People of Nepal · Census 2021

Languages of Nepal नेपालका भाषाहरू

Nepal speaks 124 mother tongues — from Nepali, used by nine in ten people, to Kusunda, an isolate with a single fluent speaker left. Five language families meet here, written in fifteen scripts from Devanagari to the calligraphic Ranjana of the Kathmandu Valley. This page maps them all with the final Census 2021 figures, plus the constitutional framework that makes every one a language of the nation.

Mother tongues

124

Recorded in the final NPHC 2021 report

Nepali

44.86%

13,084,457 mother-tongue speakers · ≈91% incl. second language

Language families

Indo-Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Austroasiatic, Dravidian + 1 isolate

Scripts in use

Devanagari, Ranjana, Tirhuta, Sirijunga, Sambota, Ol Chiki…

Five families

Two giants, three survivors

Indo-Aryan languages dominate by speakers; Sino-Tibetan dominates by sheer number of languages. The other three families — Austroasiatic, Dravidian and the Kusunda isolate — survive in tiny communities.

124languages

Indo-European (Indo-Aryan)45 languages · 24,227,411 speakers83.1%
Sino-Tibetan73 languages · 4,837,808 speakers16.6%
Austroasiatic (Munda)3 languages · 55,916 speakers0.2%
Dravidian1 language · 38,873 speakers0.1%
Isolate (Kusunda)1 language · 23 speakers0%

An inverted pyramid

The 45 Indo-Aryan languages — Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu and their plains and hill relatives — account for 83.07% of all speakers. The Sino-Tibetan family runs the other way: 73 languages, the most of any family, but 16.59% of speakers, scattered across the hills and high Himalaya. Beneath them, three Munda (Austroasiatic) languages led by Santali, Nepal's only Dravidian language (Uranw/Kurux, 38,873 speakers) and the Kusunda isolate complete the five-family picture.

The twelve largest

Mother tongues by speakers

Nepali leads by a wide margin, but the Terai languages — Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Bajjika, Avadhi — together form a massive second bloc.

Nepaliनेपाली44.86% · 13,084,457 speakers

Official language of Nepal (Devanagari script); spoken as first or second language by ≈91% of Nepalis

Maithiliमैथिली11.05% · 3,222,389 speakers

Language of Mithila; traditional Tirhuta script

Bhojpuriभोजपुरी6.24% · 1,820,795 speakers

Tharuथारू5.88% · 1,714,091 speakers

Tamangतामाङ4.88% · 1,423,075 speakers

Co-official in Bagmati Province since 2023

Bajjikaबज्जिका3.89% · 1,133,764 speakers

Avadhiअवधी2.96% · 864,276 speakers

Nepal Bhasha (Newari)नेपालभाषा2.96% · 863,380 speakers

Classical Ranjana script; co-official in Bagmati Province since 2023

Magar Dhutमगर ढुट2.78% · 810,315 speakers

Doteliडोटेली1.7% · 494,864 speakers

Urduउर्दू1.42% · 413,785 speakers

Yakthung/Limbuलिम्बू1.2% · 350,436 speakers

Written in the Sirijunga script

The lingua franca

Nepali beyond the mother tongue

Nepali is the mother tongue of 44.86% of the population — 13,084,457 people — but its real reach is far wider: spoken as a first or second language by roughly 91% of Nepalis, it is the thread that ties 124 languages into one conversation. It is the official language of Nepal, written in the Devanagari script.

Reference table

The major languages at a glance

The largest mother tongues from the census's 124, spanning all five families — down to Kusunda, listed here because its 23 speakers tell a story no big number can.

Language	Family	Speakers	% of Nepal	Note
Nepaliनेपाली	Indo-Aryan	13,084,457	44.86%	Official language of Nepal (Devanagari script); spoken as first or second language by ≈91% of Nepalis
Maithiliमैथिली	Indo-Aryan	3,222,389	11.05%	Language of Mithila; traditional Tirhuta script
Bhojpuriभोजपुरी	Indo-Aryan	1,820,795	6.24%	—
Tharuथारू	Indo-Aryan	1,714,091	5.88%	—
Tamangतामाङ	Sino-Tibetan	1,423,075	4.88%	Co-official in Bagmati Province since 2023
Bajjikaबज्जिका	Indo-Aryan	1,133,764	3.89%	—
Avadhiअवधी	Indo-Aryan	864,276	2.96%	—
Nepal Bhasha (Newari)नेपालभाषा	Sino-Tibetan	863,380	2.96%	Classical Ranjana script; co-official in Bagmati Province since 2023
Magar Dhutमगर ढुट	Sino-Tibetan	810,315	2.78%	—
Doteliडोटेली	Indo-Aryan	494,864	1.7%	—
Urduउर्दू	Indo-Aryan	413,785	1.42%	—
Yakthung/Limbuलिम्बू	Sino-Tibetan	350,436	1.2%	Written in the Sirijunga script
Gurungगुरुङ	Sino-Tibetan	328,074	1.12%	—
Magahiमगही	Indo-Aryan	230,117	0.79%	—
Baitadeliबैतडेली	Indo-Aryan	152,666	0.52%	—
Sherpaशेर्पा	Sino-Tibetan	117,896	0.4%	Written in Sambota (Tibetan) script
Santaliसन्थाली	Austroasiatic	53,677	0.18%	Munda branch; Ol Chiki script
Uranw/Kuruxउराँव	Dravidian	38,873	0.13%	Nepal's only Dravidian language
Kusundaकुसुन्डा	Isolate	23	0%	Language isolate; one fully fluent speaker remains (2023) — revitalisation classes run in Dang

Fifteen scripts

How Nepal writes

Devanagari carries the official language, but Nepal's literary heritage runs through many scripts — some classical, some revived, some shared across South Asia.

Script	Used for	Note
Devanagari	Nepali, Maithili (today), Hindi, Sanskrit and most languages	Federal official script (Art. 7.1)
Ranjana	Nepal Bhasha (Newari)	Classical calligraphic script of the Kathmandu Valley
Tirhuta (Mithilakshar)	Maithili	Traditional script of Mithila
Sirijunga	Limbu (Yakthung)	Revived 18th-century script; taught in Koshi schools
Sambota (Tibetan)	Sherpa, Tibetan, Thakali	High-Himalayan liturgical and literary script
Kaithi	Bhojpuri (historically)	Historic administrative script of the plains
Ol Chiki	Santali	Shared with Santali speakers across South Asia
Akkha / Khema / Kõits / Dham	Magar, Gurung, Sunuwar, Dhimal	Indigenous scripts in revival; 15 scripts are in active use in total

Articles 6 & 7

The official-language framework

The 2015 Constitution settles the language question with a two-layer design: one federal official language, and the freedom for every province to add its own.

All mother tongues are national languages

Article 6 of the 2015 Constitution declares every mother tongue spoken in Nepal a 'language of the nation'; Article 7 makes Nepali in Devanagari the official language while letting provinces adopt additional official languages.

Provinces are adding official languages

On the Language Commission's 2021 recommendation of 14 languages, Bagmati Province enacted Tamang and Nepal Bhasha as additional official languages in 2023 — the first province to do so.

Province	Recommended additional official languages
Koshiकोशी	Maithili, Limbu
Madheshमधेश	Maithili, Bhojpuri, Bajjika
Bagmatiबागमती	Tamang, Nepal Bhasha (enacted 2023)
Gandakiगण्डकी	Magar, Gurung
Lumbiniलुम्बिनी	Tharu, Avadhi
Karnaliकर्णाली	Khas (Karnali Nepali), Magar
Sudurpashchimसुदूरपश्चिम	Dotyali, Tharu

Language Commission recommendations (2021). Bagmati Province was the first to act on them, enacting Tamang and Nepal Bhasha as additional official languages in 2023.

Endangered

Kusunda कुसुन्डा — a language family of one

In the 2021 census, just 23 people reported Kusunda as their mother tongue — and as of 2023, only one fully fluent speaker remained. Kusunda is a language isolate: it belongs to no known family, an entire branch of human language resting on a handful of voices. Revitalisation classes now run in Dang to teach it to a new generation.

Common questions

Languages of Nepal FAQ

How many languages are spoken in Nepal?

The 2021 census records 124 mother tongues. They fall into five families: Indo-Aryan languages (45 of them) are spoken by 83.07% of Nepalis, Sino-Tibetan languages (73 — the most numerous) by 16.59%, plus three Austroasiatic (Munda) languages, one Dravidian language (Uranw/Kurux) and one isolate, Kusunda.

What is the official language of Nepal?

Nepali, written in the Devanagari script (Article 7 of the 2015 Constitution). It is the mother tongue of 44.86% of the population and is spoken as a first or second language by roughly 91% of Nepalis. Article 6 declares every mother tongue a 'language of the nation', and provinces may adopt additional official languages — Bagmati enacted Tamang and Nepal Bhasha in 2023.

What is the Kusunda language?

A language isolate — related to no other known language family. The 2021 census recorded just 23 people reporting Kusunda as their mother tongue, and as of 2023 only one fully fluent speaker remained. Revitalisation classes run in Dang to pass the language on.

Which scripts are used to write Nepal's languages?

Fifteen scripts are in active use. Devanagari is the federal official script (Nepali, Maithili today, Hindi, Sanskrit); Nepal Bhasha has the classical Ranjana script, Maithili the traditional Tirhuta, Limbu the revived Sirijunga, Sherpa the Sambota (Tibetan) script and Santali the Ol Chiki — with indigenous scripts like Akkha, Khema and Kõits in revival.

Keep exploring

People of Nepal →The hub: population, religion, provinces and ecological belts in the 2021 census.Ethnic groups →The 142 castes and ethnicities behind the languages — top-20 table and categories.Political history →How the 2015 constitution made every mother tongue a language of the nation.

Sources & data note

All population, ethnicity, language and religion figures are the final published counts of the National Population and Housing Census 2021 (National Statistics Office). The NSO enumerates 142 caste/ethnic groups and 124 mother tongues; entries for 'others/foreigners/not stated' explain small residuals. Where community-chosen names replaced older census labels (Bishwokarma for Kami, Pariyar for Damai/Dholi, Mijar for Sarki), both are shown. Language-family shares follow the NSO's own table (Indo-Aryan 83.07%, Sino-Tibetan 16.59%); some secondary sources round differently.