Internal migration has significantly altered settlement and regional development trends in Nepal. In reference to the National Population and Housing Census, 2021, urban density has increased over the last 5 decades, while rural areas have become depopulated as young individuals moved in pursuit of education, employment, and to form families. This migration has accelerated as time has gone on, with interzonal migration increasing from 4% in the 1970s to 11% in the 2020s. Although Mountain zone in-migration has increased from 9,698 in 1971 to 75,542 in 2021 (due to the movements of individuals to take part in the trekking industry), excess net out-migration in these regions resulted in a net migration of -543,966 in 2021. This is in contrast to an increase of in-migration in the Hill zone of 6% in 1971 to 30% in 2021, driven by the movement to urban areas like Kathmandu, Pokhara, and the Chitwan Valley of migrants in search of  opportunities in the tourism sector and construction. Indeed, rural-urban migration made up 51.3%. It is suggested that this urban in-migration may have been driven by political restructuring following the Maoist insurgency, population dispersal from rural areas following the 2015 earthquake, and an increase of international returnees (National Statistics Office, 2025).

National Statistics Office (2025). Internal Migration in Nepal. Kathmandu: National Statistics Office. (National Population and Housing Census 2021). Available at: https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/files/result-folder/Internal%20Migration%20in%20Nepal%20Report.pdf (accessed 07/11/25).