This paper reviews various sources of official statistics related to population in Nepal. The major sources
of Population Statistics (PS) are Population and Housing Censuses (PHC), Demographic Sample Surveys
including the Nepal Living Standards Surveys, Nepal Labour Force Surveys and the administrative
data. Though PHC provides major population indicators, a number of social and demographic surveys
are conducted to fulfill the demand of the timely sectoral population statistics. CRVS (Civil registration
and vital statistics) system and population register are also considered as other sources of PS though
the data from those system are rarely used in planning purposes in Nepal because of the lower
coverage and lack of analysis of the data from the civil registration system. The system of population
register has not yet practiced in Nepal. However, the administrative data from various government
agencies particularly of the Ministry of Health and Population Ministry of Education and Department
of Foreign Employment provides a wide range of population data relating to health, education and
employment. The major challenges relating to producing current PS timely and economically includes
(i) the re-scheduling of the census/surveys year so that PS could be produced and updated regularly
and (ii) strengthening the Management Information System (MIS) for the optimum use and analysis of
available administrative data.