Islam in Nepal

Mosque in Kathmandu, Nepal

Islam (Nepali: नेपाली मुसलमान) is the third largest religion in Nepal.[1] According to the 2021 Nepal census, approximately 1.483 million Muslims, comprising 5.09% of the population, live in Nepal.[2]

Nepalese Muslims
नेपाली मुसलमान
Total population
1,483,060[3]
(5.09% of the country's population)Increase[4]
Regions with significant populations
   Nepal
Languages
NepaliAwadhiBhojpuriMaithiliGurung • [ Tamang][magar]
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Kashmiri Muslims, Bihari Muslims, Madheshi people,[5] Gorkhali Muslims

Nepalese Muslims (Nepali: नेपाली मुसलमान; Nepali Musalman) are Nepalis who follow Islam. Their ancestors arrived in Nepal from different parts of South Asia, Central Asia and Tibet during different epochs, and have since lived amidst the numerically dominant Hindus and Buddhists. About 80% of the Muslim community live in the Terai region, while the other 20% are found mainly in the city of Kathmandu and Gorkha and the western hills. The community numbers 971,056, about 3.8% of the total population of Nepal. Districts with large Muslim population include Sarlahi (9.9%), Rautahat (17.2%), Bara (11.9%), and Parsa (17.3%) and Banke (16%) in the western Terai and Siraha (7%) and Sunsari (10%) and Saptari (10%) Gorkha (13%) hill.[6]

  1. ^ Statistical Yearbook of Nepal - 2013. Kathmandu: Central Bureau of Statistics. 2013. p. 23. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ^ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  3. ^ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  4. ^ "Religions in Nepal | PEW-GRF".
  5. ^ https://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ind/muslimsofnepal.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ Understanding Nepal : Muslims in a plural society by Mollica Dastider ISBN 978-81-241-1271-7