Rural–urban migration and ethnic diversification in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal

Abstract

This article analyzes rural–urban migration and subsequent caste/ethnic diversification in Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) using ward-level (the smallest spatial unit) data from Nepal’s National Population and Housing Census 2011 (CBS, 2012). KMC has 975,453 residents with migrants constituting 57 percent of the population. Almost all caste/ethnic groups (122 out of 125 in total) are present in KMC, with Newar, Brahmins and Chhetris as the largest groups. Eighty-six percent of the migrants are rural-urban migrants. Thirty-five percent of all rural–urban migrants in the country are in KMC. In this study, I examine ethnic diversity using the ethnic diversification index (EDI). The index of 83.7 percent reflects the significant role of migration in urbanization. The diversified landscape also demonstrates distance function, educational differentials and regional segregation of migrants.