Method
Sources and method
Every figure on Vasa names its source and the census year it comes from. Nothing is estimated: a missing figure is shown as missing, and where sources disagree both figures are shown.
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Languages of Nepal (tables citing NPHC 2021 and 2011)”. Retrieved 2026-11-04.
- Journal of Nepalese Studies via NepJOL, “Status of the mother tongues in the 2021 census of Nepal (Regmi, Journal of Nepalese Studies 16(1), 2024)”. Retrieved 2026-11-04.
- The Kathmandu Post, 2023-06-03, “Number of caste ethnicity in Nepal increases to 142”. Retrieved 2026-11-04.
- geoBoundaries, William & Mary geoLab, “geoBoundaries gbOpen NPL ADM1 (Survey Department of Nepal and OCHA, 2020), CC BY 3.0 IGO”. Retrieved 2026-11-04.
What the labels mean
officialPublished by the National Statistics Office (or the Central Bureau of Statistics before it) in a census.
disputedSources disagree. The note names each competing figure and who gives it.
needs checkTaken from a cited secondary source that reproduces the census. It is shown with this label until matched against the census report itself.
not listedNo figure exists under this name for that census. Vasa never fills a gap with an estimate.
Where the figures stand
The count of 124 mother tongues in the 2021 census is confirmed by Regmi (2024), The Kathmandu Post and Wikipedia. The 2011 census recorded 123.
Speaker figures for each language are the census tables as reproduced on Wikipedia, and carry a needs check label until each is matched against the National Statistics Office report. Where a 2011 row was paired with a 2021 language under a slightly different name (for example Khas and Khash), the language page says so.
Census names change between rounds. A fall can mean people moved to Nepali, migrated, or named their language differently on the form, as with Doteli and Baitadeli. Vasa reports what the census recorded and does not rule on whether a speech form is a language or a dialect.
Found an error? Write to Swadesh Nai Swarga through swadeshnaiswarga.com/contact with the figure and the source that corrects it.