Majority Hindu Population Declines In Nepal by 4%, Muslims Jump by Record 75% | Decoding Data

New Delhi: The majority population in Nepal, belonging to Hindu religion, registered a decline of nearly 4 per cent between 1950 and 2015, according to the analysis in a working paper published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) members. 

Authored by EAC-PM member Shamika Ravi, Apurv Kumar Mishra, Consultant, EAC-PM, and Abraham Jose, Professional, EAC-PM, the report highlighted that from 84 per cent in 1950, the Hindu population in Nepal saw a dip to 81 per cent in 2015. 

Buddhists, who constituted 11 percent of the population in 1950 also witnessed a 25 percent decrease and their share was reduced to 8 percent in 2015. In 1950, the share of Christian population in Nepal was approximately zero. By 2015, it had grown to almost two percent of the total population.

Muslim Population Grows 

The report further stated that share of Muslim population marked significant increase from 2.6 per cent to 4.6 per cent- a growth of 75 per cent. 

Among the non-muslim countries, Nepal along with India and Myanmar registered a decline in the share of the majority religious population. 

The population of Hindus in India witnessed dip of 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015, while the minorities have registered an increase in their share during the same time period. 

The share of Muslim population rose from 9.84 percent and to 14.09 percent in 2015, a 43.15 percent increase in their share between 1950 and 2015, the report claimed. 

On the other hand, Myanmar witnessed the steepest decline of the majority religious group in the region with the share of Theravada Buddhist population declining by 10 percent in the same period. 

The paper provides a detailed analysis of share of religious majority and minority groups across 167 countries from 1950 to 2015.  

Overall, the report revealed that share of the majority religious population for 167 countries has, on average, reduced by 22 per cent from 1950-2015. The change varies from a 99 per cent decrease in Liberia to an 80 per cent increase in Namibia. Precisely, 123 countries reported decrease in the share of their majority denomination.