According to the ILO estimates, Nepal has the highest labor force participation rate in South Asia (83.9 percent). Similarly, Nepal also has the highest employment to population rate in the region (82.1 percent). See the figures below (all data pertain to 2010).
In Nepal, the labor force participation rate of male and female is 87.7 percent and 80.3 percent respectively. The total labor force (15+) is estimated to be 16.03 million and population (15+) to be 19.12 million. Overall, LFPR of 35-54 age group is the highest (93 percent).
| Labour force participation rate (%)- Nepal | |||||
| Sex | Age group | LFPR | Sex | Age group | LFPR |
| Male and female | 15+ | 83.9 | Male | 15+ | 87.7 |
| Male and female | 15-24 | 75.9 | Male | 15-24 | 76.7 |
| Male and female | 15-64 | 85.9 | Male | 15-64 | 88.8 |
| Male and female | 25-54 | 92.2 | Male | 25-54 | 96.4 |
| Male and female | 25-34 | 91.2 | Female | 15+ | 80.3 |
| Male and female | 35-54 | 93.0 | Female | 15-24 | 75.1 |
| Male and female | 55-64 | 84.5 | Female | 15-64 | 83.1 |
| Male and female | 65+ | 54.8 | Female | 25-54 | 88.3 |
The labor force participation rate is a measure of the proportion of a country's working-age population that engages actively in the labor market, either by working or looking for work. It provides an indication of the relative size of the supply of labor available to engage in the production of goods and services. The data are based on ILO estimates based on previous year surveys (except for India and Sri Lanka, for which reported data by governments is used).
In Nepal, the employment to population rate of male and female is 85.7 percent and 78.7 percent respectively. The total employment (15+) is estimated to be 15.71 million and population (15+) to be 19.12 million. Overall, E-to-P ratio of adults (25+) is the highest (86.4 percent)
| Employment- to-population ratio (Nepal) | |||||
| Sex | Group | Age group | Emp ('000) | Pop ('000) | E-to-P |
| Male and female | Total | 15+ | 15,705 | 19,118 | 82.1 |
| Male and female | Youth | 15-24 | 4,553 | 6,209 | 73.3 |
| Male and female | Adult | 25+ | 11,152 | 12,908 | 86.4 |
| Male | Total | 15+ | 7,972 | 9,298 | 85.7 |
| Male | Youth | 15-24 | 2,343 | 3,182 | 73.6 |
| Male | Adult | 25+ | 5,629 | 6,116 | 92.0 |
| Female | Total | 15+ | 7,733 | 9,819 | 78.7 |
| Female | Youth | 15-24 | 2,210 | 3,028 | 73.0 |
| Female | Adult | 25+ | 5,523 | 6,792 | 81.3 |
The employment-to-population ratio is defined as the proportion of a country's working-age population that is employed. A high ratio means that a large proportion of a country's population is employed, while a low ratio means that a large share of the population is not involved directly in market-related activities, because they are either unemployed or (more likely) out of the labor force altogether.
[I checked on the source based on which the estimates were made. In Nepal’s case, the sources are Census 2001, NLSS 2003/04 and NLFS 2008. These are dated surveys now. I think the figures would be a little bit different if the latest surveys (NLSS III and Census 2011) are used to estimate the employment and employed status.]
