Seminar

Fertility behaviour, demographic transition, and population policy issues in Nepal

29 May 2026 (15 Jestha 2083) | Online seminar | PSRHub Nepal Population and Demography Seminar Series II

Population and Statistics Research Hub (PSR HUB) hosted an online paper seminar as part of the PSRHub Nepal Population and Demography Seminar Series II. The session focused on fertility behaviour, demographic transition, and population policy issues in Nepal.

The discussion was based on the research paper “Beyond education and contraceptive use: do caste, ethnicity, and religion influence fertility behaviour in Nepal? Evidence from six rounds of DHS”, presented by Dhruba Raj Ghimire.

The session explored changing fertility trends and demographic transition in Nepal, sociocultural influences on fertility behaviour, future demographic scenarios and policy perspectives, and population and reproductive health issues in Nepal.

Participants

Presenter, moderator, and panelists

• Presenter: Dhruba Raj Ghimire
• Moderator: Prof. Dr. Samir Kumar K.C.
• Panelist: Jhabindra Pandey, Under Secretary, Ministry of Health and Food Safety, Nepal
• Panelist: Dr. Saroja Adhikari, Research Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Germany

Watch

Seminar recording

A recording of the seminar is available on the official PSR HUB YouTube channel.

Watch on YouTube

Related paper

Beyond education and contraceptive use

The seminar was based on the paper by Dhruba Raj Ghimire and Samir KC, published in BMC Women’s Health. The study examines whether caste, ethnicity, and religion influence fertility behaviour in Nepal after accounting for education, wealth, contraception, and other structural determinants, using evidence from six rounds of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey.

The paper finds that education remains the strongest and most consistent predictor of lower fertility, while sociocultural fertility differentials persist for some groups. The findings point to the importance of universal secondary education for girls and culturally tailored reproductive health strategies.

Citation: Ghimire, D. R. & KC, S. (2026). Beyond education and contraceptive use: do caste, ethnicity, and religion influence fertility behaviour in Nepal? Evidence from six rounds of DHS. BMC Women’s Health. DOI: 10.1186/s12905-026-04524-w.

Read the paper

Discussion

Reflections and responses

Participants, panelists, and readers are invited to share comments, reflections, questions, or related evidence below. Comments are moderated before appearing publicly so that the discussion remains focused and constructive.

You may respond to the seminar discussion or begin a new thread on fertility behaviour, demographic transition, caste, ethnicity, religion, education, contraception, or population policy in Nepal.