Living in Nepal

What you earn in Nepal stays almost entirely with you, since tax claims very little, and a low cost of living stretches a modest salary further than you might expect. Still, there is not much room beyond the essentials once a normal life is covered. English opens only some of the working world, and for a newcomer without local roots or experience, finding a foothold takes real patience.

Nepal is one of the world's major sources of migrants, with about 2.6M Nepalis living abroad — up 25% over the past decade — against far fewer foreign-born residents at home. The diaspora spreads across labor-migration corridors: India hosts the most at 663.5K, with Malaysia (502.6K) and Saudi Arabia close behind, a pattern typical of contract work in the Gulf and Southeast Asia.