Ethinicity.

Nepalis are descendants of migrants from parts of earlier Greater Nepal, Tibet, India and parts of Burma and Yunnan along with native tribal population. Among the earliest inhabitants were the Kirat of east mid-region, Newar of the Kathmandu Valley and aboriginal Tharu in the malarial southern Terai region. The ancestors of the Khas (Bahun, Chhetri, Thakuri, Sanyasi, Dalit) migrated eastward along the himalayan foothills out of Kashmir, Kumaon, Garhwal-- parts of then Greater Nepal, Karnali Pradesh (Nepal) and perhaps also north from the Gangeatic Plains during invasions. Other ethnic groups trace their origins to North Burma, Yunnan and Tibet, e.g. the Gurung and Magar in the west, Rai and Limbu in the east, and Sherpa and Bhotia in the north.




In the Terai, a part of the Ganges Basin with 20% of the land, much of the population is physically and culturally similar to the Indo-Aryans of northern India. Indo-Aryan and East Asian looking mixed people live in the hill region. The mountainous region is sparsely populated above 3,000 meters, but in central and western Nepal ethnic Tibetans inhabit even higher semi-arid valleys north of the high Himalaya. Kathmandu Valley, in the middle hill region, constitutes a small fraction of the nation's area but is the most densely populated, with almost 5 percent of the nation's population. Nepal is a multilingual, multireligious and multiethnic society.


Nepal’s 2001 census enumerated 103 distinct castes and ethnic groups including an "unidentified group".
The major caste/ethnic groups identified by the 2001 census are Khas Kshatriya or Chhetri (15.8%) along with 1.47% Thakuri/Chhetri, Brahmin or Bahun (12.7%) in the hills (both Caucasian,counted separately from the same castes in the Terai), Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), Tamang (5.6%), Newar (5.5%), Muslim (4.3%), Kami (3.9%), Rai (2.7%), Gurung (2.5%), and Damai/Dholi (2.4%). The remaining 92 caste/ethnic groups (including the world-famous Sherpa) each constitute less than 2 % of the population . The following table is based on endogamous ethnicity, not linguistical ethnic groups.



Caste/ethnic group Population % of total

Khas Kshatriya/Chhetri 3,593,496 15.80

Khas Brahmin/Bahun 2,896,477 12.74

Magar 1,622,421 7.14

Tharu 1,533,879 6.75

Tamang 1,282,304 5.64

Newar 1,245,232 5.48

Muslim 971,056 4.27

Kami 895,954 3.94

Yadav 895,423 3.94

Rai 635,151 2.79

Gurung 686,000 2.39

Damai/Dholi 390,305 1.72

Limbu 359,379 1.58

Thakuri/Chhetri 334,120 1.47

Sarki 318,989 1.40

Teli 304,536 1.34

Chamar, Harijan, Ram 269,661 1.19

Koiri 251,274 1.11

Kurmi 212,842 0.94

Sanyasi 199,127 0.88

Dhanuk 188,150 0.83

Musahar 172,434 0.76

Dusad/Paswan/Pasi 158,525 0.70

Sherpa 154,622 0.68

Sonar 145,088 0.64

Kewat 136,953 0.60

Terai-Brahmin 134,496 0.59

Baniya 126,971 0.56

Gharti/Bhujel 117,568 0.52

Mallah 115,986 0.51

Kalwar 115,606 0.51

Kumal 99,389 0.44

Hajam/Thakur 98,169 0.43

Kanu 95,826 0.42

Rajbansi 95,812 0.42

Sunuwar 95,254 0.42

Sudhi 89,846 0.40

Lohar 82,637 0.36

Tatma 76,512 0.34

Khatwe 74,972 0.33

Dhobi 73,413 0.32

Majhi 72,614 0.32

Nuniya 66,873 0.29

Kumhar 54,413 0.24

Danuwar 53,229 0.23

Chepang 52,237 0.23

Haluwai 50,583 0.22

Rajput 48,454 0.21

Kayastha 46,071 0.20

Budhae 45,975 0.20

Marwadi 43,971 0.19

Santhal/Satar 42,698 0.19

Dhagar/Jhagar 41,764 0.18

Bantar 35,839 0.16

Barae 35,434 0.16

Kahar 34,531 0.15

Gangai 31,318 0.14

Lodha 24,738 0.11

Rajbhar 24,263 0.11

Thami 22,999 0.10

Dhimal 19,537 0.09

Bhote 19,261 0.08

Bing/Binda 18,720 0.08

Bhediyar/Gaderi 17,729 0.08

Nurang 17,522 0.08

Yakkha 17,003 0.07

Darai 14,859 0.07

Tajpuriya 13,250 0.06

Thakali 12,973 0.06

Chidimar 12,296 0.05

Pahari 11,505 0.05

Mali 11,390 0.05

Bangali 9,860 0.04

Chhantyal 9,814 0.04

Dom 8,931 0.04

Kamar 8,761 0.04

Bote 7,969 0.04

Brahmu/Baramu 7,383 0.03

Gaine/Gandarbha 5,887 0.03

Jirel 5,316 0.02

Adivasi/Janajati 5,259 0.02

Duga 5,169 0.02

Churaute 4,893 0.02

Badi 4,442 0.02

Meche 3,763 0.02

Lepcha 3,660 0.02

Halkhor 3,621 0.02

Punjabi/Sikh 3,054 0.01

Kisan 2,876 0.01

Raji 2,399 0.01

Byangsi 2,103 0.01

Hayu 1,821 0.01

Koche 1,429 0.01

Dhunia 1,231 0.01

Walung 1,148 0.01

Jaine 1,015 0.00

Munda 660 0.00

Raute 658 0.00

Yehlmo 579 0.00

Patharkata/Kuswadiya 552 0.00

Kusunda 164 0.00

Dalit/Unidentified 173,401 0.76

Unidentified Caste/Ethnicity 231,641 1.02

Total 22,736,934 100.00