Mosque in Kathmandu, Nepal

Islam (Nepali: नेपाली मुसलमान) is the third largest religion in Nepal.[1] According to the 2021 Nepal census, approximately 1.483 million Muslims, comprising 5.09% of the population, live in Nepal.[2]

Nepalese Muslim
नेपाली मुसलमान
Total population
1,483,060[3]
(5.09% of the country's population)Increase[4]
Regions with significant populations
   Nepal
Languages
Nepali • Awadhi • Bhojpuri • Maithili • Urdu • Hindi
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Kashmiri Muslims, Bihari Muslims, Madheshi people,[5] Gorkhali Muslims

Nepalese Muslims (Nepali: नेपाली मुसलमान; Nepali Musalman) are Nepalis who follow Islam. Their ancestors arrived in Nepal from different parts of South Asia, Central Asia and Tibet during different epochs, and have since lived amidst the numerically dominant Hindus and Buddhists. About 80% of the Muslim community live in the Terai region, while the other 20% are found mainly in the city of Kathmandu and Gorkha and the western hills. The community numbers 971,056, about 3.8% of the total population of Nepal. Districts with large Muslim population include Sarlahi (9.9%), Rautahat (17.2%), Bara (11.9%), and Parsa (17.3%) and Banke (16%) in the western Terai and Siraha (7%) and Sunsari (10%) and Saptari (10%) Gorkha (13%) hill.[6]

Demographics

According to the 2021 Nepal census, there are around 1.483 million Muslims in Nepal. Almost all of them live in Terai Region.[7] Districts with large Muslim concentrations are: Rautahat, Banke, Kapilvastu, Parsa, Mahottari, Bara, and Sunsari. There are only 21,866 Muslims in the capital city of Kathmandu (1.25% of the total population).

Ahmadis maintain a small presence in Nepal.[8]

Historical Muslim Population in Nepal[9][10]
YearPop.±%
1952/54 209,718—    
1961 280,507+33.8%
1971 351,301+25.2%
1981 399,607+13.8%
1991 652,735+63.3%
2001 972,359+49.0%
2011 1,162,370+19.5%
2021 1,483,060+27.6%
Source: Nepal Censuses

The Muslim population was 1,483,060 as per Nepal 2021 Official census which make up 5.09% of Nepal's population. The Muslim population increased from 4.39% in 2011 to 5.09% in 2021.[11]

Decadal percentage of Muslims in Nepal[12]

Year Percent Increase
1952/54 2.54% -
1961 2.98% +0.44%
1971 3.04% +0.06%
1981 2.66% -0.38%
1991 3.53% +0.87%
2001 4.20% +0.67%
2011 4.39% +0.19%
2021 5.09% +0.70%
Projected Muslim population in Nepal (2030-2050)[13]
Year Population  %
2030 2.2 million 5.5%
2040 2.7 million 6%
2050 3.2 million 6.6%

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Nepal. By 2050 Pew Research Center have estimated that Nepal will have 3.34 million Muslims and will constitute roughly around 7% of the country's population,[14] thus surpassing Buddhism which is currently the 2nd largest Religion in Nepal as of 2021 Nepal census reports.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Statistical Yearbook of Nepal - 2013. Kathmandu: Central Bureau of Statistics. 2013. p. 23. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ↑ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  3. ↑ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  4. ↑ "Religions in Nepal | PEW-GRF".
  5. ↑ https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ind/muslimsofnepal.pdf
  6. ↑ Understanding Nepal : Muslims in a plural society by Mollica Dastider ISBN 978-81-241-1271-7
  7. ↑ "National Muslim Commission". Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
  8. ↑ Sijapati, Megan Adamson (2011). Islamic Revival in Nepal: Religion and a New Nation. London and New York: Routledge.
  9. ↑ "Population Monograph of Nepal Volume II (Social Demography)" (PDF).
  10. ↑ https://unstats.un.org › docsPDF NATIONAL POPULATION CENSUS OF NEPAL:
  11. ↑ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050".
  12. ↑ "Population Monograph of Nepal Volume II (Social Demography)" (PDF).
  13. ↑ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050".
  14. ↑ "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050".
  15. ↑ "Nepal's 81.19 per cent population is Hindu even as followers of Hinduism, Buddhism decline and Islam, Christians increase". 4 June 2023.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.