Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 [Key Findings]

The 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) provides data for monitoring the population and health situation in Nepal to inform strategic planning and program evaluation. The 2022 DHS is the 6th Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Nepal since 1996.

Household and Respondent Characteristics & Household Water and Sanitation

• Forty-four (44%) of women & 53% of men age 15-49 have some secondary education or higher. Still, 26% of women and 8% of men have no education.
• More girls than boys attend school in Nepal. For every 100 boys who attend lower basic school, 105 girls are attending lower basic school.
• Nighty eight (98%) of the population in Nepal has at least basic drinking water service.
• Seventy-three (73%) of the population has access to at least basic sanitation service, nearly double from 40% in 2011.
• Sixty-one (61%) of women with a menstrual period in the last year used appropriate materials & were able to wash & change in privacy.

Fertility and Family Planning

• Women in Nepal have an average of 2.1 children (total fertility rate). Fertility has declined slightly from 2.3 children in 2016.
• The contraceptive prevalence rate is 57% for married women age 15-49 – 43% use a modern method & 15% use a traditional method. The use of any Family Planning has increased from 53% in 2016.
• The total demand for family planning among married women age 15-49 is 78%. 21% of married women have an unmet need for Family Planning. 55% of the demand for family planning is satisfied by modern methods.

Childhood Mortality

• Infant & under-5 mortality rates for the 5-year period before the survey are 28 & 33 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. Neonatal deaths account for 3/4 of infant deaths, at 21 per 1,000 live births.
• Under-5 mortality has declined in Nepal from 118 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1996 to 33 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022.

Maternal and Newborn Health Care

• Eighty-one (81%) of women age 15-49 attended 4+ antenatal care (ANC) visits, and 73% had their first ANC visit in the first trimester.
• Seventy-Nine (79%) of live births are delivered in a health facility. Health facility deliveries have markedly improved from 57% in 2016 to 79% in 2022. Still, 19% of births are delivered at home.

Child Health

• Eighty (80%) of children age 12-23 months are fully vaccinated against all basic antigens. Basic vaccination coverage has increased slightly from 78% in 2014.
• Ten (10%) of children under 5 in Nepal had diarrhea in the 2 weeks before the survey. 48% of children under 5 with recent diarrhea received oral rehydration therapy, but 28% received no treatment.

Nutrition of Children and Women

• Twenty-five (25%) of children under 5 are stunted, 8% are wasted, and 19% are underweight. The nutritional status of children has improved in the last 22 years.
• Thirty-Five (35%) of Nepali women age 20-49 are overweight or obese and 10% are thin. Among adolescent women age 15-19, 6% are overweight or obese and 26% are thin.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behavior Related to HIV/AIDS

• Three (3%) of women & 2% of men age 15-49 have been tested for HIV & received their results in the past 12 months.
• Ten (10%) of women & 13% of men age 15-49 have ever been tested for HIV & received their results. Compared to 2016, the same number of women but fewer men were tested for HIV in 2022.

Domestic Violence

• Twenty-three (23%) of women age 15-49 in Nepal have experienced physical violence since age 15. The most common perpetrator of physical violence against married women are current and former husbands/intimate partners.
• Twenty-eight (28%) of women who have ever had a husband/intimate partner in Nepal have experienced intimate partner violence whether physical, sexual, or emotional by any current or previous husband/intimate partner.

Disability

• Among adults age 15-49 in Nepal, 8% of women and 7% of men have a lot of difficulty or cannot function in more than one domain of disability.
• Six (6%) of household members age 5 or older have a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of disability. Difficulty seeing was the most commonly reported disability.

Accidents and Injuries

• There are 14 deaths due to road traffic injuries per 100,000 population in Nepal. More men than women die due to road traffic injuries with 11 deaths per 100,000 men and 3 deaths per 100,000 women.
• The most common type of road traffic accidents or crashes that occur in Nepal involve motorcycle accidents that account for 68% of those killed or injured in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Blood pressure

• Eighteen (18%) of women and 23% of men age 15 and older have high blood pressure or hypertension. Among individuals age 60 and older, 46% of women and 42% of men have high blood pressure or hypertension.
• Forty-eight (48%) of women and 52% of men age 15 and older with hypertension are unaware about their high blood pressure. 17% of women and 20% of men are aware about their condition but have not been treated.

Ministry of Health and Population [Nepal], New ERA, and ICF. 2023. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ministry of Health and Population [Nepal].

• Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022
• NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2022 KEY INDICATORS REPORT
• NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY (NDHS) 2022 | KEY INDICATORS
• KEY INDICATORS: THE NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY (1996 NDHS- 2016 NDHS)
• KEY FINDINGS (NEPALI & ENGLISH) – THE 2016 NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY (2016 NDHS)
• NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2016 KEY INDICATORS REPORT
• NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY 2016 KEY INDICATORS REPORT (SHORT NOTES)
• THE 2016 NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY (2016 NDHS)
• 2011 NEPAL DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH SURVEY (NDHS)