Remittance Culture and Its Impacts in Nepal

Abstract

This article utilizes secondary data to outline the trends of remittances and their impacts on the socio-economic and cultural life of the people of Nepal. Research indicates that remittances are enhancing life in both rural and urban areas and are fostering a new kind of remittance culture. As a result of this trend, there is an increasing migration from rural regions to urban areas and from the hills to the Terai, which is reshaping the entire socio economic landscape of the country and the everyday lives of its people. This article will help to analyze challenges and opportunities for future planning and transformation within the country. Most of the households in Nepal depend on remittances, which play a important role in people's social, economic, and cultural life. Government data show that it accounts for 27 percent of total GDP, which has increased from 2 percent in 2001 to 27 percent in 2023, growing at an average annual rate of 23.54 percent. About 76.8 percent of the households in Nepal receive remittances, and 92 percent of remittances are spent on buying household materials, daily life expenditures, and other individual purposes (National Statistics Office, 2024). Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the remittance flow to Nepal decreased significantly, after COVID-19, it increased up to 25.2 percent in 2023/24, according to Nepal Rastra Bank.