Indo-Aryan language

Nepali

नेपाली

Nepali is spoken as a mother tongue by 13,084,457 people in Nepal — 44.86% of the population and the 1st most-spoken language in the country (Census 2021).

Speakers

13,084,457

Mother tongue (2021)

Share of Nepal

44.86%

Language family

Indo-Aryan

Rank

By mother-tongue speakers

About Nepali

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

Indo-Aryan family

Related languages

← All 124 languages of Nepal

Questions

Nepali, answered

How many people speak Nepali in Nepal?+

Nepali is the mother tongue of 13,084,457 people in Nepal — 44.86% of the population (Census 2021).

What language family does Nepali belong to?+

Nepali is a Indo-Aryan language. The Indo-European (Indo-Aryan) family covers 83.07% of Nepal's population.

What is special about Nepali?+

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

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.