Outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal
Nepal: Outdoor air pollution exposure was 40.7 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
40.7
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
16th
of 241 countries
All-time high
52.6
in 2018
All-time low
24.8
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2024, outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal stood at 40.7.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.9% on the previous year and down 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal peaked at 52.6 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 24.8, in 1998.
That places Nepal 16th out of 241 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 24.8 | — |
| 1999 | 25.9 | +4.4% |
| 2000 | 34.2 | +32.0% |
| 2001 | 37.6 | +9.9% |
| 2002 | 34.8 | -7.4% |
| 2003 | 36.2 | +4.0% |
| 2004 | 38.4 | +6.1% |
| 2005 | 35.2 | -8.3% |
| 2006 | 39.2 | +11.4% |
| 2007 | 40.6 | +3.6% |
| 2008 | 43.2 | +6.4% |
| 2009 | 46.8 | +8.3% |
| 2010 | 41.8 | -10.7% |
| 2011 | 42.8 | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 43.9 | +2.6% |
| 2013 | 41.4 | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 43.1 | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 46.3 | +7.4% |
| 2016 | 48 | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 47.6 | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 52.6 | +10.5% |
| 2019 | 47.7 | -9.3% |
| 2020 | 41.7 | -12.6% |
| 2021 | 50.2 | +20.4% |
| 2022 | 44.3 | -11.8% |
| 2023 | 41.9 | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 40.7 | -2.9% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 40.7 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.7, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 40.7 is above the median for South Asia, which is 32.7, 1.2× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 25.35 | 24.8 | 25.9 | 2 |
| 2000s | 38.62 | 34.2 | 46.8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.52 | 41.4 | 52.6 | 10 |
| 2020s | 43.76 | 40.7 | 50.2 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0606 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 12.52 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal?
- Outdoor air pollution exposure in Nepal was 40.7 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 52.6 in 2018.
- What is the lowest outdoor air pollution exposure recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.8 in 1998.
- How does Nepal rank for outdoor air pollution exposure?
- Nepal ranks 16th out of 241 countries with data for 2024.
- Is outdoor air pollution exposure rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Outdoor air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).