend of religious conversion has increased in recent years.”
Nepal’s 23.7 million Hindus are spread across all seven provinces. Madhesh, Bagmati, and Lumbini provinces have comparatively large Hindu populations. In Karnali Province, 94% of the population follows Hinduism, while 6% follow other religions. Although Muslims are spread across all provinces, they are more concentrated in Madhesh and Lumbini. Christians are found across all seven provinces but are most concentrated in Bagmati Province.
Child marriage more prevalent among Muslims
Analyzing marital status based on religion, 62% of Hindus are married. Among Hindu women, 42.2% were married before the age of 18, while only 15.5% of Hindu men were married at that age. The number of widowed women is also higher than that of widowers.
Among Muslims in Nepal, nearly half (49.2%) of the women were married before the age of 18, while only 17.7% of men married that young. The 2078 census shows the highest rate of child marriage among Muslims compared to other religions. Among Christian women, 39.5% were married before turning 18. For Christian men, the figure is 16.1%.
The 2078 census shows that, except for those who speak Urdu, followers of all mother tongues in Nepal follow Hinduism. According to the same census, there is a significant literacy gap between men and women among followers of 10 religions. Except for Islam, all religious groups have literacy rates above the national average of 76.2%. In Islam, the overall literacy rate is just 61.7%, with female literacy at only 54%. Among Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, the female literacy rate is lower than that of males.
