Nepal
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Official Name
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Population
28,170,000 (2015 census)
Principal Languages
Nepali
Literacy Rate
60% (2011 USCB)
Immigrant Languages
Magahi (35,600), Odia (580), Sindhi (520)
General References
Bista 1967, Bista 1973, Bista 1996, Burling 2003, Campbell and King 2011, Ebert 1994, Hale 1982, Hansson 1991, Hugoniot 1970, Matisoff et al 1996, Thurgood and LaPolla 2003, Toba 1976, Toba 1983, Toba 1991, Toba et al 2002, Toba et al 2005, Van Driem 2001, Van Driem 2007
Deaf Population
192000
Recognized Nationalities
The government of Nepal officially recognizes 59 indigenous nationalities, or “Adibasi Janajatis” as they are called in Nepali. They are enumerated in the 2002 legislation that created the National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities, Act 20, Section 2a. Furthermore, the Interim Constitution of 2007 states in Article 5 that all languages spoken as mother tongues in Nepal are considered national languages.
Language Counts
The number of individual languages listed for Nepal is 121. Of these, 120 are living and 1 is extinct. Of the living languages, 110 are indigenous and 10 are non-indigenous. Furthermore, 8 are institutional, 18 are developing, 30 are vigorous, 55 are in trouble, and 9 are dying.