Kathmandu : The National Statistics Office (NSO) has stated that 20.27 per cent of people still live below the poverty line in Nepal.

Releasing the Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS) 2023/24 on February 12, the NSO said that the country’s poverty rate could not decrease as expected due to the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015 and the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the NLSS report, the rate of poverty is intense in the rural areas compared to the cities, with the poverty rate in the cities remaining at 18.34 per cent while it is 24.66 per cent in the rural areas.

During the programme, National Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha argued that the country’s progress in poverty alleviation has faded due to the pandemic, natural disasters and other reasons.

As per the survey, four provinces have a higher poverty rate than the national record of the poverty rate. Sudurpaschim Province has the highest rate of poverty with 34.16 per cent while Karnali Province has 26.69 per cent, 24.35 per cent in Lumbini Province and 22.53 per cent in Madhes Province.

Gandaki has the lowest poverty rate with 11.88 per cent followed by 12.59 per cent in Bagmati and 17.19 per cent in Koshi Province.