Pray for Nepal

Eight of the world’s ten highest mountains can be found in Nepal’s Himalayan Mountains.  Most notably, Mount Everest is the highest point above sea level in the world. While Nepal’s northern border with China is mountainous, its southern border with India falls to near sea level. About one-quarter of the population is urbanized, with the remainder living in small, remote villages in the northern mountains, central hills, or southern plains. Agriculture is important to the economy, making up roughly 60 percent of the country’s jobs. Family is essential to their culture, and extended families often live together or nearby. Each family is placed in a social caste that influences a person’s social status, marriage, and opportunities. Although caste discrimination is illegal, a person’s caste generally determines how valuable society views them, which significantly shapes life in Nepal. Some people are even classified as below the caste system. Labeled as “untouchables,” they face discrimination, social exclusion, and even violence.

Nepal is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. It is estimated that one-fifth of the population lives below the poverty line. Driven by a lack of local jobs, millions of Nepalese move overseas for work, sending money back home to their families. The social structure is heavily patriarchal, and women frequently face discrimination, education inequalities, and gender-based violence. Nearly one-third of young women marry before the age of 18. Nepal is also a significant source, transit point, and destination for human trafficking. A current of political instability runs through daily life, left unchecked by a government that is unable to support its people’s basic needs. Since a long line of monarchies ended in 2008 when the nation became a republic, government corruption has been widespread. If people protest against the government, they risk violence and sometimes even death. In 2025, a Gen-Z uprising set multiple government buildings on fire, including parliament, leading to heavy clashes with security forces, widespread destruction, and many casualties and fatalities.

More than 80 percent of the population is unreached with the Gospel, but believers can be found in almost every people and caste group. Though less than two percent of the population is Christian, the number of believers is growing. There is at least one church in all 77 districts of Nepal. However, life is not easy for Christians. Nepal is predominantly Hindu (more than 80 percent), with Buddhists forming the second-largest group (roughly 10 percent). Nepal’s Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but it prohibits religious conversion. The conversion law is disproportionately enforced against Christians, who risk fines and imprisonment for evangelism and consistently face persecution from Hindu extremists. Christians are sometimes the target of lies intended to disgrace their faith, and some even experience violence.