The Nepal Government has introduced a new population policy. The new policy marks a shift away from the government’s historical stance of population control. The government now wants Nepalis to have more children.
The pronatalist policy was released based on the findings of the 2021 National Census. According to the census, the country’s population growth rate has declined to 0.92 per cent, and the fertility rate has dropped below the replacement level at 1.93 (compared to the 2.1 needed for replacement).
The policy also aims to manage internal migration for balanced regional development. It assures a Federal Population Management Act for effective population management at all three levels of government and mandates Population Impact Assessments (PIA) in all development and infrastructure projects.
