CBS Study Shows Diverse Poverty Across Nepal’s Provinces

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has the highest number of residents living below the poverty line, according to a report by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

Out of 862,400 residents in Kathmandu, 59,218 people are living below the poverty line, the highest absolute number among the country’s 753 local units.

Ghiling in Mustang’s Gharpajhong Rural Municipality has the lowest poverty, with only 44 out of 3,712 residents living below the poverty line.

Poverty in Nepal is measured based on annual spending capacity.

A person who cannot spend more than NPR 72,908 (around USD 548) per year is considered below the poverty line.

For a family of four, the threshold amounts to a monthly expenditure of about USD 188.

Junichande Rural Municipality in Jajarkot has the highest poverty rate, with 78 percent of its population, or 18,515 out of 23,771 people, living below the poverty line.

Provincially, Sudurpashchim Province has the highest poverty rate, while Gandaki Province has the lowest.

The CBS uses a methodology adopted in over 60 countries worldwide to estimate poverty at the local level.