In Nepal, about 20.27 percent of the population is below the poverty line. According to the Micro-Sectoral Poverty Estimates-2023 report, 18.34 percent of the population is below the poverty line in urban areas and 24.66 percent in rural areas.

According to the data released by the National Statistics Office on Friday, the highest poverty rate in the Far West and the lowest in Gandaki Province.

The National Statistics Office has been conducting the Nepal Living Standards Survey since 2052, following the Living Standards Measurement Study Method developed by the World Bank to measure the living standards and monetary poverty of the Nepali people.

The office stated that monetary poverty in Nepal is being measured using the basic cost method. This time, a new poverty line of 72,908 rupees per capita per year has been determined for poverty measurement. Earlier, in 2066/67, the poverty line was determined at 19,261 rupees. According to the new poverty line, people who spend less than 72,908 rupees per year per capita are classified as poor.

The highest poverty rate in the Far West is 34.16 percent, while the lowest is in Gandaki Province at 11.88 percent. The report shows that the poverty rate is 17.19 percent in Koshi Province, 22.53 percent in Madhesh Province, 12.59 percent in Bagmati Province, 24.34 percent in Lumbini Province, and 26.69 percent in Karnali Province.

According to the report, when analyzing the local level, the poverty rate of 309 local levels is lower than the national average of 20.27 percent, while the poverty rate of 444 local levels is higher than the national average. The poverty rate at the local level ranges from a minimum of 1.18 percent to a maximum of 77.89 percent.

The government's Sixteenth Plan, with a long-term vision of 2100, has set a target of ending absolute poverty and limiting multidimensional poverty to 3 percent. The target is to reduce the population below the poverty line from 20.3 percent to 12 percent by the fiscal year 2085/86.

Director of the National Statistics Office, Manohar Ghimire, said that the government's policy for poverty alleviation should be refined and made available to the target groups. ‘We will provide information about the current state of poverty through statistics,’ he said, ‘according to the number of poverty and the poverty rate, the union, provinces and municipalities should implement programs targeting poverty alleviation.’

The National Statistics Office has for the first time calculated the poverty rate and poverty number by municipality. Earlier, the Statistics Office had been calculating the poverty rate and poverty number by district and area.

At the municipal level, the highest poverty rate is in Junichande Rural Municipality of Jajarkot at 77.89 percent, while the lowest, i.e. 1.18 percent, is in Gharpajhong Rural Municipality of Mustang. The population below the poverty line is numerically highest in Kathmandu Metropolitan City at 59,218. However, the poverty rate in Kathmandu Metropolitan City is 6.87 percent.

‘When compared by population, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has a higher poverty rate at the municipal level,’ Ghimire said, ‘because the number is higher, the poverty rate is lower.’ But the number is higher. The metropolitan city has a population of 862,400, while the number of poor is 59,218.'

When analyzing the district level, the highest poverty rate is 49.58 percent in Achham district of Sudurpaschim province and the lowest is 5.63 percent in Kaski district of Gandaki province. District-wise, the report states that the poverty rate of 34 districts is less than the national average and the poverty rate of 43 districts is more than the national average.