Nepal's Cooperative Sector by the Numbers (DoC Statistics)

Nepal's cooperative movement is large by any measure. The Department of Cooperatives (DoC, Sahakari Vibhag), the federal regulator under the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, has registered on the order of 30,000 to 34,000 primary cooperatives. A nationwide census conducted from August to November 2020 counted 29,886 active cooperatives, and figures compiled to the end of March 2024 put the number at around 31,450. Cumulative registration totals cited in earlier years reached about 34,500, but not all registered societies remain active, which is why the census and 'active' counts are lower.

This scale means cooperatives are woven into everyday economic life across all seven provinces. The DoC's 2020 census reported roughly 7.46 million members, and figures to March 2024 record about 7.38 million members. Because a single person can belong to more than one cooperative, membership counts are not the same as unique individuals, but the sector nonetheless reaches a very large share of Nepali households.

The exact 'sahakari sankhya' (number of cooperatives) you will see quoted depends on the reference date and on whether the figure counts cumulative registrations or active societies. For a durable, encyclopedic answer, the safest statement is: Nepal has on the order of 30,000+ registered cooperatives with roughly 7 to 7.5 million memberships, per the Department of Cooperatives.

Beyond headcount, the cooperative sector is a significant part of Nepal's financial system. Data compiled to March 2024 indicate share capital of about Rs 94.72 billion, deposits (savings) of about Rs 478.11 billion, and credit (loans) mobilized of about Rs 453 billion. These are broadly consistent with the 2020 census, which reported share capital of about Rs 94.1 billion, savings of about Rs 477 billion and credit of about Rs 426 billion.

Taken together, cooperatives mobilize resources equivalent to several billion US dollars in savings, share capital and reserves. Various estimates place the sector at roughly a fifth of Nepal's overall financial-sector resources and credit at somewhere around 3 to 4 percent of GDP, though such shares are indicative and move with the fiscal year. Because savings and credit cooperatives take deposits and lend, the sector is watched closely by Nepal Rastra Bank and the DoC for financial-stability and consumer-protection reasons.

The sector is also a notable employer and is strongly female. The DoC census reported that women make up about 56 percent of cooperative members, and direct employment in the sector is commonly cited in the range of 60,000 to 90,000 jobs. Women also hold a substantial share of board and committee positions, reflecting the movement's roots in community savings groups.

Cooperatives in Nepal are registered by subject or purpose, and the mix is dominated by financial and multipurpose societies. Savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) are the single largest category: they numbered about 13,578 with roughly 3.45 million members in fiscal year 2017/18, and they account for the bulk of the sector's deposits and lending. Multipurpose cooperatives are the next-largest group, offering a blend of savings, credit and commodity services.

Agriculture, dairy and consumer cooperatives form the next tier of the sector and are central to rural livelihoods and food supply chains. Dairy cooperatives feed the national milk-collection system, agriculture cooperatives support inputs and marketing for farmers, and consumer cooperatives run retail outlets. The DoC also recognizes many specialized types, including fruits and vegetables, tea, coffee, bee-keeping, science and technology, energy, health, communication and labour cooperatives.

Exact counts by type shift as societies register, merge or become inactive, so the reliable statement is directional: savings and credit cooperatives are the largest single type, followed by multipurpose, then agriculture, dairy and consumer cooperatives. For any precise, dated figure, the DoC's periodic sector statistics are the authoritative reference.

Since the Cooperative Act, 2074 (2017) aligned the movement with Nepal's federal system, cooperatives are classified by their tier of operation. Local-level cooperatives are registered with, and operate within, a municipality or rural municipality. Provincial-level cooperatives operate across districts within a single province. Federal-level cooperatives operate across provincial boundaries or nationwide and are registered federally.

Registration and primary regulation now follow this tier logic: local governments register and monitor most primary cooperatives in their jurisdiction, provincial governments handle province-wide societies, and the federal Department of Cooperatives handles federal-level and cross-province entities and sets national policy. This devolution followed the 2015 Constitution, which lists cooperatives as one of the three pillars of the national economy alongside the public and private sectors.

The tier system also shapes how the movement federates upward. Primary cooperatives can join district or provincial unions, which in turn affiliate to central (national) subject-wise unions and ultimately to the national apex federation, described below.

At the top of the pyramid sits the National Cooperative Federation of Nepal (NCF/N), founded on 20 June 1993 (2050 BS) as the apex body representing cooperatives of all types and tiers. Below it, primary cooperatives group into district cooperative unions and district subject-wise unions, and into central (national) subject-wise cooperative unions for sectors such as savings and credit, dairy, coffee, consumers, and fruits and vegetables.

Reported structural figures vary by year but broadly describe on the order of 15 to 20 central-level subject unions, several hundred district-level unions (around 285 in some tallies), and provincial unions added under the 2017 Act. A single National Cooperative Bank sits within this architecture to provide wholesale financial services to member cooperatives.

This federated model lets small, community-based societies pool resources, share services and speak with one voice to government and international bodies such as the International Cooperative Alliance. It also explains why the sector is described as a 'movement' rather than a single institution.

Nepal's formal cooperative movement dates to 2010 BS (1953 AD), when the government established the Department of Cooperatives and began organizing credit cooperatives, building on much older communal traditions such as dharma bhakari, parma and guthi. The first cooperatives were credit societies in the Chitwan valley in the mid-1950s, and the sector expanded steadily thereafter.

The legal framework has evolved through successive laws, including the Cooperatives Act, 2048 (1992), which introduced the modern three-tier structure, and the current Cooperative Act, 2074 (2017), which realigned registration and supervision with the federal state. The DoC, along with provincial and local registrars and Nepal Rastra Bank for larger deposit-taking bodies, oversees the sector.

Because savings-and-credit cooperatives handle public deposits, the sector has faced governance and liquidity problems in some institutions, prompting ongoing reform discussions, tighter supervision and proposals such as a cooperative credit-information system and a stronger regulatory authority. Anyone relying on cooperative statistics should therefore cite the reference date, as both the numbers and the rules continue to change.