Facts and Figures

IOM Member State since 2006 Capital: Kathmandu Population (2011): 30.5 million Area (1994): 147,181 sq km Language: Nepali Currency: Nepalese rupee (NPR) GDP per Capita PPP (2010): USD 1,199 HDI Rank (2011): 157 of 187 Remittances (2011 estimate): USD 3,951 million Net Migration Rate (2010-2015): -0.6 migrants /1,000 population Immigrants (2010): 3.2% Women as a Percentage of Immigrants (2010): 68.2% Population under 15 (2011): 35.5% Adult HIV Prevalence (2009): 0.4%

Donors International Migration Law Database National Instruments: Nepal Sources and Definitions

Latest News

• IOM Helps Over 40,000 Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal to Resettle Abroad
• Nepali Officials, NGOs Complete Safe Migration, Information Dissemination and Counselling Training
• IOM, Government Trains Nepali Officials in Bilateral Labour Agreements, Migration Management
• IOM Trains Nepali Officials in Migration Management
• IOM Conducts Review of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Convention on Human Trafficking

Overview

A decade-long armed conflict in Nepal officially ended on 21 November 2006 with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) between the seven-party alliance the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The interim constitution was promulgated and a new legislature parliament formed on 15 January 2007 which was successful in staging the Constituent Assembly (CA) election on 10 April 2008. The country was declared Secular Republic on 28 May 2008 by the first session of the CA. Since then, there has been a series of change in the government. Currently the Government is headed by Right Honourable Mr. Jhalanath Khanal of CPN-UML party who became the 34th Prime Minister on 4th February 2011. However PM has not been able to give full shape to his cabinet. Despite the deadline for drafting a new constitution on 28 May 2011, the initiative towards peace process is apparently slow.

Office Establishment and Projects. Nepal became an IOM member state in 2006. During that same year, IOM opened a small office in Kathmandu. In 2007, the Government of Nepal and IOM signed a memorandum of understanding, and since then the organization has increased rapidly in size and scope as identified by the projects below. More information is available on the IOM Nepal website.

Movement, Emergency and Post-Crisis Migration Management

Bhutanese Refugee Resettlement. In cooperation with the Government of Nepal, the UN Refugee Agency and numerous implementing partners, IOM organizes all post-selection activities related to the resettlement of Bhutanese refugees from Nepal to the eight countries of resettlement.

Migration Health

Migration Health Assessment. In addition to refugee health assessment activities for Bhutanese refugees, the Migration Health Department operates a Migration Health Assessment Clinic (MHAC) in Kathmandu for Nepali nationals seeking immigration to the United States.

Facilitating Migration

Labour Migration. IOM provides technical assistance to the Government of Nepal in three ways: 1) capacity-building for officials of the Government of Nepal; 2) services to labour migrants, including the establishment of a Migrant Resource Center in Kathmandu which provides potential labour migrants with information on destination countries; and 3) review and recommendation of policies and legislation related to labour migration.

Regulating Migration

Counter-Trafficking. In cooperation with the Government of Nepal and private sector businesses, IOM provides economic rehabilitation to returned victims of trafficking through business models or are set up with franchises from the private sector. The Government of Nepal assists in the legal aspects, local NGOs extend support through coaching and mentoring returnees, while the returnees own the enterprises.

In addition, IOM is engaged in a research project in collaboration with New Castle University in the United Kingdom and Shakti Samuha, an NGO comprised of returned victims of trafficking, aimed at investigating livelihood opportunities for victims of trafficking.

Assisted Voluntary Returns. IOM assists failed Nepali asylum seekers in Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, the UK and Australia to return to and reintegrate in Nepal.

Reparation Programmes

Reparations. Supported by the UN Peace Fund for Nepal, and in cooperation with the Government of Nepal and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, IOM is working closely with the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction in the design and implementation of a transparent reparation system to provide assistance to victims who suffered human rights violations during the ten-year armed conflict.

Migration, Climate Change and Environmental Degradation

In August 2008, Nepal was hit again by repeated flooding affecting more than 250,000 people. In the eastern districts of Sunsari and Saptari alone, 70,000 persons were affected, following the collapse of one of the retaining walls of the Koshi River - Asia's largest river basin - washing away entire villages in its path.

As a response to the disastrous situation in Eastern Nepal, the Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) cluster, under IOM's lead, was immediately activated as part of the coordinated humanitarian response. In line with the IOM strategy for responding to sudden mass population movements integrating Disaster Risk Reduction, the CCCM cluster and partner agencies developed a Displacement Tracking Matrix, conducted capacity-building training to the Nepalese authorities on Humanitarian Response in Emergencies, Shelter and Settlement Planning and Sphere Standards to ensure a consolidated response i n the advent of new disasters in the region. IOM has also constructed and staffed an Emergency Operations Centre in the flood-affected region to ensure consolidated response efforts.

Last updated:
Main text: April 2011
Facts and figures: May 2012