Chart and table of population level and growth rate for the Kathmandu, Nepal metro area from 1950 to 2025.

Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Kathmandu data was reported at 1,744,240.000 Person in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,081,845.000 Person for 2001. Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Kathmandu data is updated yearly, averaging 878,593.000 Person from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2011, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,744,240.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 422,237.000 Person in 1981. Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Kathmandu data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Nepal – Table NP.G001: Population Census.

The population of Wards, Municipality and Metropolis of the districts Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur by census years, harvested from Central Bureau of Statistics.

Abstract

The 2021 NPHC is tthe first census conducted under the federal structure of Nepal. The main census enumeration was originally scheduled to take place over 15 days- from June 8 to 22, 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the enumeration was postponed for five months. Once the impact of the pandemic subsided, the enumeration was carried out according to a new work plan for a 15 dya period from November 11 to 25, 2021.

This report contains statistical tables at the national, provincial, district and municipal levels, derived from the topics covered in the census questionaires. The work of the analyzing the data in detail is still in progress. The report provides insights into the different aspects of the census operation, including its procedure, concepts, methodology, quality control, logistics, communication, data processing, challenges faced, and other management aspects.

This census slightly differs from the previous censuses mainly due to the following activities: i. three modes of data collection (CAPI, PAPI and e-census); ii. a full count of all questions instead of sampling for certain questions, as was done in the previous two censuses, iii. collaboration with Ministry of Health and Population to ascertain the likely maternal mortality cases reported in the census by skilled health personnel; iv. data processing within its premises; v. recuitment of fresh youths as supervisor and enumerators; and vi. using school teachers as master trainers, especially for the local level training of enumerators.

The objectives of the 2021 Population Census were:

a) to develop a set of benchmark data for different purposes. b) to provide distribution of population by demographic, social and economic characteristics. c) to provide data for small administrative areas of the country on population and housing characteristics. d) to provide reliable frames for different types of sample surveys. e) to provide many demographic indicators like birth rates, death rates and migration rates. f) to project population for the coming years.

The total population of Nepal, as of the census day (25 November 2021) is 29,164,578, of which the number of males is 14,253,551 (48.87 %) and the number of females is 14,911,027 (51.13 %). Accordingly, the sex ratio is 95.59 males per 100 females. Annual average population growth rate is 0.92 percent in 2021.

Geographic coverage

National Level, Ecological belt, Urban and Rural, Province, District, Municipality, Ward Level

Analysis unit

The census results provide information up to the ward level (the lowest administrative level of Nepal), household and indivisual.

Universe

The census covered all modified de jure household members (usual residents)

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f] and online

Research instrument

In this census three main questionnaires were developed for data collection. The first was the Listing Form deveoped mainly for capturing the basic household informatioin in each Enumeration area of the whole country. The second questionnaire was the main questionnaire with eight major Sections as mentioned hereunder.

Listing Questionaire Section 1. Introduction Section 2. House information Section 3. Household information Section 4. Agriculture and livestock information Section 5. Other information

Main Questionaire Section 1. Introduction Section 2. Household Information Section 3. Individual Information Section 4. Educational Information Section 5. Migration Section 6. Fertility Section 7.Disability Section 8. Economic Activity

For the first time, the NPHC, 2021 brougt a Community Questionnaire aiming at capturing the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the Wards (the lowest administrative division under Rural/Urban Municipalities). The Community Questionnaire contains 6 Chapters. The information derived from community questionnaire is expected to validate (cross checks) certain information collected from main questionnaire.

Community questionaire Section 1. Introduction Section 2. Basic information of wards Section 3. Caste and mother tongue information Section 4. Current status of service within wards Section 5. Access of urban services and facilities within wards Section 6. Status of Disaster Risk

It is noteworty that the digital version of questionnare was applied in collecting data within the selected municipalities of Kathmandu Valley. Enumerators mobilized in Kathmandu Valley were well trained to use tablets. Besides, online mode of data collection was adpoted for all the Nepalese Diplomatic Agencies located abroad.

Cleaning operations

For the concistency of data required logics were set in the data entry programme. For the processing and analysis of data SPSS and STATA programme were employed.

Digital data of Administrative Boundaries of Kathmandu Valley:

• Districts and Village Development Committee from 1997 map.

• Demographic data from 1991 census

The total population of Nepal was estimated at approximately 31.25 million people in 2024. Following a continuous upward trend, the total population has risen by around 15.62 million people since 1980. Between 2024 and 2030, the total population will rise by around 2.20 million people, continuing its consistent upward trajectory.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

This dataset contains population of Kathmandu metropolitan city which was categorized according to age group and gender of the population. It was extracted from Central Bureau of Statistics 2011 A.D. Link : http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Volume05Part01.pdf

Abstract

The ancient history of Nepal is assumed to have begun in 750 B.C. and ended in 250 A.D. During that period Kirats ruled the country. But no written record of this is available. Early history of Nepal had witnessed the establishment of a number of beleaguered dynasties and principalities scattered in the fertile valleys of Kathmandu and Pokhara and in the river basins of the Karnali and the Gandaki. Although some others dynasties survived for a short period of time, others ruled for centuries. The Lichhavi dynasty, for instance, lasted over four centuries (464-879 A.D.). Anothergreat dynasty-the Malla-Dynasty-had established itself in Kathmandu valley around the 13th century, and lasted over five hundred years.The divided and hostile principalities and kingdoms were finally consolidated in 1769 under king Prithivi Narayan Shah and his successors to become the modern nation of Nepal. Socially and economically, however, the modern era in Nepal's history has started with the revival of the national aspirations of the poor countries in Asia after the Second World War. These aspirations were mainly concer-ned with acquiring independence, and emncipation from the perpetual state of ignorance, poverty and political stress. Failing to democratize the regime and to bring about educational, social and economic reforms in the country, the Rana Regime was finally thrown out by the joint efforts of the King and people of Nepal in 1951. Within the frame of the open policy with other nations, Nepal has been able to implement four economic development plans, with the cooperation of several countries and International Agencies. The fifth economic development2 plan (1975-80) has placed special priority on agricultural development as infrastructure for future industrial development and also has laid emphasis on industrialization of the country than the previous plans.

The objectives of the 1971 Population Census were:

1. to provide data for small administrative areas of the country on population and household,
2. to provide sex disaggregated data of the population and other variables related to households, demographic, social and economic conditions of the country, and
3. to provide detailed information onmarriages, women, children, the aged and the disabled.
4. to determine the prevailing trends and characteristics of population change, namely, age structure, mortality, fertility, education and labour force.

Geographic coverage

National Coverage Zones Districts Towns and Village Panchayat

Analysis unit

Household, individual

Universe

The census covered all de jure household members (usual residents) in private households.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The census questionnaire is the ultimate field document from which all data are compiled. Needless to say that the simpler is the questionnaire designed the greater will be the level of accuracy and easier the counting procedures and coding and editing of the items. The questionnaire used in 1971 census was pre-coded. The purpose of pre-coding was initially to minimize the answers to be written so that further editing and coding processes would also be minimized.

The questionnaire of 1971 census contained the following items:

Family Members Name of the Head of the Household Events During Last Year Family Serial No. Family No. Household No. Total Male Female Absent (6) Months and More No. of deaths Male Marriages during Last Year Male Divorces during Last Year Signature of Respondent Mental Deficiency Disabled persons d. Age e. Place of Birth f. Citizenship g. Religion h. Mother Tongue i. Marital Status (Single, Married, Divorced, Widowed) j. Number of Children ever born during Life Time k. Number of Children still alive l. Births occurring during the Last Year m. Literacy (Literate or Illiterate) n. School Enrolment o. Years of Schooling Completed p. Economic Activity (Economically Active or Inactive) q. Economic Status (Employer, Employee, etc.) r. Status of the Unemployed

Cleaning operations

A primary check was done by the supervisors on the spot in order to tally the household schedule with the census questionnaire. Further editing and coding procedures were completed by the supervisors in the office. It was expected that a considerable proportion of unknown category will come about particularly regarding age, economic status, and other items. Regarding age some method was elaborated in pointing out a direct relationship between age and certain major events occurring during the last six or seven decades from which the enumerator, if the respondent fails to estimate his age, could deduce the respondent 's approximate age. It was thought that this method would ultimately give a better estimate of ages, instead of obtaining a very big category of unknown ages. Admittedly, this procedure had, to some extent given the enumerator, the liberty to estimate the respondent's age within the limits of a wide range, particularly, adult ages.

The prevalence of actionable (i.e., stage 2 = BP > 140/90) hypertension among Nepalis approaches one-third in the adult population. Long-term drug treatment adherence is low. Western-developed assessment tools present an incomplete picture of the regional Nepali beliefs that guide patient treatment adherence, and the present study seeks to substantiate qualitative findings that suggest a reorientation of patient education content for more effective patient-oriented, culturally consonant care. We conducted a cross-sectional structured interview of 500 men and women under treatment for hypertension in three urban Kathmandu hospital clinics. Interview items were developed from a qualitative survey and investigated patient beliefs about hypertension causes, symptoms, and consequences; treatment costs and sequelae; and general health maintenance. Patients reported experiencing multiple and wide-ranging symptoms that affected how they felt physically and emotionally as well as how they behaved; these were expected to respond to treatment. They were distressed by their condition and were concerned about short- and long-term treatment effects, specifically that long-term treatment may impair the body’s natural ability to maintain a healthy blood pressure. While hypertension was described as life-long, there was a range of beliefs on whether successful blood pressure control would, or should, allow a switch to natural remedies, lifestyle management, or no treatment at all. Kathmandu Valley hypertension beliefs suggest adaptation of Western-developed patient communications to address Nepali patient experience and concerns. While Western communications address the “silent” nature of the disease, our Kathmandu population experienced multiple and varied symptoms that guided their behavior. Patient also expressed concerns about medication habituation and dependence reflecting Nepali health models.

This statistic depicts the age distribution of Nepal's population from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, about 28.71 percent of the Nepalese population fell into the 0-14 year category, about 64.93 percent into the 15-64 age group and about 6.36 percent were over 65 years of age.

Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Lalitpur data was reported at 468,132.000 Person in 2011. This records an increase from the previous number of 337,785.000 Person for 2001. Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Lalitpur data is updated yearly, averaging 297,435.500 Person from Dec 1981 (Median) to 2011, with 4 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 468,132.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 184,341.000 Person in 1981. Nepal Population Census: Central Region: Lalitpur data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Central Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Nepal – Table NP.G001: Population Census.

Abstract

The objective of this three-year panel survey is to provide the Government of Nepal with empirical evidence on the patterns of exposure to shocks at the household level and on the vulnerability of households’ welfare to these shocks. It covers 6,000 households in non-metropolitan areas of Nepal, which were interviewed in mid 2016. Being a relatively comprehensive and representative (rural) sample household survey, it can also be used for other research into living conditions of Nepali households in rural areas. This is the entire dataset for the first wave of the survey. The same households will be reinterviewed in mid 2017 and mid 2018. The survey dataset contains a multi-topic survey which was completed for each of the 6,000 households, and a community survey fielded to a senior community representative at the village development committee (VDC) level in each of the 400 PSUs.

Geographic coverage

All non-metropolitan areas in Nepal. Non-metropolitan areas are as defined by the 2010 Census.

Analysis unit

Household, following the NLSS definition.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sample frame was all households in non-metropolitan areas per the 2010 Census definition, excluding households in the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts). The country was segmented into 11 analytical strata, defined to correspond to those used in the NLSS III (excluding the three urban strata used there). To increase the concentration of sampled households, 50 of the 75 districts in Nepal were selected with probability proportional to size (the measure of size being the number of households). PSUs were selected with probability proportional to size from the entire list of wards in the 50 selected districts, one stratum at a time. The number of PSUs per stratum is proportional to the stratum's population share, and corresponds closely to the allocations used in the LFS-II and NLSS-III (adjusted for different overall numbers of PSUs in those surveys).

In each of the selected PSUs (administrative wards), survey teams compiled a list of households in the ward based on existing administrative records, and cross-checked with local leaders. The number of households shown in the list was compared to the ward population in the 2010 Census, adjusted for likely population growth. Where the listed population deviated by more than 10% from the projected population based on the Census data, the team conducted a full listing of households in the ward. 15 households were selected at random from the ward list for interviewing, and a further 5 households were selected as potential replacements.

Sampling deviation

During the fieldwork, one PSU in Lapu VDC was inaccessible due to weather, and was replaced by a ward in Hastichaur VDC using PPS sampling on that stratum (excluding the already selected PSUs). All other sampled PSUs were reached, and a full sample of 6,000 households was interviewed in the first wave.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The household questionnaire contained 16 modules: the household roster; education; health; housing and access to facilities; food expenses and home production; non-food expenditures and inventory of durable goods; jobs and time use; wage jobs; farming and livestock; non-agriculture enterprises/activities; migration; credit, savings, and financial assets; private assistance; public assistance; shocks; and anthropometrics (for children less than 5 years). Where possible, the style of questions was kept similar to those used in the NLSS-III questionnaire for comparability reasons. In some cases, new modules needed to be developed. The shocks questionnaire was developed by the World Bank team. A food security module was added based on the design recommended by USAID, and a psychosocial questionnaire was also developed by social development specialists in the World Bank. The section on government and other assistance was also redesigned to cover a broader range of programs and elicit information on details such as experience with enrollment and frequency of payment.

The community questionnaire was fielded to a senior community representative at the VDC level in each of the 400 PSUs. The purpose of the community questionnaire was to obtain further details on access to services in each PSU, to gather information on shocks at the community level, and to collect market price data. The questionnaire had six modules: respondent details; community characteristics; access to facilities; educational facilities; community shocks, household shocks; and market price.

Cleaning operations

These are the raw data entered and checked by the survey firm, formatted to conform to the original questionnaire numbering system and confidentialized. The data were cleaned for spelling errors and translation of Nepali phrases, and suspicious values were checked by calling respondents. No other transformations have taken place.

Response rate

Of the 6,000 originally sampled households, 5,191 agreed to be interviewed. Of the 13.5% of households that were not interviewed, 11.1% were resident but could not be located by the team after two attempts, 0.9% were found to have outmigrated, and 1.4% refused. The 809 replacement households were drawn in order from the randomized list created during sampling (see above).

Abstract

The 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) is the sixth survey of its kind implemented in the country as part of the worldwide Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program. It was implemented by New ERA under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) of the Government of Nepal with the objective of providing reliable, accurate, and up-to-date data for the country.

The primary objective of the 2022 NDHS is to provide up-to-date estimates of basic demographic and health indicators. Specifically, the 2022 NDHS collected information on fertility, marriage, family planning, breastfeeding practices, nutrition, food insecurity, maternal and child health, childhood mortality, awareness and behavior regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), women’s empowerment, domestic violence, fistula, mental health, accident and injury, disability, and other healthrelated issues such as smoking, knowledge of tuberculosis, and prevalence of hypertension.

The information collected through the 2022 NDHS is intended to assist policymakers and program managers in evaluating and designing programs and strategies for improving the health of Nepal’s population. The survey also provides indicators relevant to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Nepal.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual
• Children age 0-5
• Woman age 15-49
• Man age 15-49

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged 15-49, men ageed 15-49, and all children aged 0-4 resident in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling frame used for the 2022 NDHS is an updated version of the frame from the 2011 Nepal Population and Housing Census (NPHC) provided by the National Statistical Office. The 2022 NDHS considered wards from the 2011 census as sub-wards, the smallest administrative unit for the survey. The census frame includes a complete list of Nepal’s 36,020 sub-wards. Each sub-ward has a residence type (urban or rural), and the measure of size is the number of households.

In September 2015, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly declared changes in the administrative units and reclassified urban and rural areas in the country. Nepal is divided into seven provinces: Koshi Province, Madhesh Province, Bagmati Province, Gandaki Province, Lumbini Province, Karnali Province, and Sudurpashchim Province. Provinces are divided into districts, districts into municipalities, and municipalities into wards. Nepal has 77 districts comprising a total of 753 (local-level) municipalities. Of the municipalities, 293 are urban and 460 are rural.

Originally, the 2011 NPHC included 58 urban municipalities. This number increased to 217 as of 2015. On March 10, 2017, structural changes were made in the classification system for urban (Nagarpalika) and rural (Gaonpalika) locations. Nepal currently has 293 Nagarpalika, with 65% of the population living in these urban areas. The 2022 NDHS used this updated urban-rural classification system. The survey sample is a stratified sample selected in two stages. Stratification was achieved by dividing each of the seven provinces into urban and rural areas that together formed the sampling stratum for that province. A total of 14 sampling strata were created in this way. Implicit stratification with proportional allocation was achieved at each of the lower administrative levels by sorting the sampling frame within each sampling stratum before sample selection, according to administrative units at the different levels, and by using a probability-proportional-to-size selection at the first stage of sampling. In the first stage of sampling, 476 primary sampling units (PSUs) were selected with probability proportional to PSU size and with independent selection in each sampling stratum within the sample allocation. Among the 476 PSUs, 248 were from urban areas and 228 from rural areas. A household listing operation was carried out in all of the selected PSUs before the main survey. The resulting list of households served as the sampling frame for the selection of sample households in the second stage. Thirty households were selected from each cluster, for a total sample size of 14,280 households. Of these households, 7,440 were in urban areas and 6,840 were in rural areas. Some of the selected sub-wards were found to be overly large during the household listing operation. Selected sub-wards with an estimated number of households greater than 300 were segmented. Only one segment was selected for the survey with probability proportional to segment size.

For further details on sample design, see APPENDIX A of the final report.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

Four questionnaires were used in the 2022 NDHS: the Household Questionnaire, the Woman’s Questionnaire, the Man’s Questionnaire, and the Biomarker Questionnaire. The questionnaires, based on The DHS Program’s model questionnaires, were adapted to reflect the population and health issues relevant to Nepal. In addition, a self-administered Fieldworker Questionnaire collected information about the survey’s fieldworkers.

Input was solicited from various stakeholders representing government ministries and agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and international donors. After all questionnaires were finalized in English, they were translated into Nepali, Maithili, and Bhojpuri. The Household, Woman’s, and Man’s Questionnaires were programmed into tablet computers to facilitate computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) for data collection purposes, with the capability to choose any of the three languages for each questionnaire. The Biomarker Questionnaire was completed on paper during data collection and then entered in the CAPI system.

Cleaning operations

Data capture for the 2022 NDHS was carried out with Microsoft Surface Go 2 tablets running Windows 10.1. Software was prepared for the survey using CSPro. The processing of the 2022 NDHS data began shortly after the fieldwork started. When data collection was completed in each cluster, the electronic data files were transferred via the Internet File Streaming System (IFSS) to the New ERA central office in Kathmandu. The data files were registered and checked for inconsistencies, incompleteness, and outliers. Errors and inconsistencies were immediately communicated to the field teams for review so that problems would be mitigated going forward. Secondary editing, carried out in the central office at New ERA, involved resolving inconsistencies and coding the open-ended questions. The New ERA senior data processor coordinated the exercise at the central office. The NDHS core team members assisted with the secondary editing. The paper Biomarker Questionnaires were compared with the electronic data file to check for any inconsistencies in data entry. The pictures of vaccination cards that were captured during data collection were verified with the data entered. Data processing and editing were carried out using the CSPro software package. The concurrent data collection and processing offered a distinct advantage because it maximized the likelihood of the data being error-free and accurate. Timely generation of field check tables allowed for effective monitoring. The secondary editing of the data was completed by July 2022, and the final cleaning of the data set was completed by the end of August.

Response rate

A total of 14,243 households were selected for the sample, of which 13,833 were found to be occupied. Of the occupied households, 13,786 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of more than 99%. In the interviewed households, 15,238 women age 15-49 were identified as eligible for individual interviews. Interviews were completed with 14,845 women, yielding a response rate of 97%. In the subsample of households selected for the men’s survey, 5,185 men age 15-49 were identified as eligible for individual interviews and 4,913 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 95%.

Sampling error estimates

The estimates from a sample survey are affected by two types of errors: nonsampling errors and sampling errors. Nonsampling errors result from mistakes made in implementing data collection and in data processing, such as failing to locate and interview the correct household, misunderstanding of the questions on the part of either the interviewer or the respondent, and entering the data incorrectly. Although numerous efforts were made during the implementation of the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (2022 NDHS) to minimize this type of error, nonsampling errors are impossible to avoid and difficult to evaluate statistically.

Sampling errors, on the other hand, can be evaluated statistically. The sample of respondents selected in the 2022 NDHS is only one of many samples that could have been selected from the same population, using the same design and expected sample size. Each of these samples would yield results that differ somewhat from the results of the selected sample. Sampling errors are a measure of the variability among all possible samples. Although the exact degree of variability is unknown, it can be estimated from the survey results.

Sampling error is usually measured in terms of the standard error for a particular statistic (mean, percentage, and so on), which is the square root of the variance. The standard error can be used to calculate confidence intervals within which the

Abstract

Nepal Living Standards Survey II 2003/2004 (NLSS II) is the second multi-topic national household survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) from April 2003 to April 2004. As a follow up to the first NLSS of 1995/96 (NLSS I), the main objective of the NLSS II was to track changes in living standards and social indicators of Nepalese population between 1995/96 and 2003/2004. The survey provides information on the different aspects of households' welfare (consumption, income, housing, labor markets, education, health etc.). NLSS II data are largely comparable to the NLSS I data and follows the methodology of the Living Standards Measurement Survey (LSMS) developed by the World Bank.

Geographic coverage

National Domains: Urban/rural; ecological zones (Mountains, Kathmandu Valley (urban), Hills (urban), Hills (rural), Tarai (urban), Tarai (rural)).

Analysis unit

• Households
• Individuals
• Communities

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

SAMPLE DESIGN The sampling design of the NLSS II included two components. The first one was nationally representative random cross-section sample of 4008 households from six explicit strata of the country. The second one was panel sample of 1232 households drawn from those households interviewed in NLSS I.

SAMPLE FRAME The 2001 Population Census of Nepal provided a basis for this survey's sample frame. The size of each ward (as measured by number of households) was taken as a unit of sample frame. Some larger ards were divided into smaller units (sub-wards) of clearly defined territorial areas supported by reliable cartography while some of the smaller wards with fewer than 20 households were appended to neighbouring wards in the same VDC. The resulting sampling frame consisted of 36,067 enumeration areas (wards or sub-wards) spread over 3 ecological zones, 5 development regions, 75 districts, 58 Municipalities and 3,914 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of the country. The sample frame was sorted by district, VDC, ward and sub-ward and districts were numbered from geographical East to West.

The three ecological zones are Mountains in the north (altitude 4877 to 8848 meters), Hills in the middle (altitude 610 to 4876 meters) and Tarai in the south. Mountains make up 35 percent of total land area of the country, while Hills and Tarai 42 percent and 23 percent respectively.

STRATIFICATION The design of the cross-section part of NLSS II was similar to that of the NLSS I. The total sample size (4,008 households) was selected in two stages: 12 households in each of 334 Primary Sampling Units. The sample of 334 PSUs was selected from six strata using Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling with the number of households as a measure of size. The numbers are all multiples of 12 with the intention of implementing a two-stage selection strategy with that many households per PSU in the second stage. Within each PSU, 12 households were selected by systematic sampling from the total number of households listed.

The NLSS II cross-section sample was allocated into six explicit strata as follows: Mountains (408 households in 34 PSUs), Kathmandu valley urban area (408 households in 34 PSUs), Other Urban areas in the Hills (336 households in 28 PSUs), Rural Hills (1,224 households in 102 PSUs), Urban Tarai (408 households in 34 PSUs) and Rural Tarai (1,224 households in 102 PSUs). The NLSS II panel sample is composed of 100 of the 275 PSUs visited by the NLSS I in 1995/96. The panel PSUs were selected with equal probability within each of the four strata defined by NLSS I, as follows: 12 (out of 33) in the Mountains, 18 (out of 50) in the Urban Hills, 33 (out of 92) in the Rural Hills and 37 (out of 100) in the Tarai.

In NLSS I, the strata were composed of Mountains (424 households), Urban Hills (604 households), Rural Hills (1,136 households) and Tarai (1,224 households). The sampling frame was taken from the Population Census 1991.

CARTOGRAPHIC UPDATING AND HOUSEHOLD LISTING

The NLSS II cartographic updating was conducted between December 2001 and May 2002. There were 334 PSUs from the cross-sectional sample where listing operation provided a precise and up to date measure of households in each PSU. The 235 PSUs contained 400 or fewer households while 99 PSUs had larger than 400 households according to the 2001 Population Census. Those PSUs with more than 400 households were segmented into smaller units containing 150-200 households by means of a cartographic updating operation. The operation defined territorial boundaries for the segments within the PSUs and established a rough measure of the size of each segment based on a quick count of dwellings. One of the segments was then selected randomly with PPS in each PSU, and a complete household listing was conducted in that segment. A new cartographic updating was needed for 59 of the large PSUs since some of the large PSUs corresponded to wards that had already been segmented in 1995 as a part of the NLSS I operations. This updating included verification of the boundaries and quick count of dwellings.

A complete household listing operation was undertaken in all cross-section PSUs during March-May of 2002, about a year prior to the survey. The information collected in the listing included dwelling/household serial number, name of the village/settlement, block number, name and nickname (if any) of the household head, household size and name of the landlord when the housing unit was rented. The cover page for listing was designed to furnish information on the language spoken, the mode of transport and the traveling time to reach the selected ward/sub-ward/segment. This was utilized while preparing schedules of fieldwork. There were 25 teams for listing operation and each team consisted of two enumerators. Field-based 32 enumerators were selected from CBS and Branch Statistical Offices (BSOs) while the rest 18 were hired on contract from outside Kathmandu for listing operation in the selected PSUs under the separate component of the project named "Listing and Cartography Work for NLSS II". Two day training was conducted on listing procedure for the enumerators outside of Kathmandu at Biratnagar (East), Hetaunda (Central) and Nepalgunj (West). Because of insurgency in different parts of the country, listing operation in 10 PSUs could not be completed during the specified period but was completed later.

Sampling deviation

During the implementation of NLSS II, altogether 13 rural enumeration areas (PSUS) could not be interviewed comprising 8 from cross-section and 5 from the panel samples. The missing panel PSUs include 1 from Central Hills, 1 from Mid Western Mountains, 1 from Far Western Mountains, 1 from Far Western Hills and 1 from Far Western Terai. One of these five PSUs, the one from the Far Western Terai (Pipaladi-2 of Kanchanpur), vanished completely due to the merging of enumeration area to the Royal Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve. The other four PSUs could not be enumerated due to the ongoing conflict even after the repeated attempts. All together 370 households could not be re-interviewed.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The Household Survey Section of CBS developed an initial questionnaire of NLSS II on the basis of the questionnaires used in the NLSS I and others. The draft questionnaire was subsequently modified through experience gained from pre-tests. Two types of questionnaires were administered in NLSS II: household questionnaire and community questionnaires (urban and rural). In order to generate comparable data with NLSS I, as many of the NLSS I questions as possible were retained in NLSS II. However, some important additions were made on the household questionnaire to address some contemporary issues such as population migration and child labor. Some questions were omitted based on whether such questions were poorly answered or collected in NLSS I. Detailed discussions were made on the household questionnaire with members of NLSS II Technical Committee, representatives from different donor agencies and other stakeholders. For instance, questions on anthropometrics section were dropped for the reason stated above. Questions on new areas of concern and economic activities were added (child labour - merged from a planned ILO "Nepal Child Labor Survey" for members 5 years of age and over). Sections on changes in household composition for the panel component of the survey and children (under 15 years of age) away from home were added. Questions on migration were asked of all members of the household 5 years and older in this survey instead of just the household head in previous survey. Other additions and modifications included own account production of goods, extended economic activities, underemployment status, health information including HIV/AIDS and household facilities. Some gender specific questions were added in agricultural wages whereas a few questions were dropped from the agriculture section. There were separate sets of questionnaires for urban and rural communities, as in NLSS I. Community questionnaires were designed to measure community characteristics and market prices to supplement the information collected through household questionnaire. The questionnaires were revised intensively with the feedback from pre-test in the field. The pre-test was done in different ecological zones, development regions and urban/rural areas during July-August 2002. The pre-test was also designed to track panel households and the tracking was found to be 80 percent.

Household Questionnaire There was a 74-paged household questionnaire with 19 sections and 10 appendices.

Abstract

The objective of the three-year Nepal Household Risk and Vulnerability panel survey is to provide the Government of Nepal with empirical evidence on the patterns of exposure to shocks at the household level and on the vulnerability of households' welfare to these shocks. It covers 6,000 households and 400 communities in non-metropolitan areas of Nepal.

The survey helps address the following research questions: - What significant adverse events (both anticipated and unanticipated) are faced by households during a given year? - What strategies do households employ, and what systems of informal support do they rely on (ex-ante and ex-post) to cope with these events? - How are households' short- and medium-term welfare affected by these events? - What formal government assistance do households receive? Is it sufficient to help them cope?

Geographic coverage

A random PPS sample of all non-metropolitan areas in Nepal, where 'non-metropolitan' is as defined by the 2010 Census. The sampling followed the district/VDC administrative structure existing until 2017.

Analysis unit

Households Community (ward)

Universe

All households in non-metropolitan areas per the 2010 Census definition, excluding households in the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts).

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Frequency of data collection

The data was collected annually for three waves.

Sampling procedure

The sample frame was all households in non-metropolitan areas per the 2010 Census definition, excluding households in the Kathmandu valley (Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts). The country was segmented into 11 analytical strata, defined to correspond to those used in the NLSS III (excluding the three urban strata used there). The allocation of districts to strata are indicated in the Section_0 file of each wave. To increase the concentration of sampled households, 50 of the 75 districts in Nepal were selected with probability proportional to size (the measure of size being the number of households). PSUs were selected with probability proportional to size from the entire list of wards in the 50 selected districts, one stratum at a time. The number of PSUs per stratum is proportional to the stratum's population share and corresponds closely to the allocations used in the LFS-II and NLSS-III (adjusted for different overall numbers of PSUs in those surveys). In each of the selected PSUs (administrative wards), survey teams compiled a list of households in the ward based on existing administrative records and cross-checked with local leaders. The number of households shown in the list was compared to the ward population in the 2010 Census, adjusted for likely population growth. Where the listed population deviated by more than 10% from the projected population based on the census data, the team conducted a full listing of households in the ward. 15 households were selected at random each ward list for interviewing, and a further 5 households were selected as potential replacements.

Sampling deviation

During the fieldwork, one PSU in Lapu VDC was inaccessible due to weather, and was replaced by a ward in Hastichaur VDC using PPS sampling on that stratum (excluding the already selected PSUs). All other sampled PSUs were reached and retained throughout the three-year study period.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

Community Questionnaire: The community questionnaire was fielded to a senior community representative at the VDC level in each of the 400 PSUs. The purpose of the community questionnaire was to obtain further details on access to services in each PSU, to gather information on shocks at the community level, and to collect market price data. The questionnaire included the following 6 modules:

• Respondent details
• Community characteristics
• Access to facilities
• Educational facilities
• Community shocks, household shocks
• Market price

Household Questionnaire: The style of questions for the household questionnaire was kept similar to those used in the NLSS-III questionnaire for comparability reasons. In some cases, new modules needed to be developed. The shocks questionnaire was developed by the World Bank team. A food security module was added based on the design recommended by USAID, and a psychosocial questionnaire was also developed by social development specialists in the World Bank. The section on government and other assistance was also redesigned to cover a broader range of programs and elicit information on details such as experience with enrollment and frequency of payment. The household questionnaire included the following 16 modules:

• Informed consent
• Education
• Health
• Housing and access to facilities
• Food expenses and home production
• Non-food expenditures and inventory of durable goods
• Jobs and time use
• Wage jobs
• Farming and livestock
• Non-agriculture enterprises/activities
• Migration
• Credit, savings, and financial assets
• Private assistance
• Public assistance
• Shocks
• Anthropometrics (less than 5 years)
• Perception on respondent intent and attention

Cleaning operations

After the data collection was complete, data cleaning started in HQ. During data cleaning the following actions were carried out:

• Different Versions of HH Questionnaires were appended
• Variables were labelled
• Data exported to STATA
• Responses were checked under possible responses (by do files) and extreme values were verified and checked by back check-calls
• Answers to open ended questions were translated

Cleaned data set was submitted to the World Bank Team for further analysis.

Response rate

Response rates were high, with 5,654 (94%) of the 6,000 Wave 1 households participating in all three waves. In Wave 2, a sample of 6,005 households were interviewed, of which 5,835 (97%) were households from Wave 1, and 165 (3%) were new households added to replace Wave 1 households that could not be reached. Additionally, five households that had split since Wave 1 were also interviewed. In Wave 3, a sample of 6,051 households were interviewed. The number was higher because some households interviewed in Wave 1 but not in Wave 2 were reached again in Wave 3. Of the 6,051 households, 192 were replacement households and four were split households. The majority of non-response was explained by respondents not being located or having migrated.

Abstract

The objectives of the 1991 Population Census were:

a. to develop a set of benchmark data for different purposes, b. to provide data for small administrative areas of the country on population, housing and household facilities, c. to provide reliable frames for different types of sample surveys, d. to provide sex disaggregated data of the population and other variables related to households, demographic, social and economic conditions of the country, and e. to provide detailed information on women, children, and the aged

Geographic coverage

National coverage Regional Urban and rural areas District Village Development Committee/Municipality

Analysis unit

private household, individual

Universe

The census covered all household members (usual residents) in private households.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

The 1991 census collected data based on short form for the complete enumeration of the benchmark information and the long form for the sample enumeration of other socio-economic and demographic information. The long form was administered for population dwellings in about 20 percent of the total housing units. Based on these, estimates were generated at the district level with reliable degree of precision.

The sampling scheme of the 1991 Population Census for the long form is summarized below.

1. The sampling covered the private households only. For the institutional population, Schedule-1 only was administered.

2. For the sampling, 75 administrative districts formed the main strata and VDC's and municipalities within the district formed the domains.

3. There were around 36,000 wards in the country at the time of the census. For the purpose of the census enumeration some of the large wards were further divided into sub-wards. These wards and sub-wards formed the EA's for sampling. The total number of EAs thus formed was around 40,000.

4. Sampling was carried out in each EA; housing unit being the sampling unit.

5. The list of housing units and households served as the sampling frame for the EA. The housing units were selected by systematic sampling method. The sampling interval taken was 8.

6. The list of selected housing units was made available to the enumerator for the enumeration. All households and persons found in the selected units were enumerated.

7. The ratio method was used in making estimates for the sample.

8. Tabulation groups were created separately for tabulation of persons and those for households. The main control variables for the majority of tabulations for persons were two variables: age sex. Tabulation groups for household tabulations were formed in a different manner: taking households as a tabulation group in the domain.

9. To implement the ratio estimation, first weights were calculated. The weights for sample data were computed by dividing the 100 percent counts for the same tabulation groups in the domain by sample counts for the same tabulation groups in the domain. To avoid inconsistency due to rounding, the figures were converted to whole numbers.

This detailed sampling procedure is documented in the Technical Documents.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

In 1991, both household listing and actual census field operation took place simultaneously, unlike in 1981 where household listing preceded total enumeration. Nevertheless, the number of items included in the household list was as comprehensive as before.

Two types of schedules were prepared. Form 1 for complete enumeration and Form 2 for sample enumeration. Both schedules contained questions on household as well as individuals.

FORM 1: (COMPLETE Enumeration) A. Household Information (Question relating to Household), House type & ownership, Agriculture land holding, Livestock/poultry raised for agriculture purpose, Female ownership on house, land and Livestock/Cattle, Small scale economic activities other than agriculture, Absentees from Household (HH), reasons & country of destination. B. Individual Information (Question relating to Individuals), Name, sex, age, relationship to the Household head, Caste/ethnicity, religion, Language spoken and citizen.

FORM 2: (SAMPLE Enumeration) A. Household Information (Question relating to Household), Household facilities (Radio, TV, etc.), Deaths in last 12 months in the Household. B. Individual Information (Question relating to Individuals), Place of birth, Migration, Literacy, Educational attainment, Marital status, Age at first Marriage, Children born, Economic/Non-economic activities, occupation/Industry, employment status, Reasons for not being active, Living arrangement of children below 16 years of age.

Questionnaire contents and the pre-testing of census enumeration procedure were conducted in four districts, Bajura from mountain, Mahottari from terai and Dhankuta as well as Kathmandu from the hilly region.

Cleaning operations

The completed schedules returned to the Headquarters from the field, were carefully edited which was followed by coding operations.

Data editing took place at a number of stages throughout the processing, including:

a) Office editing and coding b) During data entry c) Structure checking and completeness d) Secondary editing e) Structural checking of SPSS data files

Response rate

At the time of census there were 3,914 VDC's and 58 municipalities. VDC's contained a total of 35,226 wards while urban areas contained 806 wards. Thus total numbers of wards in the country were 36,032.

For form 2, there is no available data for response rate.

Data appraisal

The quality of the 1991 census data is evaluated in two steps. The first step deals with the evaluation of the quality of the census data on selected aspects such as age reporting, fertility, mortality, etc. The second step examines the extent of coverage in the census enumeration.

A Post Enumeration Survey (PES) was designed to evaluate the 1991 census data quality with respect to completeness of coverage. It was scheduled to be conducted in August 1991 but the actual revisiting of sampled areas for reconciliation of the differences was completed by April 1992.

Abstract

Although various socio-economic surveys are being conducted in Nepal, at times these surveys do not coincide with the planning and reporting cycles of HMG and UN agencies. Also, different surveys have different objectives, but the data from a comprehensive survey that covers indicators related to women and children is always valuable. A comprehensive Nepal Family Health Survey was conducted in 1996, which provided data for the mid-decade review in retrospect. Current data and indicators relating to issues of women and children are needed for gender specific planning and policy formulation. These data can also be used in planning other national-level programmes which are to begin in the middle of next year. This has led to the planning and execution of the present survey to generate data and indicators related to issues of women and children.

The primary objective of the Between Census Household Information for Monitoring and Evaluation System (BCHIMES) was to provide social indicators on issues related to women and children. This survey has come up with indicators on issues related to women and children for an end-decade assessment of progress of this decade and provide benchmark data for the next programme cycle.

Geographic coverage

National coverage Urban/Rural areas Ecological zones Sub-regions All eco-development regions of the Hills and Terai For mountain eco-development regions:

Eastern, Central & Western Mountains combined in one group Mid- and Far-western Mountains combined in another group Kathmandu Valley

Analysis unit

Household as well as individual

Universe

The survey covered all selected household members, all women aged 15-49 years resident in the household, and all children aged 0-4 years (under age 5) resident in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The NMIS evaluation report suggested that instead of two cycles per year in NMIS one survey be carried out every year with detailed analysis that would have wide-ranging dissemination and plans of data use. In the future, BCHIMES (Between Census Household Information, Monitoring and Evaluation System) will be conducted on a regular basis to generate needed data. The following suggestions were also made in the NMIS evaluation report for the effective design of the sample:

• For every new study, always select a new sample so as to minimise the Hawthorne effect.
• In order to minimise the standard error of the estimate, always try to make the cluster size small, i.e., around 50, as compared to an average cluster size of 120 for the NMIS cycles.

Thus, the new sample design should limit the average cluster size to 50 or smaller and a new sample should be drawn for a new study every time for the minimisation of the Hawthorne effect.

Domains of estimation A sample design to provide district level estimates was desirable keeping in view the decentralisation programme of the His Majesty's Government of Nepal. However, as the sample size needed for this would be very large and the survey undertaking also huge as well as expensive, it was decided that the size of the survey should provide national as well as some sub-regional estimates. Under the guidance of the Steering Committee as well as the discussion between the CBS personnel and UNICEF led to the conclusion that a minimum of 13 estimates is needed for different geographic areas and these are 1. Five eco-development regions each from the Terai and Hills; 2. Estimates for the Kathmandu Valley; and finally 3. Two estimates for the mountain region, for which the Central, Eastern and Western Mountain regions would be combined as one and the other would be the combination of the Mid-western and Far-western Mountain regions.

Although there are some variations within these mountain regions, regions having comparable characteristics would be combined as one. Since the number of households was the basis of the selection of our sample, we used average size of the household as an indicator to provide the similarity between these combined areas. For example, the average household size was 5.5 in both the Far-western and Mid-western Mountains. Likewise, the average household size for the Eastern, Central and Western Mountains is, respectively, 5.3, 5.0 and 4.8. That is, the average household size was slightly higher in the Far-western and the Mid-western regions and was slightly lower in the others including the Eastern, Central and Western Mountains. In other words, the areas that were combined were quite close in terms of average household size.

Stratification In domains with urban areas, the stratification was done according to urban/rural residence. Although the urban/rural estimates for these domains would be of interest, it would have increased the sample size considerably. Thus, at this stage, there were no plans to obtain urban/rural estimates for these 13 domains of estimation. Note, however, that the urban/ rural estimates could be available for the national level, as well as for the Hills and Terai. Because the sample was selected separately for each domain, there was a built-in stratification for the Hills, Terai and Mountains as well as the development regions for most of the domains of study.

Estimation of sample size Estimates of the sample size, to a large extent, depend on the variable under study. As some variables have a larger variation, sample size estimates depend on the variables. To circumvent this problem, statisticians usually resort to estimating the sample size for variables where the largest sample size is needed and use this as the required minimum sample size. Also, because most of the sample survey use the cluster sample approach, it was necessary to make an allowance of about 2 for the design effect. The magic figure of 2 was based on the design effect calculated for different variables in the Nepal Family Health Survey 1996. It was estimated that a sample size of 800 was adequate for most of the variables, taking into account a design effect factor of 2. This sample size of 800 was regarded as the minimum sample size required for the domain of analysis. Since there are 13 domains, a total of 13x800 = 10400 households were required.

Sample frame The sample frame for this study was the data from the 1991 Census data on Households for VDCs and their wards. When the census was undertaken in 1991 there were only 31 urban areas in Nepal. However, after 1991 Census, the government declared new municipalities. As a result, there are currently 58 municipalities, of which one is a metropolitan city and three are sub-metropolitan cities. The census data was updated to take into account the change in urban areas.

Allocation of the sample In domains that have urban areas, the urban sample was be allocated proportionately. Urban and rural samples were selected separately using a PPS (Probability Proportional to Size) method. Examples for this are provided in Table A1, page 161 of the Report on the Situation of Women, Children and Households, Between Census Household Information, Monitoring and Evaluation system (BCHIMES), March-May 2000.

The total number of clusters surveyed was 208 with an average cluster size of 50, providing a sample size of nearly 10,400. Likewise, the number of urban clusters will be 27 and the number of rural clusters will be 181. The proportion of urban clusters was 13 percent (See Table A1, Appendix 1 of the Report on the Situation of Women, Children and Households).

Selection procedure used For any given domain, the districts were arranged according to the code for districts provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics. If the code of a district is lowest, it appears first in the list. Within the district, VDCs are listed in an alphabetical order. For each VDC, there will be nine wards, for which there is data regarding number of households, total population, males and females.

Initially, the number of households in a domain was cumulated. The total number of households in a domain is divided by the number of clusters selected in the domain. This provided the systematic interval. Then, a random number between 1 and the systematic interval was selected for the first selection. Once the first selection was made, the systematic interval was added to that for the second selection and so on, until the last selection for the domain was made. If a domain consisted of urban and rural areas, then the selection was made separately for the urban and rural areas. Obviously, a proportionate allocation of sample was done for urban as well as rural areas within a domain. Note that a cluster size of 50 was used for the purpose of data collection. In fact, a number of wards will have a population well over 50, and in some cases a ward could have a population substantially less than 50. In some cases, some wards may have to be split and other wards merged to provide a cluster size of around 50.

Distribution of the samples A total of 208 clusters (10,295 households), with 181 rural clusters (87%) and 27 urban clusters (13%s) were selected from 69 districts for the survey. The average cluster size was 50 households per cluster. Since the sample was stratified by region, it is not self-weighting; hence, sample weights were used for reporting national-level results.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Questionnaires were administered to households, currently married women aged 15-49 years, children aged 6-15 years, and children under 5 years of age in each selected household. The questionnaires were based on the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) model questionnaire. The English version of the questionnaires was

Signs of high blood pressure reported by patients (N = 500).

Abstract

The NLSS 1995/96 is basically limited to the living standards of households.

The basic objectives of this survey was to provide information required for monitoring the progress in improving national living standards and to evaluate the impact of various government policies and program on living condition of the population. This survey captured comprehensive set of data on different aspects of households welfare like consumption, income, housing, labour markets, education, health etc.

Geographic coverage

National coverage Urban-Rural areas Regional Ecological regions The 4 strata of the survey: - Mountains - Hills (Urban) - Hills (Rural) - Terai

Analysis unit

Individuals, households and communities

Universe

The survey covered all modified de jure household members (usual residents).

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Sample Frame

A complete list of all wards in the country, with a measure of size, was developed in order to select from it with Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) the sample of wards to be visited.The 1991 Population Census of Nepal was the best starting point for building such a sample frame.The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) constructed a data set with basic information from the census at the ward level. This data set was used as a sample frame to develop the NLSS sample.

Sample Design

The sample size for the NLSS was set at 3,388 households. This sample was divided into four strata based on the geographic and ecological regions of the country: (i) mountains, (ii) urban Hills, (iii) rural Hills, and (iv) Terai.

The sample size was designed to provide enough observations within each ecological stratum to ensure adequate statistical accuracy, as well as enough variation in key variables for policy analysis within each stratum, while respecting resource constraints and the need to balance sampling and non-sampling errors.

A two-stage stratified sampling procedure was used to select the sample for the NLSS. The primary sampling unit (PSU) is the ward, the smallest administrative unit in the 1991 Population Census. In order to increase the variability of the sample, it was decided that a small number of households -- twelve -- would be interviewed in each ward. Thus, a total of 275 wards was obtained. In the first stage of the sampling, wards were selected with probability proportional to size (PPS) from each of the four ecological strata, using the number of household in the ward as the measure of size. In order to give the sample an implicit stratification respecting the division of the country into Development Regions, the sample frame was sorted by ascending order of district codes, and these were numbered from East to West. The sample frame considered all the 75 districts in the country, and indeed 73 of them were represented in the sample.1 In the second stage of the sampling, a fixed number of households were chosen with equal probabilities from each selected PSU.

The two-stage procedure just described has several advantages. It simplified the analysis by providing a self-weighted sample. It also reduced the travel time and cost, as 12 or 16 households are interviewed in each ward. In addition, as the number of households to be interviewed in each ward was known in advance, the procedure made it possible to plan an even workload across different survey teams.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

A preliminary draft of the questionnaire was first prepared with several discussions held between the core staff and the consultant to the project. Several documents both received from the world bank as well as from countries that had already conducted such surveys in the past were referred during this process. Subsequently the questionnaire was translated into NepalI.

After a suitable draft design of the questionnaire, a pre-test was conducted in five different places of the country. The places selected for the pre-test were Biratnagar, Rasuwa, Palpa, Nepalganj and Kathmandu Valley. The entire teams created for the pre-test were also represented by either a consultant or an expert from the bank. Feedback received from the field was utilized for necessary improvements in finalizing the seventy page questionnaire.

The content of each questionnaire is as follows:

HOUSEHOLD QUESTIONNAIRE

Section 1. HOUSEHOLD INFORMATION This section served two main purposes: (i) identify every person who is a member of the household, and (ii) provide basic demographic data such as age, sex, and marital status of everyone presently living in the household. In addition, information collected also included data on all economic activities undertaken by household members and on unemployment.

Section 2. HOUSING This section collected information on the type of dwelling occupied by the household, as well as on the household’s expenditures on housing and amenities (rent, expenditure on water, garbage collection, electricity, etc.).

Section 3. ACCESS TO FACILITIES This section collected information on the distance from the household’s residence to various public facilities and services.

Section 4. MIGRATION This section collected information from the household head on permanent migration for reasons of work or land availability.

Section 5. FOOD EXPENSES AND HOME PRODUCTION This section collected information on all food expenditures of the household, as well as on consumption of food items that the household produced.

Section 6. NON-FOOD EXPENDITURES AND INVENTORY OF DURABLE GOODS This section collected information on expenditure on non-food items (clothing, fuels, items for the house, etc.), as well as on the durable goods owned by the household.

Section 7. EDUCATION This section collected information on literacy for all household members aged 5 years and above, on the level of education for those members who have attended school in the past, and on levelof education and expenditures on schooling for those currently attending an educational institution.

Section 8. HEALTH This section collected information on illnesses, use of medical facilities, expenditure on health care, children’s immunization, and diarrhea.

Section 9. ANTHROPOMETRICS This section collected weight and height measurements for all children 3 years or under.

Section 10. MARRIAGE AND MATERNITY HISTORY This section collected information on maternity history, pre/post-natal care, and knowledge/use of family planning methods.

Section 11. WAGE EMPLOYMENT This section collected information on wage employment in agriculture and in non-agricultural activities, as well as on income earned through wage labor.

Section 12. FARMING AND LIVESTOCK This section collected information on all agricultural activities -- land owned or operated, crops grown, use of crops, income from the sale of crops, ownership of livestock, and income from the sale of livestock.

Section 13. NON-FARM ENTERPRISES/ACTIVITIES This section collected information on all non-agricultural enterprises and activities -- type of activity, revenue earned, expenditures, etc.

Section 14. CREDIT AND SAVINGS This section collected information on loans made by the household to others, or loans taken from others by household members, as well as on land, property, or other fixed assets owned by the household.

Section 15. REMITTANCES AND TRANSFERS This section collected information on remittances sent by members of the household to others and on transfers received by members of the household from others.

Section 16. OTHER ASSETS AND INCOME This section collected information on income from all other sources not covered elsewhere in the questionnaire.

Section 17. ADEQUACY OF CONSUMPTION This section collected information on whether the household perceives its level of consumption to be adequate or not.

RURAL COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE

Section 1. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURES This section collected information on the characteristics of the community, availability of electricity and its services and water supply and sewerage.

Section 2. ACCESS TO FACILITIES Data on services and amenities, education status and health facilities was collected.

Section 3. AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY Information on the land situation, irrigation systems, crop cycles, wages paid to hired labor, rental rates for cattle and machinery and forestry use were asked in this section.

Section 4. MIGRATION This section collected information on the main migratory movements in and out.

Section 5. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, USER GROUPS, etc. In this section, information on development programs, existence user groups, and the quality of life in the community was collected.

Section 6. RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL This section collected information on enrollment, infrastructure, and supplies.

Section 7. RURAL HEALTH FACILITY This section collected information on health facilities, equipment and services available, and health personnel in the community.

Section 8. MARKETS AND PRICES This section collected information on local shops, Haat Bazaar, agricultural inputs, sale of crops and the conversion of local units into standard units.

URBAN COMMUNITY QUESTIONNAIRE

Section 1. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Information was collected on the characteristics of the community, availability of electricity, water supply and sewerage system in the ward.

Section 2. ACCESS TO FACILITIES This section collected information on the distance from the community to the various places and public facilities and services.

Section 3. MARKETS AND PRICES This section collected information on the availability and prices of different goods.

Section 4. QUALITY OF LIFE Here the notion of

Correlations of medication concerns and barriers to treatment.