Overview

Nepal is a landlocked Himalayan country in South Asia bordered by India and China. It has a population of about 30 million and contains eight of the world's ten highest peaks, including Mount Everest the highest mountain in the world. Kathmandu is its capital and largest city.

There were 142 ethnicities according to its National Census in 2021, and 123 spoken languages in Nepal. While Hinduism and Buddhism are represented by 90 per cent of the population, Nepal's constitution is secular. The country is religiously diverse. Other religions practised in Nepal include Islam, Christianity, Kiratism, Sikhism, Om Shanti, and Jainism.

Bilateral relations

Australia and Nepal celebrate 65 years of diplomatic relations in 2025. Our relationship is built on a long standing history of development partnership and close people-to-people links.

Australia and Nepal share democratic values, a commitment to the international rules based system, and a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

A Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) was signed on the margins of the Indian Ocean Conference in February 2024.

High-level visits and meetings

Recent bilateral visits and meetings include:

• February 2024: Then-Nepal Foreign Minister Saud's official visit to Australia. He met Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts to discuss regional issues and growing bilateral relations. The Foreign Ministers witnessed the signing of a new Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA), a milestone to increase economic engagement and commercial ties.
• May 2023: Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts' visit to Kathmandu was the first ministerial visit to Nepal since Foreign Minister Bill Hayden in 1985.  He met with Nepal's Prime Minister Dahal, then Foreign Minister Saud, a wide range of business, civil society, alumni, students, academia, community, cultural and religious leaders, and extended consular outreach.
• October 2023: Speaker of the House of Representatives Milton Dick led a first Australian parliamentary delegation visit to Nepal. The delegation engaged with a range of Nepali senior politicians and interlocuters on good parliamentary practices and governance, and on Australia's development cooperation with Nepal.
• November-December 2023: Australia welcomed the first Nepal parliamentary delegation on a study visit on governance arrangements.
• November-December 2023: Sunita Dangol, Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, visited Australia under the Special Visits Program. She gained an understanding of Australia's policies and institutions, women's rights, indigenous issues, creative arts, urban planning, and judicial issues.  She met federal members of parliament, the ACT Chief Minister, deputy mayors, local representatives, officials, private industry, and academia.

Economic and trade relations

Australia’s two-way trade with Nepal was valued at $4.9 billion in 2024. It ranked as our third largest trading partner in South Asia.

As Australia's third largest source of international students, Nepal is our seventh largest services exports market with education-related travel services valued at $4 billion in 2024.

Australia imported $359 million worth of goods and services from Nepal in 2024, mostly in tourism. The TIFA signed in February 2024 provides a framework to grow the trade relationship.

For information on Australia’s goods and services trade with Nepal and its global merchandise trade relationships, refer to the Nepal country fact sheet.

People-to-people links

Nepal-born people living in Australia is one of Australia's fastest growing migrant communities and play a vital role contributing to Australian society and the bilateral relationship. There were around 198,000 Nepal-born residents as at June 2024, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as well as 65,000 international students from Nepal for the January-July 2025 period.

Australian remittances, approximately US$466.6 million in 2021, provide strong support to Nepal's economy.

Development program

In 2025-26, Australia will provide an estimated $25.4 million in Official Development Assistance. Australia supports Nepal's transition to a middle-income country and its contributions to a prosperous and stable Indo-Pacific region.

The Subnational Governance Program (SNGP) supports Nepal's transition to federalism through institutional capacity building. It clarifies functions among the different levels of government – local, provincial, and federal – facilitates dispute resolution related to the roll out of federalism, and promotes inclusive decision-making and service delivery.

Australia shares lessons and expertise in areas of mutual interest such as river basin planning and governance, the energy-water nexus, climate change and disaster risk reduction. Our support to the UN Capital Development Fund, Practical Action, the University of Melbourne and the Stimson Centre support stronger systems for performance-based climate financing for local level adaptation activities, build community resilience to landslide hazard and support research and knowledge for a reliable landslide early warning system.

Under our partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Australia helps build capabilities for green, inclusive and climate resilient development of the vulnerable communities in the Koshi River Basin.

Under the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, Australian NGOs in partnership with local organisations are delivering more than 30 projects in Nepal in areas such as: communicable diseases, disability, disaster risk reduction, economic development, education, eye health, food security, gender, health, human rights, livelihoods, microfinance and rural development.

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and CSIRO are active in Nepal, focusing on increasing farm and forest productivity for better food and nutrition security and livelihoods, improved integration of soil, water, crop, livestock and forestry components of farming systems and river basin management.

Since 2009, over 370 Australia Awards Scholarships have been awarded to Nepali scholars. 

Political overview

Following a 10-year civil war (1996-2006), in 2008, the then newly elected Constituent Assembly declared Nepal a Federal Democratic Republic, abolishing their 240-year-old monarchy. Nepal now has a President as Head of State and a Prime Minister heading the Government. Its new Constitution was adopted in 2015.

Nepal – Heads of Government listing

Human Rights

Australia is strongly committed to advancing the global protection and promotion of human rights through our bilateral relationships, development assistance and engagement with civil society, as well as our engagement in regional and multilateral fora.

Australia engages Nepal on a range of human rights issues, including refugees, transitional justice, human trafficking, and modern slavery, and LGBTQIA+ issues. Australia is Co-Chair of the Refugee Core Group in Nepal, which leads international community cooperation and advocacy.