Nepal Next · World view · विश्व मञ्चमा नेपाल
Where Nepal stands
on the world stage
12 international indices — corruption, democracy, women, trafficking, finance, health, tourism. Every number is from the issuing body itself, dated, and linked. Where Nepal sits among neighbours. Where we have been. Where we are going if nothing changes.
On track
1/12
Watch
9/12
Critical
2/12
Featured · Interactive
Drag the future — where does corruption go in 20 years?
Open the Corruption Perceptions Index drill-down to drag a slider 0–20 years into the future, toggle a reform scenario, and compare Nepal to its neighbours on one chart.
12 indices · Tap any card for the drill-down
Corruption Perceptions Index
भ्रष्टाचार अनुभूति सूचकाङ्क
Rank 109 of 182 · 2025 · Transparency International
2004 → 2025
Nepal scores 34/100 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 — unchanged for the third consecutive year. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) files cases but conviction rates remain low, and political-administrative collusion in procurement is the dominant complaint pattern. Sri Lanka (35) has now edged ahead of Nepal in the region. Bhutan, our small neighbour, scores 71 — proof a small Himalayan state can do far better.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Democracy Index
प्रजातन्त्र सूचकाङ्क
Rank 106 of 167 · 2025 · Economist Intelligence Unit
2006 → 2025
Nepal had one of the largest democratic deteriorations globally in 2025 (-0.59 from the prior year), per the EIU — the steepest fall in South Asia. Still classified as a "Hybrid regime", but now sitting at 4.01/10 — perilously close to the "Authoritarian" boundary at 4.00. The main drivers of decline were the civil-liberties and functioning-of-government sub-scores, against a backdrop of party instability and constraints on assembly.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Press Freedom Index
प्रेस स्वतन्त्रता सूचकाङ्क
Rank 87 of 180 · 2026 · Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
2002 → 2026
Nepal still leads South Asia on press freedom, but has slipped from rank 74 (2024) to 87 (2026) over two years. The constitution guarantees press freedom and there is a competitive private media; however, threats to journalists outside Kathmandu have intensified, the Media Council Bill remains contentious, and self-censorship on Chinese-investment and religious-conversion stories is rising.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Global Gender Gap
विश्व लैङ्गिक खाडल
Rank 125 of 148 · 2025 · World Economic Forum
2006 → 2025
Nepal slipped 8 places in 2025 to rank 125 of 148. The regional story is Bangladesh — it leapt 75 places to rank 24, the largest jump globally, and is now the South Asian leader. Nepal's political-empowerment pillar (33% parliamentary reservation) remains a strength; the binding constraints are economic-participation and educational-attainment sub-pillars, particularly female workforce participation (22.6 pp below male).
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Trafficking in Persons
मानव बेचबिखन
· 2025 · US State Department
2005 → 2025
Nepal was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List in the 2025 TIP Report — a serious signal that government efforts have not increased compared to the prior year. Convictions rose (406 in FY ending July 2024 vs 176 the year before), but for the 10th consecutive year the government failed to amend the 2007 Human Trafficking and Transportation Control Act to criminalise all forms of labour and sex trafficking. Official complicity in trafficking crimes remained a "serious concern" per the report.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
FATF Anti-Money-Laundering
सम्पत्ति शुद्धीकरण निगरानी
· 2026 · Financial Action Task Force
2008 → 2026
FATF retained Nepal on the grey list as of June 2026, citing unaddressed strategic deficiencies — hawala transactions, cooperative-sector supervision, casinos, real-estate AML, and ML investigations of politically-exposed persons. Some progress has been recognised, but the FATF action-plan deadline is mid-2027. Banks abroad continue to apply enhanced due-diligence on Nepal correspondent accounts. Pakistan took ~4 years to exit; Sri Lanka took 2.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Human Development Index
मानव विकास सूचकाङ्क
Rank 145 of 193 · 2023 · UNDP
1990 → 2023
Nepal's HDI rose from 0.605 (2022) to 0.622 (2023) — a 2.8% one-year gain, lifting our rank from 146 to 145. Since 1990, the index has risen 54% — one of the world's fastest absolute improvers, driven by life expectancy and schooling. But income-per-capita drag keeps us in the "medium" band. Sri Lanka (0.785, rank 89) shows what is possible at our income level.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Global Hunger Index
विश्व भोकमरी सूचकाङ्क
Rank 72 of 123 · 2025 · Concern Worldwide
2000 → 2025
Nepal's hunger score has dropped 60% since 2000 — a quiet success story. But the 2025 GHI shows a small reverse: Nepal slipped four places (68 → 72) and the score ticked up from 14.7 to 14.8. Child stunting fell from 57% (2001) to 25% (2022), but remains highest in Karnali. Remaining gap: hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiency) and seasonal food insecurity in Karnali and Sudurpaschim mid-hill belts.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Life Expectancy
औसत आयु
· 2023 · World Bank
1960 → 2023
Nepalis born today live nearly twice as long as those born in 1960 — one of the most stunning gains anywhere in the world. Drivers: child-mortality drop, immunisation coverage, basic-health-services expansion. Remaining gap with Sri Lanka (76.4) is mostly non-communicable disease control and hospital quality.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Travel & Tourism Development
पर्यटन विकास सूचकाङ्क
Rank 105 of 119 · 2024 · World Economic Forum
2013 → 2024
Nepal has world-class natural and cultural assets (Everest, Lumbini, Kathmandu Valley World Heritage sites) but ranks 105 because infrastructure, air connectivity, openness, and business environment drag the composite score down. Air-quality and ground-transport sub-pillars score in the bottom 10 worldwide.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
World Happiness Report
विश्व खुशी सूचकाङ्क
Rank 99 of 147 · 2026 · UN SDSN
2013 → 2026
Nepal remains South Asia's highest-ranked country on the World Happiness Report, ahead of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh — despite lower incomes than several of them. Our global rank slipped from 92 (2025) to 99 (2026) as countries above us improved. Social support and cultural-religious connection score well; freedom-to-make-life-choices and corruption-perception drag the total down.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
Rule of Law
कानूनको शासन
Rank 72 of 143 · 2025 · World Justice Project
2015 → 2025
Nepal's rule-of-law score has been flat at 0.52 for nearly a decade — neither improving nor collapsing. The 2025 WJP noted Nepal was among the minority of countries with a small score increase, but civil justice weakened and civic freedoms shrank. Civil-justice delay (cases pending for years), criminal-justice impartiality, and absence of corruption-in-government remain the worst pillars. Order-and-security and fundamental-rights score better.
Where Nepal sits among SAARC peers
How we built this
12 issuing bodies, no aggregators
Every number is lifted from the publisher itself — Transparency International, UNDP, FATF, US State Dept, World Bank, WEF, RSF, WHO, IFPRI, EIU, SDSN, WJP. Aggregator sites and Wikipedia copies are never used as a source.
No invented history
Where the index does not extend back to a year, the chart simply has no point — we never interpolate or back-cast to make the line look full. The CPI starts 1995, EIU Democracy Index starts 2006, WEF Tourism starts 2007.
Projections are illustrative, not predictions
The drag-projection extrapolates the last 5 years' linear trend. Real-world indices move non-linearly with elections, policy, and shocks. The chart explicitly says "if current trajectory continues" — not "this is what will happen".
Reform scenarios are evidence-tied
The green “reform” overlay is set at 1.5× current pace — calibrated against actual reform episodes (Georgia's CPI run 1999–2012, Sri Lanka exiting FATF grey list 2017–2019, Bhutan's decade on press freedom).
SAARC peers, not OECD
Comparison set is India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan. These are the countries Nepal's ministries are actually benchmarked against by donors and trade partners.
Updated annually + on release
Each index has its own release calendar. When CPI drops in February or HDI in March, this page is updated within 7 days. The methodology page logs every update.