Key Figures

28.5 million population (2015 ) 51% Female 49% Male

25.2% poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population 2010)

23% of all disasters in Nepal are landslides (between 1970 and 2015)

US$732 Lower middle income GDP per capita (2015)

Overview

Nepal remains a priority country for emergency response preparedness within the Asia-Pacific region given its high risk to natural hazards. The country’s mountainous terrain poses significant logistical challenges to access and deliver relief to remote areas.

Since 2005, around 35 disaster events (floods, landslides and earthquakes) affected about 7.8 million people and caused over 10,000 deaths, mostly by the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. Nepal is also vulnerable to slow-onset disasters. In 2016 the Karnali region experienced drought resulting in 150,000 people requiring food assistance.