National Population and Housing Census 2021, 12th Population Census
Nepal, 2021
National Statistics Office
Created on May 18, 2023
Last modified May 18, 2023
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Identification
Survey ID Number
NPL-NSO-NPHC-2021-v01
Title
National Population and Housing Census 2021, 12th Population Census
Subtitle
12th Population Census
Translated Title
Rastriya Janaganana 2078
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Nepal | NPL |
Study type
Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]
Series Information
The Population and Housing Census 2021 is the twelfth round of population census history of Nepal.
Abstract
The 2021 NPHC is tthe first census conducted under the federal structure of Nepal. The main census enumeration was originally scheduled to take place over 15 days- from June 8 to 22, 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the enumeration was postponed for five months. Once the impact of the pandemic subsided, the enumeration was carried out according to a new work plan for a 15 dya period from November 11 to 25, 2021.
This report contains statistical tables at the national, provincial, district and municipal levels, derived from the topics covered in the census questionaires. The work of the analyzing the data in detail is still in progress. The report provides insights into the different aspects of the census operation, including its procedure, concepts, methodology, quality control, logistics, communication, data processing, challenges faced, and other management aspects.
This census slightly differs from the previous censuses mainly due to the following activities: i. three modes of data collection (CAPI, PAPI and e-census); ii. a full count of all questions instead of sampling for certain questions, as was done in the previous two censuses, iii. collaboration with Ministry of Health and Population to ascertain the likely maternal mortality cases reported in the census by skilled health personnel; iv. data processing within its premises; v. recuitment of fresh youths as supervisor and enumerators; and vi. using school teachers as master trainers, especially for the local level training of enumerators.
The objectives of the 2021 Population Census were:
a) to develop a set of benchmark data for different purposes.
b) to provide distribution of population by demographic, social and economic characteristics.
c) to provide data for small administrative areas of the country on population and housing characteristics.
d) to provide reliable frames for different types of sample surveys.
e) to provide many demographic indicators like birth rates, death rates and migration rates.
f) to project population for the coming years.
The total population of Nepal, as of the census day (25 November 2021) is 29,164,578, of which the number of males is 14,253,551 (48.87 %) and the number of females is 14,911,027 (51.13 %). Accordingly, the sex ratio is 95.59 males per 100 females. Annual average population growth rate is 0.92 percent in 2021.
This report contains statistical tables at the national, provincial, district and municipal levels, derived from the topics covered in the census questionaires. The work of the analyzing the data in detail is still in progress. The report provides insights into the different aspects of the census operation, including its procedure, concepts, methodology, quality control, logistics, communication, data processing, challenges faced, and other management aspects.
This census slightly differs from the previous censuses mainly due to the following activities: i. three modes of data collection (CAPI, PAPI and e-census); ii. a full count of all questions instead of sampling for certain questions, as was done in the previous two censuses, iii. collaboration with Ministry of Health and Population to ascertain the likely maternal mortality cases reported in the census by skilled health personnel; iv. data processing within its premises; v. recuitment of fresh youths as supervisor and enumerators; and vi. using school teachers as master trainers, especially for the local level training of enumerators.
The objectives of the 2021 Population Census were:
a) to develop a set of benchmark data for different purposes.
b) to provide distribution of population by demographic, social and economic characteristics.
c) to provide data for small administrative areas of the country on population and housing characteristics.
d) to provide reliable frames for different types of sample surveys.
e) to provide many demographic indicators like birth rates, death rates and migration rates.
f) to project population for the coming years.
The total population of Nepal, as of the census day (25 November 2021) is 29,164,578, of which the number of males is 14,253,551 (48.87 %) and the number of females is 14,911,027 (51.13 %). Accordingly, the sex ratio is 95.59 males per 100 females. Annual average population growth rate is 0.92 percent in 2021.
Kind of Data
Census/enumeration data [cen]
Unit of Analysis
The census results provide information up to the ward level (the lowest administrative level of Nepal), household and indivisual.
Version
Version Description
Version 01 : Final data for internal use
Version Date
2023-03-24
Version Notes
This is first version.
HOUSEHOLD:
Housing characteristics, ownership on house, type of foundation, type of outer wall, type of roof, Source of drinking water, source of cooking fuel, source of lighting fuel, toilet facilities, household amenities used by household, female member ownership on assets, information about deceased person, information about absentees household members.
INDIVIDUAL:
Individual characteristics, age, sex, caste/ethnicity, mother tongue, ancestor's language, second language, religion, literacy status and level of education, marital status, migration, fertility, economic activity, living arrangement of children.
HOUSEHOLD:
Housing characteristics, ownership on house, type of foundation, type of outer wall, type of roof, Source of drinking water, source of cooking fuel, source of lighting fuel, toilet facilities, household amenities used by household, female member ownership on assets, information about deceased person, information about absentees household members.
INDIVIDUAL:
Individual characteristics, age, sex, caste/ethnicity, mother tongue, ancestor's language, second language, religion, literacy status and level of education, marital status, migration, fertility, economic activity, living arrangement of children.
Scope
Notes
HOUSEHOLD:
Housing characteristics, ownership on house, type of foundation, type of outer wall, type of roof, Source of drinking water, source of cooking fuel, source of lighting fuel, toilet facilities, household amenities used by household, female member ownership on assets, information about deceased person, information about absentees household members.
INDIVIDUAL:
Individual characteristics, age, sex, caste/ethnicity, mother tongue, ancestor's language, second language, religion, literacy status and level of education, marital status, migration, fertility, mortality, economic activity, living arrangement of children and so on.
COMMUNITY:
Basic information of community level.
Housing characteristics, ownership on house, type of foundation, type of outer wall, type of roof, Source of drinking water, source of cooking fuel, source of lighting fuel, toilet facilities, household amenities used by household, female member ownership on assets, information about deceased person, information about absentees household members.
INDIVIDUAL:
Individual characteristics, age, sex, caste/ethnicity, mother tongue, ancestor's language, second language, religion, literacy status and level of education, marital status, migration, fertility, mortality, economic activity, living arrangement of children and so on.
COMMUNITY:
Basic information of community level.
Topics
| Topic |
|---|
| Age-Sex Composition |
| Education |
| Gender |
| Social Composition |
| Literacy |
| Place of Birth |
| Children Ever Born |
| Economic Activity |
Keywords
| Keyword |
|---|
| Demography |
| Housing |
| Economic Activity |
| Fertility |
| Migration |
| Population |
| Census |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National Level, Ecological belt, Urban and Rural, Province, District, Municipality, Ward Level
Universe
The census covered all modified de jure household members (usual residents)
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Statistics Office | Office of the Prime Miniter and Council of Ministers |
Producers
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| United Nations Population Fund | UN | Assistance in technical and logistic support. |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Government of Nepal | GoN | Financing |
| UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND | UNFPA | Logistic Support |
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-11 | 2021-11-25 | 12 th Cycle |
Time periods
| Start date | End date |
|---|---|
| 2021-11-11 | 2021-11-25 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f] and online
Supervision
In order to ensure the quality of data, the whole census operation was designed in such a way that adequate supervision mechanism was on place from Centre to Local Level. For the purpose of comfortable management the number of census offices were altogether 80. Likewise, there were 349 Local Census Offices led by a Local Census Officer. Besides, there were 7 other Provincial Census Offices to supervise the census operation within the coverage of these Provincial Cenus Offices. For the recruited 35,657 field enumerators a total of 8,545 Supervisors were assigned to supervise the daily works of those enumerators. Apart from those Field Supervisiors, the Disctrict Census Officers were also responsible to supervise all the census work within their assigned administrative units, viz., the districts.
There was a parallel supervison mechanism named District Census Coordination Committee and Local Census Coordination Commiitte led by the Chief District Officer and Chief Administrative Officer respectively. At Ward level, there was a Ward Facilitation Committee in each ward of all 753 Local Levels. In order to carry out the supervisory and coordination tasks at Provincial level, there was formed a Coordination Committee led by the Chief Secretary of each province. It was composed of six members represented by key ministries and the Head of Province Police. Province Census Officer was the member secretary of the committee.
The Central Bureau of Statistics mobilzed its officials (Deputy Director General, Directors, Statistics Officers and Computer Officers) to as many districts and local levels so as to ensure the smooth operation of the field work.
There was a parallel supervison mechanism named District Census Coordination Committee and Local Census Coordination Commiitte led by the Chief District Officer and Chief Administrative Officer respectively. At Ward level, there was a Ward Facilitation Committee in each ward of all 753 Local Levels. In order to carry out the supervisory and coordination tasks at Provincial level, there was formed a Coordination Committee led by the Chief Secretary of each province. It was composed of six members represented by key ministries and the Head of Province Police. Province Census Officer was the member secretary of the committee.
The Central Bureau of Statistics mobilzed its officials (Deputy Director General, Directors, Statistics Officers and Computer Officers) to as many districts and local levels so as to ensure the smooth operation of the field work.
Data Collection Notes
A 5-day training programm for the enumerators was held on questionaire, manual, tablet operation and data entry procedure before conductiong the census. Data collectioon took place over a period of 15 days during 11-25 November 2021. Each enumerator took on an average 30 minites to fill the questionaire. Some questionnaire were received via online portal.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| National Statistic Office | NSO | Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers |
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
In this census three main questionnaires were developed for data collection. The first was the Listing Form deveoped mainly for capturing the basic household informatioin in each Enumeration area of the whole country. The second questionnaire was the main questionnaire with eight major Sections as mentioned hereunder.
Listing Questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. House information
Section 3. Household information
Section 4. Agriculture and livestock information
Section 5. Other information
Main Questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. Household Information
Section 3. Individual Information
Section 4. Educational Information
Section 5. Migration
Section 6. Fertility
Section 7.Disability
Section 8. Economic Activity
For the first time, the NPHC, 2021 brougt a Community Questionnaire aiming at capturing the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the Wards (the lowest administrative division under Rural/Urban Municipalities). The Community Questionnaire contains 6 Chapters. The information derived from community questionnaire is expected to validate (cross checks) certain information collected from main questionnaire.
Community questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. Basic information of wards
Section 3. Caste and mother tongue information
Section 4. Current status of service within wards
Section 5. Access of urban services and facilities within wards
Section 6. Status of Disaster Risk
It is noteworty that the digital version of questionnare was applied in collecting data within the selected municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. Enumerators mobilized in Kathmandu Valley were well trained to use tablets. Besides, online mode of data collection was adpoted for all the Nepalese Diplomatic Agencies located abroad.
Listing Questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. House information
Section 3. Household information
Section 4. Agriculture and livestock information
Section 5. Other information
Main Questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. Household Information
Section 3. Individual Information
Section 4. Educational Information
Section 5. Migration
Section 6. Fertility
Section 7.Disability
Section 8. Economic Activity
For the first time, the NPHC, 2021 brougt a Community Questionnaire aiming at capturing the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the Wards (the lowest administrative division under Rural/Urban Municipalities). The Community Questionnaire contains 6 Chapters. The information derived from community questionnaire is expected to validate (cross checks) certain information collected from main questionnaire.
Community questionaire
Section 1. Introduction
Section 2. Basic information of wards
Section 3. Caste and mother tongue information
Section 4. Current status of service within wards
Section 5. Access of urban services and facilities within wards
Section 6. Status of Disaster Risk
It is noteworty that the digital version of questionnare was applied in collecting data within the selected municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. Enumerators mobilized in Kathmandu Valley were well trained to use tablets. Besides, online mode of data collection was adpoted for all the Nepalese Diplomatic Agencies located abroad.
Data Processing
Data Editing
For the concistency of data required logics were set in the data entry programme. For the processing and analysis of data SPSS and STATA programme were employed.
Other Processing
Tablet and desktop data entry programme were designed for data entry.
Access policy
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Statistician | Government of Nepal | info@cbs.gov.np | cbs.gov.np |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Population Section | NSO | info@cbs.gov.np | cbs.gov.np |
Confidentiality
Confidentiality of the respondents is guaranteed by article 10 of Statistics Act 2022.
Access conditions
Data is available for only internally use.
Citation requirements
National Statistics Office (NSO), Nepal. National Population and Housing Census 2021. Data and information is downloaded from National Data Archive (NADA): http://cbs.gov.np/nada/index.php/catalog on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The National Statistics Office, Nepal bears no responsibility for any outcomes or for interpretations or inferences arising from the use of the data, or use of the information provided on the study.
Copyright
(c) 2021, National Statistics Office, Nepal
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI-NPL-NSO-NPHC-2021-v01
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Statistics Office | NSO | Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers | Documentation of the National Population Census 2021 |
Date of Metadata Production
2023-04-26
DDI Document version
Version 01 (26 April 2023): Original documentation of the National Population And Housing Census 2021