Poverty In Nepal

Rural poverty in Nepal

Despite some progress in poverty reduction in recent years, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with a Human Development Index of 0.463, placing it 157th out of 187 countries listed in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report 2013.

Over 30 per cent of Nepalese live on less than US$14 per person, per month, according to the national living standards survey conducted in 2010-2011. While the overall poverty rate for Nepal is 25 per cent, this figure increases to 45 per cent in the Mid-Western region and 46 per cent in the Far-Western region. In these remote hill and mountain zones, the terrain is rugged, rainfall is low and the poor-quality soil is difficult to farm. Agricultural holdings per household are the smallest in the country.

About 80 per cent of Nepal's people live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. Household food insecurity and poor nutrition are major concerns in these areas, where about half of children under five years of age are undernourished. Most rural households have little or no access to primary health care, education, safe drinking water, sanitation or other basic services.

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