Currently, about 71 percent of households have at least one child, while 29 percent of families have none.
What you should know
As the fertility rate continues to decline, coupled with rising inflation, job instability, delayed marriage, and changes in lifestyle, the overall population growth rate is beginning to be seriously affected.
Not only has the number of children decreased in recent times, but the attitude of couples towards children has also changed. The report on 'Education and Inclusion and the Status of Children in Nepal' recently released by the Central Bureau of Statistics has revealed the fact that the population of children in Nepal is gradually decreasing. According to the report, the number of children under the age of 18 was 9,869,583 in 2078 BS, which is 34 percent of the total population. While this ratio was 46 percent in 2058 BS, the population of children, which had fallen to 42 percent in 2068, has decreased further by 2078 BS.
Decreased by 12 percent in 20 years
Compared to the data of 2058, the number of children under the age of 18 has decreased by 12 percent in 2078 BS. What is even more worrying is that by 2108 BS, the population of children is estimated to fall to 22 percent of the total population. Currently, about 71 percent of households have at least one child, while 29 percent of households have no children.
The proportion of households with zero children is particularly high in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces. According to the report, 62 percent of households have only one child.
Provincially, 81 percent of households in Karnali province have children, while the lowest is in Bagmati, where only 62 percent of households have children. The child population in Madhesh province is 24 percent, while in Karnali and Gandaki it is only 7 percent. 53 percent of the total children are under 9 years of age.
High child marriage, high dropout rate in Karnali
The report also shows that the situation of child marriage is serious. 5 percent of children in the 16-17 age group are already married.
Provincially, the child marriage rate is highest in Karnali at 9 percent, while Bagmati has the lowest at only 3 percent. The rate of teenage pregnancy due to early marriage is also high. 26 percent of married teenage girls are already pregnant. The report states that this will have a long-term negative impact on their health, education and overall life.
There is also a huge gap between married and unmarried children in education. Only 37 percent of married children are currently attending school, while 89 percent of unmarried children are in school. 52 percent of married children have dropped out of school.
90 percent of children in school
Although on average more than 90 percent of children are attending school, there is a huge disparity across provinces. While the literacy rate is high in Bagmati and Gandaki, it is low in Madhesh. The rate of children attending school in Madhesh is 81 percent. Of the total children, 6 percent are illiterate, while 67 percent have received basic education. The proportion of illiterate children in Madhesh is the highest at 14 percent. The economic situation has also affected education.
Only 11 percent of children from low-income families have completed secondary education, while this ratio is 22 percent in high-income families. Only 42 percent of children living with employers are attending school, while 89 percent of children living with their parents are attending school. 92 percent of children living with their mothers only are attending school.
According to Rajan Silwal, director of the Central Statistical Office, not only the child population but also the overall population growth rate is decreasing. ‘Even though the total population has increased, the number of families has decreased. The total fertility rate of women has fallen to 1.94, so to keep the population stable, 100 married women should have at least 200 children, that is, the total fertility rate should be 2.1,’ he said.
He said that couples are becoming reluctant to have many children due to rising inflation, job instability, late marriage, career-focused lifestyle, migration, literacy and increased awareness. ‘Over time, this will lead to serious problems in the labor market.’ The shortage of human labor will directly affect the economy,’ he said. ‘We need to move forward in a policy-based manner to solve the problems of declining child population, regional inequality, child marriage, access to education and health.’
Tilottam Poudel, chairman of the National Campaign for Children’s Peace, said that the decrease in the number of children means the increase in the number of senior citizens. ‘The decrease in the number of children and youth will have a serious impact on employment, education, income and overall human power in the future,’ he said. According to Poudel, earlier the idea was to have many children, but now the intention has increased to provide good education and health to a small number of children. He said that even though the constitution guarantees free education and health, couples have stopped having many children because they have not been implemented in practice.
‘We call infrastructure a national pride, but we have not been able to consider children as a national pride,’ he said, ‘Child Rights Committees at the municipal level are not effective, and a child-friendly governance system has not yet been established.’ He said that the population can be balanced only if couples are encouraged through children’s education, health benefits, child-friendly policies, and social security.
