Kathmandu metropolitan, the capital city of Nepal is a socio-geographic microcosm of the nation as a
whole and demonstrates caste/ethnic mosaic. Known historically as a Newar settlement, Kathmandu
accommodates at least 67 caste/ethnic groups. It has witnessed nearly six-fold increase in population
within the last 40 years. Utilizing the population census 2001, this paper examines the population
dynamics from a socio-geographic perspective by focusing on concentration of caste/ethnic groups,
migration in the city and apparent ethnic diversification. The findings suggest that spatial distribution
of caste/ethnic population demonstrates more of diversification than concentration. The index of ethnic
diversification clearly demonstrates a geographic pattern associated with distance. The level of
diversification increases from the city core to the periphery along with increase in distance from the
core. Diversification is closely related to migration both internal and international but primarily internal.
These findings are expected to contribute to the ongoing national debate of formation of federal states
reflecting one or other group’s primacy. This primacy issue is grounded in argument of ethnic
concentration while in reality the social landscape has been much more diversified than many of them
have realized.