Internal Migration:
Factual Overview
No. of internal migrants: 10.5 million[1] lifetime migrants
65%[2] of all migrants move from rural to urban areas in Nepal
Key destination areas: Kathmandu[3]
Prominent sectors of employment for internal migrants[4]: Service sector[5] (42.7%), construction (12.6%) and manufacturing (9.9)
The Global Index Risk Report (2021) placed Nepal at Rank 12[6]
Climate migration: There are 345,018[7] estimated climate migrants in the country. An estimated 1.3 million people are predicted to migrate by 2050 as a result of climate change[8]
For more on internal migration in India and other countries in South and Southeast Asia, read our report Internal Migration in Asia.
![migration map india](/images/Migration Map_Nepal.png)
MRC in Nepal
Developing scalable, context-appropriate models to improve last-mile access to social protection.
Collaborating with government and industry to build sustainable, systemic solutions to address challenges.
Provinces MRC is active in
![Provinces MRC is active in](/images/Migration Map_Nepal 2.png)
About internal migration in Nepal
![Increase in rural to urban migration in the country has led to a loss of labour in rural areas:](/images/nepal/insight-1.jpg)
Increase in rural to urban migration in the country has led to a loss of labour in rural areas:
![Earthquakes and natural disasters – aggravated by climate change – have driven internal migration in the country:](/images/nepal/insight-2.jpg)
Earthquakes and natural disasters – aggravated by climate change – have driven internal migration in the country:
![Challenges related to the implementation of labour laws increase the vulnerability of migrant workers:](/images/nepal/insight-3.jpg)
Challenges related to the implementation of labour laws increase the vulnerability of migrant workers:
![The Social Security Fund in Nepal was recently expanded to cover informal sector workers and self-employed individuals:](/images/nepal/insight-4.jpg)
The Social Security Fund in Nepal was recently expanded to cover informal sector workers and self-employed individuals:
![case study](/images/nepal/case-story.jpg)