Nepal Budget Intelligence
37 years.
Every rupee.
37 fiscal years of Nepal's national budget — verified, charted, and laid out plainly. Where the money comes from, where it goes, and what the data reveals about the structural problems Nepal must fix.
Budget in 1989/90
NPR 17B
NPR 16.8 billion
Budget in 2025/26
NPR 1.96T
NPR 1,964 billion
Budget grew
117×
in 37 years
Total debt today
~NPR 2.9T
Debt grew 64× since 1989
Chart 1 of 5 — The Big Picture
The budget has grown 117× in 37 years
Every line in this chart represents money the government planned to spend. The gentle slope of the 1990s, the acceleration after 2006, the COVID dip in 2020, and the recovery to NPR 1.96 trillion in 2025/26.
2020
Year budget SHRANK
First decrease in 30 years — COVID
+27.7%
Single-year jump record
FY 2015/16 — post-earthquake reconstruction
2016/17
Crossed NPR 1 trillion
Federal structure added provincial budgets
Chart 2 of 5 — The Debt Mountain
Nepal owes NPR 2.6 trillion to creditors
This is the most important number in Nepali public finance. Every bar shows how much total debt Nepal carried that year. The COVID years (2020–2021) saw debt explode. Nepal crossed NPR 1 trillion in 2019, and NPR 2 trillion in 2023.
1989/90
NPR 46B
Debt at democracy
2021/22
NPR 2.0T
Crossed NPR 2 trillion
2024/25
NPR 2.7T
Confirmed debt stock
2025/26
~NPR 2.9T
Estimated current debt
Debt as % of GDP — is it sustainable?
Nepal's debt/GDP fell during 2010–2015 as the economy grew fast, then rose sharply during COVID. IMF recommends keeping below 40%.
Chart 3 of 5 — The Revenue Gap
Nepal collects 48 paisa of every rupee it spends
The gap between what Nepal earns (gold bar) and what it spends (full bar) is the deficit — filled by foreign loans and domestic borrowing. In 2025/26, Nepal borrows NPR 619 billion it does not earn. This gap has never been closed in 37 years.
The Gap — Simple Maths
NPR 1,964B
Government spends
NPR 1,315B
Government earns
NPR 649B
Must be financed
Chart 4 of 5 — Where Money Goes
More salaries, less building
Nepal's budget has three main uses: paying for government operations (recurrent), building things like roads and schools (capital), and sending money to provinces and local governments (transfers). The trend is alarming — capital spending is shrinking as a share of total.
1989/90
2025/26
Chart 5 of 5 — Your Share
Each Nepali's budget share: NPR 900 → NPR 68,000
Divide the total budget by Nepal's population each year. This is what the government theoretically spends on behalf of every single person — from food subsidies to road construction to your local school.
In 1989/90: NPR ~908 per person · In 2025/26: NPR ~68,590 per person · Growth: 75×
Interactive Explorer
Dive into any year
Drag the slider to any fiscal year from 1989/90 to 2025/26. Every budget, every rupee, with full context of what was happening in Nepal that year.
Key Event
Budget approaches NPR 2 trillion milestone
KP Sharma Oli government. Budget NPR 1.96 trillion — 7th consecutive year above NPR 1 trillion. Debt approaches NPR 3 trillion. Revenue target NPR 1.315 trillion.
Budget / GDP
30%
Debt / GDP
45%
Recurrent %
60%
Capital %
21%
Editorial Analysis
5 structural problems Nepal must fix
The data tells a clear story. These are the systemic failures — not one-off events — that have defined Nepal's fiscal trajectory for decades.
60%
of spending is recurrent in 2025/26
Salaries swallow the budget
In 1990, recurrent spending was 50% of the budget. By 2025/26 it has risen to 60%. This means more of every rupee collected goes to pay salaries, pensions, and routine operations — leaving less for roads, schools, and hospitals that Nepal actually needs to build.
NPR 596B
borrowed in 2025/26
Nepal borrows to pay its salaries
The government targets NPR 1.32 trillion in revenue but plans to spend NPR 1.96 trillion. The difference — NPR 596 billion — is financed by foreign loans (NPR 234B) and domestic bonds (NPR 362B). This borrowing has more than doubled in just five years.
55–65%
of capital budget actually spent each year
Capital projects never get built on time
Nepal consistently allocates impressive capital budgets — roads, hydropower, hospitals — but spends only half to two-thirds of what is allocated. The unused capital funds are swept into the next year or lost, while foreign loan obligations still accrue interest.
~NPR 2.9T
total public debt, 2025/26
Debt has grown 64x since 1989
In 1989/90, Nepal owed NPR 46 billion. By 2025/26 it owes ~NPR 2.94 trillion — a 64x increase in 36 years. Debt has grown faster than GDP for the last decade, meaning Nepal is borrowing faster than it is growing. Debt service now consumes over 20% of revenue.
16%
tax-to-GDP ratio in 2025/26
Tax collection is far too low
Nepal's tax-to-GDP ratio sits at about 16%, compared to 22% for India and 30% for developed economies. This is partly structural (large informal economy, agriculture exemptions) but also a failure of administration. Until this gap closes, Nepal will always need to borrow heavily.
Data sourced from
Ministry of Finance Nepal · Nepal Rastra Bank Economic Survey · IMF Article IV Reports · World Bank Nepal · Asian Development Bank
Pre-2015 figures include estimates interpolated between official anchor points. Confirmed figures from MoF Budget at a Glance documents are marked.