Nepal
How well is Nepal respecting people's human rights?
Use the tabs below to explore the scores.
Nepal at a glance
Quality of Life
Economic and Social Rights
(2020)
Summary score
78.1%
How well is Nepal doing compared to what is possible at its level of income?
Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Safety from the State
Civil and Political Rights
(2022)
Summary score
7.5
How well is Nepal's government respecting each right?
Right to freedom from
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Empowerment
Civil and Political Rights
(2022)
Summary score
6.3
How well is Nepal's government respecting each right?
Right to
0
Score
10
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Quality of Life
Nepal scores 78.1% on Quality of Life when scored against the 'Income adjusted' benchmark.
Compared with the other countries in South Asia, Nepal is performing close to average on Quality of Life rights (this comparison is calculated using the 'Income adjusted' benchmark).
To change the performance benchmark or assessment standard, please click on ‘Switch view’ above
Safety from the State
Nepal's Safety from the State score of 7.5 out of 10 suggests that a significant number of people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in South Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other countries in our sample, Nepal is performing better than average on the right to be safe from the state.
Empowerment
Nepal's Empowerment score of 6.3 out of 10 suggests that while many people are enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights), a significant number are not.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in South Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other countries in our sample, Nepal is performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Quality of Life - overview
(2020)
How well is Nepal doing compared to what is possible at its level of income?
Summary score
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Quality of Life rights (or 'economic and social rights') include the rights to food, health, education, housing, and work. HRMI gives two scores, measuring against two different benchmarks.
Nepal scores 78.1% on Quality of Life when scored against the 'Income adjusted' benchmark. This score takes into account Nepal's resources and how well it is using them to make sure its people's Quality of Life rights are fulfilled.
This score tells us that Nepal is only doing 78.1% of what should be possible right now with the resources it has. Since anything less than 100% indicates that a country is not meeting its current duty under international human rights law, our assessment is that Nepal has a long way to go to meet its immediate economic and social rights duty.
When measured against the Global best benchmark, comparing Nepal to the best performing countries in the world, Nepal's score is 66.7%, indicating that it has a long way to go to meet current Global best standards for ensuring all people have adequate food, education, healthcare, housing and work.
Compared with the other countries in South Asia, Nepal is performing close to average on Quality of Life rights (this comparison is calculated using the 'Income adjusted' benchmark).
To change the performance benchmark or assessment standard, please click on ‘Switch view’ above
Quality of Life - full details
See more detail on how Nepal performs on the
?Right to
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
By sex
How does Nepal perform by sex for
?By sex
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Over time
How does Nepal perform over time for
?Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk
(2022)
Which people in Nepal were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- Children from Dalit communities
- Children in Madheshi province
- Children get excluded due to gender discrimination, poverty, and geographic inaccessibility of educational institutions
- People living in mountainous areas
- Education is costly and some marginalised communities, such as Dalits, cannot afford it
- People from Karnali and Suddor Pashim Province
- People from the Chepang community
- People living in poverty
- Indigenous people of the National Park
- Although constitutional provisions have been made to make secondary education free, the government still charges school fees
- Menstruating women and girls, especially in rural areas
Safety from the State - overview
(2022)
How well is Nepal's government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Nepal's Safety from the State score of 7.5 out of 10 suggests that a significant number of people are not safe from one or more of the following: arbitrary arrest, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution or extrajudicial killing.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in South Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other countries in our sample, Nepal is performing better than average on the right to be safe from the state.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk
(2022)
Which people in Nepal were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- Protesters, including those participating in non-violent protests
- People who oppose the government and their political ideologies are targeted, threatened, harassed, and detained
- Women, especially those demanding justice in various cases
- Marginalised communities
- Forest workers and forest-dependent communities
- People from the Tharu and Janajati communities
- Political activists, especially those associated with Maoist parties
- Dalit youth who chose to marry outside their caste are falsely accused of and arrested for crimes such as trafficking and rape
- There were reports of artists, such as comedians, being arrested for allegedly making racist remarks in their shows
- Police detained human rights defender Ruby Khan, who had been protesting and demanding justice for her colleagues who went missing
Empowerment - overview
(2022)
How well is Nepal's government respecting each right?
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to
Very bad
Bad
Fair
Good
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Nepal's Empowerment score of 6.3 out of 10 suggests that while many people are enjoying their civil liberties and political freedoms (freedom of speech, assembly and association, and democratic rights), a significant number are not.
For the civil and political rights we do not have data for enough countries in South Asia to do a regional comparison. However, compared to the other countries in our sample, Nepal is performing close to average on empowerment rights.
Over time
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk
(2022)
Which people in Nepal were identified by human rights experts to be particularly at risk of having their
violated?Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2022, our respondents mentioned all of the following:
- People who protest peacefully to demand justice are taken into police custody
- The government imposed restrictions on assembly and association during the Covid-19 pandemic
- Politically powerful and corrupt people are able to control peaceful assemblies and associations
- People who protest are often defamed, charged with false accusations, and denied a fair trial after detention
- The government often rejects permits for associations to meet
- Dalit communities
- People living in poverty and other marginalised communities, especially in rural parts of Nepal
- Non-profit and civil society organisations
- Women, especially women from rural areas who protest peacefully in Kathmandu
- Women's rights activists and families of victims who protested in Maiteghar Mandala, Kathmandu, for rape victims, were suppressed by the government
- The government restricts the general engagement of civil society, especially in digital civic spaces, by controlling their flow of funding
- Journalists, especially those who protest against corruption and the high costs of Covid-19 vaccines
- Police use excessive force during protests by Indigenous communities who demand greater protection against wild animals, especially in the Tarai region
- Police detained human rights defender Ruby Khan, who had been protesting and demanding justice for her colleagues who went missing
- Police intervened in protests by the victims of loan sharks in Kathmandu, and restricted them from taking shelter in public places
- Migrant workers, especially those who were stranded at the Nepal-India open border during the Covid-19 pandemic
- People who protest to demand justice for taxi drivers and public vehicle drivers against restrictions and unfair practices
Which people are most at risk?
We asked human rights experts to choose from a list of options for which people were particularly at risk of having this right violated. The images below show their answers.
Highlight
in the word clouds below.Quality of Life
People at risk for
Right to education
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to food
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to health
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to housing
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to work
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Safety from the State
People at risk for
Right to freedom from arbitrary arrest
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to freedom from forced disappearance
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to freedom from the death penalty
Expert respondents didn’t select any group of people for this right.
People at risk for
Right to freedom from extrajudicial execution
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Empowerment
People at risk for
Right to assembly and association
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to opinion and expression
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
People at risk for
Right to participate in government
(2022)
Interpretation: Larger text = more human rights experts identified this group as being at risk.
Source: HRMI 2023 rightstracker.org
Behind the numbers
Quality of Life
Overall, China is performing better than average in economic and social rights compared with other East Asian countries, according to our income-adjusted benchmark, though it still has significant challenges. We produce scores for China for the rights to education, food, health, housing, and work.
Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, which China has signed, all countries agree to devote their maximum available resources to making things progressively better for their people in these areas.
HRMI has calculated what China could be achieving at its current level of income. The scores are given as a percentage of that realistic potential achievement.
China’s best scores are for the right to health, where it is achieving 98.1% of what we calculate should be possible, and for the right to food (96.4%). For these rights, China is doing nearly as well as it possibly can, given its level of income. China could still afford to make some gains now, but then would need to increase its income to make further improvements.
Of the five quality of life rights we measure, China needs to improve the most in the right to quality education, where it scores 61.4%, which falls in the ‘very bad’ range. Among 17 East Asian countries, this score puts China in the bottom half for quality education, just below Mongolia and Myanmar, and just above Malaysia and Thailand.
Right to quality education in East and Southeast Asia
Score
0
% of income adjusted benchmark achieved
HRMI score
100%
China’s other lower score is for the right to housing, where it is currently achieving only 88.7% of what we calculate should be possible at its level of income.
We further break the right to housing down into scores for the right to sanitation and the right to water.
With a GDP per capita of US$12,556 we calculate that China has the resources to ensure all of its people have running water and toilets in their homes.
However, China’s right to sanitation score of 86.3% shows that many people are missing out, even though China could afford to do better. If China efficiently used its available resources, it could achieve a score of 100%, which would mean that 108 million additional Chinese would gain access to basic sanitation in their homes.
If China improved its performance for the right to water from 91% to 100%, 101 million more people would have water on their premises.
The good news is that China’s scores for the right to housing have been steadily improving since 2001, when the nation scored 68.6%. The progress from 2019 to 2020 suggests around 28 million people gained access to basic sanitation over that period, and around five million people gained access to water in their homes. China’s scores for the right to sanitation are rising more quickly than those for the right to water.
When it comes to the right to food, if China lifted its score to 100%, around 1.1 million more children under five years old would have enough nutritious food to grow well – that would mean all children in China under five would have enough nutritious food to grow well. This is an achievable goal.
With a current score of 96.4%, China has improved a little in respecting people’s right to food over the last 20 years, with its score increasing from 86% in 2000.
On the right to work, China’s score has climbed strongly up to 95.8% in 2020 from 34.6% in 2000, meaning many fewer people have been living in absolute poverty over the last two decades, and bringing it into the 'good' band of scores. Still, the latest score means 4 million Chinese are unnecessarily living in absolute poverty (living on less than $3.65 per day, measured in 2017 PPP$), so significant improvement is still possible and necessary.
However, for the right to health, expert respondents noted significant problems with air and water pollution, food safety, and the impacts of the government response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Respondents also noted inequities in access to healthcare, including regional differences, and differences in access according to wealth and political influence.
China comes in second in the world in ensuring people’s right to health is fulfilled, with a score of 98.1%, when using the low and middle income assessment standard (when using the high income standard, China still comes in fifth in the world, when taking countries' income into account). For countries doing this well with their current level of income, an increase of income will be necessary to make significant further improvements. This is the right where China is most constrained by resources – for all of the other rights we measure, China should already be able to do nearly as well as any country in the world, at its current level of income.
People at risk
While China has room for improvement in all the rights we measure, a further consideration is inequity. There are several groups of people who experts identified as being at higher risk of missing out. These include:
-
People with lower social or economic status
-
People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
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Human rights advocates, protestors, and anyone who criticises the government
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People living in rural areas, particularly older people, and women
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Single parent families
-
People who are homeless
-
Disabled people
-
Detainees
-
People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Christianity, Islam, or Falun Gong, or other unregistered religions
-
Internally displaced people
See the people at risk tab on the Rights Tracker for the full lists. The data also show a strong connection between political activity, especially criticism of the government, and lack of enjoyment of economic and social rights.
Room for improvement
All our Quality of Life scores show that China could make significant improvements to its people’s lives, even without more resources.
If China were using its resources more efficiently to ensure its people’s wellbeing, it could achieve 100% for all the rights we measure. Yet, while its best score is close to that mark — 98.1% on the right to health — its worst score — 61.4% on the right to quality education — is far from that level.
If China better upheld its rights obligations, and achieved a full 100% score on all the rights we measure, we would see millions more Chinese people living lives of dignity, even without income growth. For example, if China reached 100% we would see the following number of extra people benefitting:
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If China were to operate at its full potential given its current resources, we would expect an additional 1.1 million children under five to grow well and not be stunted.
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If China were operating at best practice, each year we would expect an extra 39,500 newborn babies to survive until their fifth birthday.
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If China were to operate at its full potential given its current resources, we would expect an additional 161,000 newborns to be born at a healthy birth weight.
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If China were reaching its full potential, given its income constraints, an extra 444,000 15-year-olds could eventually reach the age of 60.
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If China used its resources efficiently, an additional 108 million people could have a toilet at home, and an extra 101 million people could have access to water in their homes.
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If China were operating at its full potential given its current resources, it could lift 4 million people out of absolute poverty.
Safety from the State
China scores 2.9 out of 10 for our overall Safety from the State category, telling us that many people are at risk of arbitrary or political arrest or detention, torture and ill-treatment, forced disappearance, execution, or extrajudicial killing. This is the lowest score in our sample of 30 countries.
China’s worst score in this category is 1.3 out of 10 for freedom from the death penalty, the lowest score among all the countries we measure.
The human rights experts we surveyed said that agents of the state, particularly police, had total impunity to engage in torture of those detained.
Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that human rights advocates, protesters, and people who criticised the government were at particular risk of rights violations, especially arbitrary arrest and detention, forced disappearance, and torture and ill-treatment. Respondents particularly noted risks to people participating in the White Paper protests, and those criticising the government response to the Covid-19 pandemic, or disobeying quarantine and lockdown rules.
People from ethnic minorities were at extra risk for all five Safety from the State rights.
Other vulnerable groups include:
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People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
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Human rights advocates, protesters, and anyone who criticises the government
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Detainees and those accused of crimes
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People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong, Christianity, or Islam
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Internally displaced people
Among other East and Southeast Asian countries and territories where we measure these rights, China has the lowest scores for all five Safety from the State rights.
Right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from forced disappearance in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from death penalty in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from extrajudicial execution in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Empowerment
The Chinese government limits civil liberties and political freedom, with China scoring a very low 1.9 out of 10 in empowerment rights. This is the lowest score in our sample of 30 countries.
For the rights to assembly and association, opinion and expression, participation in government, and freedom of religion and belief all of China’s scores fall into the ‘very bad’ range. For all four rights, the human rights experts we surveyed agreed overwhelmingly that ‘all people’ were at risk of violations of these rights.
When it comes to the right to assembly and association, China scores 1.8 out of 10, and human rights experts identified a wide range of people not enjoying their rights, including human rights advocates, protesters, and people criticising or opposing the government, as well as those from ethnic and religious minorities. They also noted that people from religious minorities cannot freely gather, and that even small social gatherings in homes have been broken up by authorities.
China’s score for the right to opinion and expression is a very low 2.4 out of 10, with no improvement over the three years we have measured this right. Respondents noted that no one can speak freely, even online, and that doing so can lead to a range of punishments and reprisals.
China also scores in the ‘very bad’ range for the right to participate in government, with a score of 2 out of 10. Respondents noted the lack of free elections, and that ordinary people have no ability to participate in political life.
For the right to freedom of religion and belief, China scored 2.5, the lowest in our sample of nine countries in a new pilot study. Respondents noted that the government restricts all religious practices, and is particularly repressive towards people following unregistered minority religions such as Falun Gong, as well as Uyghur Muslims.
Groups that are particularly vulnerable to empowerment rights violations include:
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Human rights advocates, protesters, and anyone who criticises the government
-
People from ethnic minorities, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, Mongolians, and Kazakhs
-
Detainees and those accused of crimes
-
People from religious minorities, particularly those practising Falun Gong or other unregistered religions, Christianity, or Islam
-
Internally displaced people
Right to assembly and association in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to opinion and expression in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to participate in government in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Right to freedom of religion and belief in East and Southeast Asia
Summary score
0
Score
10
Country details
Population
30m (2021)
GDP/capita
$1,208 (2021)
current US dollars
$3,832 (2021)
2017 PPP dollars