Urban poverty is becoming more pervasive in Nepal: The poverty rate is increasing in urban areas, whilst
it is declining in rural areas (ADB, 2013; UNDP, 2014). There has been a noticeable improvement in the
rural Human Development Index (HDI) value between 2006 and 2011, whilst the urban HDI value has
remained constant (UNDP, 2014).
Urban poverty rates vary substantially across Nepal: Urban areas in the hill ecological zone are the least
poor with a poverty incidence of 8.7 per cent. This increases to 22 per cent in urban parts of the Tarai,
whilst Kathmandu has a poverty rate of 11.5 per cent (CBS, 2012).