Nepal Environment - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); forest degradation; soil erosion; contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); unmanaged solid-waste; wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Marine Life Conservation

Climate

varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south

Land use

agricultural land: 28.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 15.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 12.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 25.4% (2018 est.)

other: 45.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 21.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.09% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

0.45% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 94.33 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 9.11 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 41.15 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,768,977 tons (2016 est.)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km)

Major aquifers

Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 150 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 9.32 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

210.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Nepal on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nepal 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nepal 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.