| Abstract: | Preliminary results of the 1981 Nepal census are analyzed as to urbanization and population movement to the Terai. Noting the substantial shift in the pattern of Nepal's population distribution occurring between 1971-81, and projecting these rates of change for the future, the paper reports a process of transformation wherein Nepal is shifting from a rural hill and mountain society to an urban-subtropical plains (Terai) state. While the flow of migrants to urban areas and the Terai region is well known, the increase in rate of change poses a serious challenge for the Nepalese government. Economic development planning must readjust its goals and assumptions to take into account the massive metamorphosis that is occurring in Nepal. Development efforts aimed at rural hill and mountain areas may need to be reevaluated in light of the changing distribution of population. |
