High Food Prices in South Asia: Status, Impact and Solution

Below is a presentation I made during South Asian consultation on ‘Food Justice in a Resource Constrained South Asia’, 26-27 September. The event was organized by Oxfam and SAWTEE in Kathmandu.

High Food Prices in South Asia_presentation_2011-09-27

Latest population estimate of Nepal (26.6 million)

The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has published preliminary findings of Census 2011. Surprisingly, total population in Nepal is found to be at 26.6 million, against previous estimation of around 30 million. Also, population growth rate has come down to 1.4 percent.

Major findings:

• Nepal’s population is 26,620,809 (male 12,927,431 and female 13,693,378).
• The annual growth of population in Nepal is 1.4 per cent which is a little less than what was found 10 years ago. In 2001, the population growth was 2.25 per cent.
• Total new addition in the population in the past decade was 3.45 million.
• The size of the household in Nepal has decreased from 5.44 in 2001 to 4.7 in 2011.The household size is recorded to be highest in Rautahat (6.33) and lowest (3.7 1) in Kathmandu.
• Absentee population increased to 1,917,903, more than double than in 2001.
• More than half of the total population of the country (50.2 per cent) lives in Terai followed by Hill and Mountain belt that constitutes about 43 percent and 7 percent of the total population respectively.
• The urban population constitutes about 17 percent of the total population.
• Kathmandu district has the largest population followed by Morang. Manang constitutes the lowest population.
• Population density of Nepal is estimated 181 per sq.kms. Kathmandu district has the highest density (4408) and Manang (3) has the least.
• Kathmandu has recorded the highest decadal population growth (60.93 %) compared to all Nepal (14.99 %) and lowest in Manang (-31.92 %).
• Sex ratio is estimated to be 94.41 (male per hundred female) in the current census as compared to 99.80 in the previous census 2001.

Reason for decrease in population growth rate:

• Migration (led to decline in fertility rate)
• 1.92 million people living abroad
• Impact of insurgency: 23 districts in hilly region saw negative population growth rate while Kathmandu saw 60 percent growth in population.