KATHMANDU: Millions of people around the world, including in Nepal, are unable to have the number of children they desire—not due to a lack of interest in parenthood, but because of a growing web of economic and social barriers, reveals the UNFPA’s 2025 State of World Population (SWP) report, “The Real Fertility Crisis: The Pursuit of Reproductive Agency in a Changing World.”
The report was launched at an event in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Drawing on academic research and data from a global UNFPA–YouGov survey covering 14 countries—including nations with both high and low fertility rates—the report reveals that one in five people globally expect not to have the number of children they want. The reasons are complex: high living costs, insecure jobs, unaffordable housing and childcare, lack of a supportive partner, limited access to reproductive health care, and broader concerns about global crises like climate change and conflict.
In Nepal, the story mirrors global trends. Despite a steady preference for two or more children, people are having fewer children than they desire, especially in more urbanized provinces such as Bagmati and Gandaki. The average fertility rate in Nepal has declined to two children per woman, a trend that cuts across all social groups—urban and rural, educated and non-educated, high-income and low-income.
Across provinces, the mismatch between desired and actual family size is increasingly evident. This gap is particularly pronounced in areas where employment insecurity, spousal separation due to labor migration, lack of childcare, and housing costs are making parenthood a difficult choice.
What does the data reveal?
The data paints a stark picture, both globally and in Nepal:
As per the report, more than 50% of respondents cited economic issues—including cost of living, housing, and childcare—as barriers to parenthood. In Nepal, a combination of urbanization, job insecurity, rising costs, and lack of flexible work policies makes it difficult for young couples to envision a secure future with children. 31% of people globally do not get to have their desired number of children, while 12% report having more than desired, as per the data.
In Nepal, spousal separation due to labor migration and gendered norms around caregiving further complicate fertility choices. 43% of people globally over 50 said they did not achieve their desired family size—a striking measure of unmet reproductive goals. In provinces like Bagmati, data show lower-than-desired fertility; in others, such as Madhesh, people often report having more children than they had planned—both indicators of limited reproductive agency.
The report identifies gender inequality as a major cross-cutting issue that undermines people’s ability to form the families they want:
Care responsibilities continue to fall disproportionately on women. Nepali fathers often face stigma around taking on caregiving roles, while women risk career setbacks when they become mothers. Lack of gender-equitable policies, like flexible work arrangements and generous parental leave, discourages shared parenting—by default, placing the burden on mothers. Declining fertility is not simply a “women’s issue.”
In Nepal and elsewhere, young men—particularly those with less education or job security—are increasingly unpartnered and disengaged. The report notes a growing loneliness epidemic and mismatch in gender expectations among youth, further straining the social fabric.
UNFPA further warns that simplistic or coercive responses—such as fertility targets, cash incentives, or restrictions on reproductive rights—are ineffective and risk violating human rights. Rather, policies that are supportive of individual choice are more successful in enabling people to realize their family aspirations.
What do experts say?
“Globally, vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want,” said Won Young Hong, UNFPA Representative in Nepal.
“It is the case for Nepal as well. Some people are prevented from parenthood while others are forced into it. This is not about overpopulation or declining fertility—it is about expanding choices in an enabling environment for young men and women to have the family they envision. Paid family leave, affordable reproductive health care, childcare, and supportive partners are not luxuries. They are essential.”
Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, UN Resident Coordinator to Nepal, emphasized, “We must shift from anxiety about fertility rates to empowering individual agency. People need economic security, rights-based policies, and freedom of choice, not coercive measures.”
Similarly, Dilliram Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Population, noted, “Nepal’s focus is clear: inclusive, equitable development depends on empowering individuals to make informed reproductive choices. Policies should remove structural barriers and uphold reproductive rights.”
Professor Dr. R.P. Bichha, Honourable Member, National Planning Commission, highlighted, “This moment demands we rethink policy frameworks as ‘meta-policies’ guided by population dynamics. Quality of life and productivity of our young generation must be at the core—not just population numbers.”
UNFPA has called on governments, including Nepal, to expand access to affordable, high-quality reproductive health services, including fertility care; invest in family-friendly policies, such as paid parental leave, flexible work, and affordable childcare; tackle legal barriers that restrict access to contraception or reinforce gender-based discrimination; provide comprehensive sexuality education throughout the life course to build fertility awareness and challenge misinformation; and create supportive environments where both women and men are empowered to parent without compromising their personal or professional lives.
As Nepal prepares to navigate a rapidly aging population—with projections showing one in five people over 60 by 2071—these investments are essential. But experts caution against panic-driven pronatalism.
Comment