Languages of Nepal
There are 123 languages spoken as mother tongue reported in census 2011. Nepali is spoken as mother tongue by 44.6 percent (11,826,953) of the total population followed by Maithili (11.7%; 3,092,530), Bhojpuri (5.98%; 1,584,958), Tharu (5.77%; 1,529,875), Tamang (5.11%; 1,353,311), Newar (3.2%; 846,557), Bajjika (2.99%; 793,418), Magar (2.98%; 788,530), Doteli (2.97%; 787,827), Urdu (2.61%; 691,546).
+----------------+------------+------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| | | Urban/Rural | Ecological Belt |
| | Population +-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| | | Urban | Rural | Mountain | Hill | Terai |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Mother Tongue | 26,494,504 | 4,523,820 | 21,970,684 | 1,781,792 | 11,394,007 | 13,318,705 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Nepali | 11,826,953 | 2,346,741 | 9,480,212 | 1,102,862 | 7,229,381 | 3,494,710 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Maithili | 3,092,530 | 387,884 | 2,704,646 | 3,254 | 85,031 | 3,004,245 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bhojpuri | 1,584,958 | 214,013 | 1,370,945 | 442 | 42,183 | 1,542,333 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Tharu | 1,529,875 | 141,962 | 1,387,913 | 784 | 49,962 | 1,479,129 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Tamang | 1,353,311 | 142,643 | 1,210,668 | 193,443 | 963,695 | 196,173 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Newar | 846,557 | 480,713 | 365,844 | 25,745 | 728,119 | 92,693 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Magar | 788,530 | 80,917 | 707,613 | 10,269 | 522,306 | 255,955 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Avadhi | 501,752 | 70,076 | 431,676 | 42 | 1,103 | 500,607 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bantawa | 132,583 | 8,743 | 123,840 | 944 | 107,204 | 24,435 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Gurung | 325,622 | 78,266 | 247,356 | 18,933 | 250,601 | 56,088 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Limbu | 343,603 | 30,957 | 312,646 | 56,142 | 184,032 | 103,429 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bajjika | 793,416 | 34,008 | 759,408 | 9 | 1,670 | 791,737 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Urdu | 691,546 | 89,760 | 601,786 | 98 | 19,597 | 671,851 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Rajbanshi | 122,214 | 11,644 | 110,570 | 43 | 956 | 121,215 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sherpa | 114,830 | 15,094 | 99,736 | 64,715 | 45,809 | 4,306 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Hindi | 77,569 | 50,143 | 27,426 | 325 | 30,311 | 46,933 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chamling | 76,800 | 7,618 | 69,182 | 1,612 | 62,694 | 12,494 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Santhali | 49,858 | 1,362 | 48,496 | 21 | 361 | 49,476 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chepang | 48,476 | 713 | 47,763 | 2 | 26,590 | 21,884 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Danuwar | 45,821 | 1,898 | 43,923 | 3,495 | 30,222 | 12,104 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Uranw/Urau | 33,651 | 2,076 | 31,575 | 2 | 292 | 33,357 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sunuwar | 37,898 | 3,913 | 33,985 | 3,004 | 24,410 | 10,484 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bangla | 21,061 | 9,141 | 11,920 | 151 | 4,566 | 16,344 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Rajsthani | 25,394 | 21,647 | 3,747 | 46 | 6,351 | 18,997 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Majhi | 24,422 | 1,264 | 23,158 | 788 | 14,389 | 9,245 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Thami | 23,151 | 1,530 | 21,621 | 18,155 | 4,368 | 628 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kulung | 33,170 | 1,525 | 31,645 | 20,219 | 7,485 | 5,466 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dhimal | 19,300 | 5,353 | 13,947 | 5 | 583 | 18,712 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Angika | 18,555 | 61 | 18,494 | 0 | 2 | 18,553 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Yakkha | 19,558 | 1,750 | 17,808 | 7,060 | 7,870 | 4,628 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Thulung | 20,659 | 1,341 | 19,318 | 10,218 | 7,864 | 2,577 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sampang | 18,270 | 1,887 | 16,383 | 317 | 13,665 | 4,288 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bhujel | 21,715 | 1,516 | 20,199 | 313 | 4,885 | 16,517 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Darai | 11,677 | 4,420 | 7,257 | 2 | 3,888 | 7,787 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Khaling | 14,467 | 539 | 13,928 | 10,873 | 2,548 | 1,046 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kumal | 12,222 | 2,586 | 9,636 | 63 | 8,901 | 3,258 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Thakali | 5,242 | 2,363 | 2,879 | 1,755 | 2,767 | 720 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chhantyal | 4,283 | 875 | 3,408 | 15 | 3,316 | 952 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sign Language | 4,476 | 717 | 3,759 | 537 | 2,296 | 1,643 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Tibetan | 4,445 | 2,356 | 2,089 | 1,067 | 3,373 | 5 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dumi | 7,638 | 650 | 6,988 | 236 | 5,850 | 1,552 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Jirel | 4,829 | 319 | 4,510 | 4,299 | 484 | 46 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Wambule | 13,470 | 393 | 13,077 | 3 | 12,710 | 757 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Puma | 6,686 | 188 | 6,498 | 50 | 6,320 | 316 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Hyolmo/Yholmo | 10,176 | 805 | 9,371 | 4,852 | 4,700 | 624 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Nachhiring | 10,041 | 284 | 9,757 | 4,440 | 4,797 | 804 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dura | 2,156 | 220 | 1,936 | 1 | 2,122 | 33 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Meche | 4,375 | 1,099 | 3,276 | 2 | 59 | 4,314 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Pahari | 3,458 | 44 | 3,414 | 397 | 2,936 | 125 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Lapcha | 7,499 | 106 | 7,393 | 647 | 6,541 | 311 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bote | 8,766 | 681 | 8,085 | 1,513 | 2,993 | 4,260 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bahing | 11,658 | 734 | 10,924 | 2,750 | 7,564 | 1,344 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Koyee | 1,271 | 313 | 958 | 126 | 569 | 576 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Raji | 3,758 | 140 | 3,618 | 2 | 994 | 2,762 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Hayu/Vayu | 1,520 | 75 | 1,445 | 2 | 1,419 | 99 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Byansi | 480 | 11 | 469 | 358 | 122 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Yamphu/Yamphe | 9,208 | 373 | 8,835 | 5,065 | 2,501 | 1,642 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Ghale | 8,092 | 829 | 7,263 | 112 | 6,936 | 1,044 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Khariya | 238 | 111 | 127 | 0 | 1 | 237 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chhiling | 2,046 | 58 | 1,988 | 1 | 1,952 | 93 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Lohorung | 3,716 | 975 | 2,741 | 2,830 | 329 | 557 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Punjabi | 808 | 614 | 194 | 1 | 266 | 541 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chinese | 242 | 123 | 119 | 100 | 109 | 33 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| English | 2,032 | 1,235 | 797 | 41 | 1,735 | 256 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Mewahang | 4,650 | 298 | 4,352 | 2,496 | 1,513 | 641 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sanskrit | 1,669 | 332 | 1,337 | 47 | 1,210 | 412 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kaike | 50 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 22 | 10 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Khamchi(Raute) | 461 | 10 | 451 | 18 | 404 | 39 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kisan | 1,178 | 700 | 478 | 0 | 2 | 1,176 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Musalman | 1,075 | 354 | 721 | 0 | 34 | 1,041 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Baram | 155 | 7 | 148 | 3 | 116 | 36 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Tilung | 1,424 | 37 | 1,387 | 2 | 1,290 | 132 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Jero/Jerung | 1,763 | 12 | 1,751 | 112 | 1,580 | 71 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dungmali | 6,260 | 212 | 6,048 | 0 | 5,670 | 590 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Oriya | 584 | 516 | 68 | 2 | 499 | 83 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Lingkhim | 129 | 13 | 116 | 1 | 103 | 25 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kusunda | 28 | 6 | 22 | 5 | 19 | 4 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sindhi | 518 | 96 | 422 | 150 | 21 | 347 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Koche | 2,080 | 6 | 2,074 | 0 | 1,935 | 145 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Hariyanwi | 889 | 7 | 882 | 0 | 36 | 853 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Magahi | 35,614 | 2,956 | 32,658 | 1 | 54 | 35,559 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sam | 401 | 1 | 400 | 8 | 351 | 42 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kurmali | 227 | 1 | 226 | 0 | 0 | 227 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kagate | 99 | 16 | 83 | 1 | 6 | 92 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dzonkha | 80 | 18 | 62 | 3 | 39 | 38 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kuki | 29 | 0 | 29 | 2 | 13 | 14 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Chhintang | 3,712 | 32 | 3,680 | 0 | 3,701 | 11 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Mizo | 32 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 6 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Nagamese | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Lhomi | 808 | 151 | 657 | 596 | 155 | 57 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Assami | 476 | 105 | 371 | 7 | 169 | 300 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sadhani | 122 | 20 | 102 | 3 | 48 | 71 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Rai | 159,114 | 35,499 | 123,615 | 6,850 | 86,527 | 65,737 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Tajpuriya | 18,811 | 246 | 18,565 | 3 | 158 | 18,650 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Khash | 1,747 | 84 | 1,663 | 25 | 162 | 1,560 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Athpariya | 5,530 | 3,816 | 1,714 | 1 | 5,465 | 64 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Ganagai | 3,612 | 46 | 3,566 | 8 | 13 | 3,591 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Achhami | 142,787 | 10,149 | 132,638 | 12 | 83,940 | 58,835 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Kham | 27,113 | 3,735 | 23,378 | 1,078 | 18,382 | 7,653 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Malpande | 247 | 100 | 147 | 0 | 6 | 241 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dhuleli | 347 | 0 | 347 | 346 | 0 | 1 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Arabi | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Spanish | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Russian | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Doteli | 787,827 | 141,849 | 645,978 | 129,092 | 328,399 | 330,336 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Belhare | 599 | 140 | 459 | 97 | 396 | 106 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Phangduwali | 290 | 0 | 290 | 0 | 290 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Waling/Walung | 1,169 | 11 | 1,158 | 1,084 | 42 | 43 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Surel | 287 | 5 | 282 | 114 | 132 | 41 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Baitadeli | 272,524 | 27,580 | 244,944 | 78 | 245,755 | 26,691 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bankariya | 69 | 7 | 62 | 0 | 63 | 6 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bajhangi | 67,581 | 5,721 | 61,860 | 45,883 | 494 | 21,204 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| French | 34 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Lhopa | 3,029 | 49 | 2,980 | 2,924 | 105 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dolpali | 1,667 | 0 | 1,667 | 1,615 | 52 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Jumli | 851 | 82 | 769 | 0 | 21 | 830 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dailekhi | 3,102 | 245 | 2,857 | 0 | 9 | 3,093 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Sonaha | 579 | 62 | 517 | 0 | 0 | 579 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Dadeldhuri | 488 | 148 | 340 | 2 | 0 | 486 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Bajureli | 10,704 | 852 | 9,852 | 3 | 213 | 10,488 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Darchuleli | 5,928 | 1,636 | 4,292 | 429 | 177 | 5,322 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Manange | 392 | 365 | 27 | 0 | 392 | 0 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Gadhawali | 38 | 11 | 27 | 3 | 19 | 16 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Others | 21,173 | 6,578 | 14,595 | 1,055 | 12,590 | 7,528 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Not Reported | 47,718 | 6,377 | 41,341 | 2,017 | 11,460 | 34,241 |
+----------------+------------+-----------+------------+-----------+------------+------------+Source: National Population and Housing Census 2011