Nepal Living Standards Survey 2022-2023, Fourth round
Nepal, 2022 - 2023
National Statistics Office
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Identification
Survey ID Number
NEP-NS0-NLSS-2022-v01
Title
Nepal Living Standards Survey 2022-2023, Fourth round
Subtitle
Fourth round
Translated Title
Nepal Jivanesthar Sarvekshan 2078-2079
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Nepal | NEP |
Study type
Living Standards Measurement Study [hh/lsms]
Series Information
The Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS), first administered in 1995-96, was a milestone survey introduced for the objective measurement of people’s living standards and determining the level of poverty in the country. The survey covered a wide range of topics related to household welfare, including demography, consumption, income, access to facilities, housing, education, health, employment, credit, and remittances, among others.The survey was the first of its kind to measure the “extent and dimension” of poverty in Nepal.The findings were useful for decision-makers in government agencies, civil society organizations, and the international development partners. Realizing the importance of the NLSS-I, NLSS-II and NLSS-III were implemented in 2003-04 and 010-11 respectively to update the poverty measures. Since 1996, the survey has also been used to assess the impact of policies and programs on poverty and other indicators of social well-being as well as to monitor and track improvements in living conditions of the people. Furthermore, the survey data has provided a sound basis for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over time. Accurate, reliable, and timely data are the basis for monitoring the government's efforts and achievements towards fulfilling its development objectives. Therefore, the Government of
Nepal decided to conduct the fourth Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS-IV). Accordingly, the National Statistics Office (NSO), then Central Bureau of Statistics, administered NLSS-IV
in 2022-23 between July 2022 and June 2023.
Nepal decided to conduct the fourth Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS-IV). Accordingly, the National Statistics Office (NSO), then Central Bureau of Statistics, administered NLSS-IV
in 2022-23 between July 2022 and June 2023.
Abstract
The Nepal Living Standards Survey IV (NLSS-IV) conducted in 2022/23 provides a detailed overview of household welfare in Nepal, reflecting significant socioeconomic changes since the country’s federalization. With data from 9,600 households, it assesses topics like consumption, health, education, labor, migration, income, and security.
Key findings include demographic shifts towards a younger working-age population, reduced household sizes, and an increase in female-headed households. Urbanization has driven improvements in housing quality and access to utilities, although disparities persist. Access to facilities such as education, healthcare, and roads has markedly improved, with more households benefiting from essential services within a 30-minute reach. Educational outcomes show a rise in literacy (from 35.6% in 1995/96 to 72.5% in 2022/23) and school attendance. However, health data reveals ixed trends, with increases in non-communicable and communicable diseases, despite improvements in sanitation and healthcare access.Migration patterns indicate a growing share of female migrants, while reliance on remittances has increased significantly, with 76.8% of households receiving them. Agriculture’s share in household income has declined, reflecting a shift towards non-farm ctivities, although land ownership and crop diversity have decreased. Labor market data shows an unemployment rate of 12.6% in 2022/23, particularly among youth, alongside a rise in non-agricultural wage employment. Income inequality persists, with the richest 20% consuming and earning disproportionately more than the poorest 20%. While loans remain common, their purposes and sources have shifted towards personal needs and formal institutions. Security perceptions are largely positive, though women report slightly higher insecurity and violence. The survey highlights the need for targeted policies to address inequality, unemployment, and health challenges while building on improvements in living standards and access to facilities.
Key findings include demographic shifts towards a younger working-age population, reduced household sizes, and an increase in female-headed households. Urbanization has driven improvements in housing quality and access to utilities, although disparities persist. Access to facilities such as education, healthcare, and roads has markedly improved, with more households benefiting from essential services within a 30-minute reach. Educational outcomes show a rise in literacy (from 35.6% in 1995/96 to 72.5% in 2022/23) and school attendance. However, health data reveals ixed trends, with increases in non-communicable and communicable diseases, despite improvements in sanitation and healthcare access.Migration patterns indicate a growing share of female migrants, while reliance on remittances has increased significantly, with 76.8% of households receiving them. Agriculture’s share in household income has declined, reflecting a shift towards non-farm ctivities, although land ownership and crop diversity have decreased. Labor market data shows an unemployment rate of 12.6% in 2022/23, particularly among youth, alongside a rise in non-agricultural wage employment. Income inequality persists, with the richest 20% consuming and earning disproportionately more than the poorest 20%. While loans remain common, their purposes and sources have shifted towards personal needs and formal institutions. Security perceptions are largely positive, though women report slightly higher insecurity and violence. The survey highlights the need for targeted policies to address inequality, unemployment, and health challenges while building on improvements in living standards and access to facilities.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
Households and Individuals
Version
Version Description
v01: Anonymous dataset for public distribution
Version Date
2024-02-12
Scope
Notes
The survey collects detailed information on households’ food and non-food consumption expenditures to estimate poverty. Topics include housing, access to facilities, migration, food expenses and home production, non-food expenditure and durable goods, education, health, labour and employment, wage jobs, farming and livestock, non-agriculture enterprises and activities, credit and savings, absentees and remittances, social assistance and other income, public services, and security. The sampling frame for the survey was devised using the National Population and Housing Census 2021. The survey maps the administrative categorisation of metropolitan cities, sub-metropolitan cities, and municipalities to the category of urban areas and rural municipalities into the rural category. In line with the international best practice, the data collection lasted for a year between July 2022 and June 2023 to capture seasonal variation in consumption and it used a recall period of 7 days for food consumption, and 30 days and 12 months in the case of non-food consumption expenditures.
Topics
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Poverty | World Bank |
| Access to Facilities | World bank |
| Education | World Bank |
| Health | World Bank |
| Migration | World Bank |
| Agriculture | World Bank |
| Consumption | World Bank |
| Remmitance | World Bank |
| Non-Farm Enterprises | World Bank |
| Income | World Bank |
| Labour and Wage | World Bank |
Keywords
| Keyword |
|---|
| NLSS |
| Income |
| labour |
| Consumption |
| Remmitance |
| Migration |
| Education |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National, Provincial, Urban-Rural coverage. All total 15 Domain.
Universe
The survey covered all household members (usual residents)
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Statistics Office | Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Government of Nepal | GoN | |
| World Bank | WB | Technical support |
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| World Bank | Technical Support |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
NLSS-IV uses an updated sampling frame from the Population and Housing Census 2021. It is nationally representative as well as representative for 15 domains (Strata)- urban and rural areas in the seven provinces and Kathmandu Valley urban separately. Unlike NLSS-III, it does not have a panel sample. This survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 9,600 households . The sampling strategy followed a conventional two-stage stratified sampling. In the first stage, using the exhaustive list of census enumeration areas (EAs) as primary sampling units (PSUs), 800 EAs were selected from the 15 domains using probability proportional to size (PPS). Detailed household listing was conducted in the selected areas using tablets to update the list of households. After listing all households in a selected enumeration area, the list was sorted according to the household size (implicit stratification). Twelve households were randomly selected from each EA using all households from the post-listing (sorted list) sampling frame as the secondary sampling units (SSUs), with an equal probability of selection. The NLSS-IV follows a conventional two-stage stratified sampling, with the census enumeration areas (EAs) forming the primary sampling units (PSUs) in the first stage and households within the selected EAs forming the secondary sampling units (SSUs) in the second stage
Response Rate
100%
Weighting
Household weight
Individual weight
Individual weight
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2022-07-01 | 2023-06-30 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Supervision
Throughout the survey implementation period, the NSO carried out data monitoring and quality checks. NSO staff conducted regular supervisory field visits and data entry checks for timely detection of recording and data entry errors. The NSO also developed and maintained real-time data monitoring dashboards used by the core team to review the quality of incoming data to minimise errors in a timely manner.
Data Collection Notes
Data collection was conducted using paper questionnaires, and the data entry process was carried out in the field using the CSPro system. This approach ensured efficient data capture and minimized delays by entering the data directly at the point of collection.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| National Statistics Office | NSO | Government of Nepal |
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
The NLSS-IV questionnaire is similar in design to the one used in 2010-11. Specific differences, which have implications on poverty estimation, are given below. Firstly, considering the changed patterns of consumption between 2011 and 2023, the NSO added new food items, a disaggregated items list of non-food non-durable goods, and an updated list of durable items that are relevant for households’ welfare today. The NLSS-IV thus elicits information on households’ consumption and expenditures beyond the NLSS-III items. Secondly, while the NLSS-IV uses the same recall period as introduced in NLSS-III, it added an innovation by capturing information on meals consumed outside the home for every household member separately. This individual-level module allows for a more accurate estimate of expenditure on food consumed outside the house over a household-level aggregate.
An 64-paged household questionnaire with 18 sections and 10 appendices was administered in the NLSS-IV.
Contents of household questionnaire
SECTION 0 - Survey Information
SECTION 1 - Household Roster
SECTION 2 - Housing
SECTION 3 - Access to Facilities
SECTION 4 - Migration
SECTION 5 - Food Expenses and Home Production
SECTION 6 - Non-food Expenditures and Inventory of Durable Goods
SECTION 7 - Education
SECTION 8 - Health
SECTION 9 - Labour and Employment
SECTION 10 - Wage Jobs
SECTION 11 - Farming and Livestock
SECTION 12 - Non-Agriculture Enterprises/Activities
SECTION 13 - Credit and Savings
SECTION 14 - Absentees Information
SECTION 15 - Other Remittances
SECTION 16 - Transfer, Social Assistance and Other Income
SECTION 17 - Adequacy of Consumption
SECTION 18 - Security
An 64-paged household questionnaire with 18 sections and 10 appendices was administered in the NLSS-IV.
Contents of household questionnaire
SECTION 0 - Survey Information
SECTION 1 - Household Roster
SECTION 2 - Housing
SECTION 3 - Access to Facilities
SECTION 4 - Migration
SECTION 5 - Food Expenses and Home Production
SECTION 6 - Non-food Expenditures and Inventory of Durable Goods
SECTION 7 - Education
SECTION 8 - Health
SECTION 9 - Labour and Employment
SECTION 10 - Wage Jobs
SECTION 11 - Farming and Livestock
SECTION 12 - Non-Agriculture Enterprises/Activities
SECTION 13 - Credit and Savings
SECTION 14 - Absentees Information
SECTION 15 - Other Remittances
SECTION 16 - Transfer, Social Assistance and Other Income
SECTION 17 - Adequacy of Consumption
SECTION 18 - Security
Data Processing
Data Editing
Field teams entered data on their computers while they were in the field such that missing or inconsistent data could be checked and corrected by the team led by the supervisor, who was
accountable for in-field quality assurance. This allowed the team to go back to the household to get the correct data as needed. Using the real-time dashboard, quality checks were also carried out at the national/aggregate level by the NSO and the errors were relayed to the field teams immediately. This practice provided assurance on the quality of data collected and shortened the data processing. NSO did further processing including data cleaning and quality checks using STATA.
accountable for in-field quality assurance. This allowed the team to go back to the household to get the correct data as needed. Using the real-time dashboard, quality checks were also carried out at the national/aggregate level by the NSO and the errors were relayed to the field teams immediately. This practice provided assurance on the quality of data collected and shortened the data processing. NSO did further processing including data cleaning and quality checks using STATA.
Data Appraisal
Data Appraisal
Throughout the survey implementation period, the NSO carried out data monitoring and quality checks. NSO staff conducted regular supervisory field visits and data entry checks for timely
detection of recording and data entry errors. The NSO also developed and maintained real-time data monitoring dashboards used by the core team to review quality of incoming data to
minimize data quality issues in a timely manner. Details of this system will be documented in a subsequent report.
detection of recording and data entry errors. The NSO also developed and maintained real-time data monitoring dashboards used by the core team to review quality of incoming data to
minimize data quality issues in a timely manner. Details of this system will be documented in a subsequent report.
Access policy
Access authority
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Statisctics Officeer | National Statistics Office | csonepal.nsonepal.gov.np |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Publiocation and Distribution and Library Section | National Statistics office | info@nsonepal.gov.np |
Confidentiality
Confidentiality of the respondents is guaranteed by Article 10 of Statistics Act 2023.
Access conditions
Micro Data are available according to sattistical regulation 2024.
This anonymized Public Use Dataset is accessible to all potential users from NSO primises for statistical and research purposes only under following terms and conditions:
1. The data and other materials will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organizations without the written permission of (NSO).
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to NSO.
4. No attempt will be made to produce links among datasets or among data and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from NSO will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
6. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the requested data will be sent to NSO.
This anonymized Public Use Dataset is accessible to all potential users from NSO primises for statistical and research purposes only under following terms and conditions:
1. The data and other materials will not be redistributed or sold to other individuals, institutions, or organizations without the written permission of (NSO).
2. The data will be used for statistical and scientific research purposes only. They will be used solely for reporting of aggregated information, and not for investigation of specific individuals or organizations.
3. No attempt will be made to re-identify respondents, and no use will be made of the identity of any person or establishment discovered inadvertently. Any such discovery would immediately be reported to NSO.
4. No attempt will be made to produce links among datasets or among data and other datasets that could identify individuals or organizations.
5. Any books, articles, conference papers, theses, dissertations, reports, or other publications that employ data obtained from NSO will cite the source of data in accordance with the Citation Requirement provided with each dataset.
6. An electronic copy of all reports and publications based on the requested data will be sent to NSO.
Citation requirements
National Statistics Office (NSO), Nepal. Living Standards Survey 2022-2023
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 dataset.
Copyright
(c)2025, National statistics Office, Government of Nepal
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI-NPL-NSO-NLSSIV-2022-v01
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
| National Statistics Office | NSO | Government |
Date of Metadata Production
2025-01-23
DDI Document version
v01