Nepali diaspora population in the United States has increased significantly in recent years, predominantly motivated by educational opportunities, improved living standards and job prospects, says a new study report.

According to the report, Nepali diaspora population in the US has reached estimates of at least 185,000 to 215,000 individuals at present based on the 2023 estimates of the 2020 US Census.

“This growth, over the past 12 years, reveals that 68.3 percent of this diaspora arrived post-2010,” says the report titled ‘Nepali migrant dreams in the American landscape: An exploration of the Nepali diaspora in the United States’ launched by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS). “The 2020 US Census corroborates this, with approximately 208,000 Nepalis living across the US.”

The states where Nepali diaspora population are most concentrated include Texas, California, Virginia, Maryland, and New York.

Career advancement (42 percent) and better quality of life (38 percent) are significant factors behind the increase in Nepali diaspora population, alongside economic considerations such as better employment opportunities abroad (19 percent) and limited job prospects in Nepal (25 percent), states the report. Furthermore, Nepal's unpredictable political climate (26 percent) remains a notable driver of migration.

According to the report, 5.3 million principal applicants applied for the EDV programme from Nepal between 2012 and 2021.

On average, around 4,098 EDV applicants are selected from Nepal every year, which is 7.45 percent of the total EDV awardees globally, states the report.

Last year, students who went abroad for studies took Rs125 billion with them which amounts to 78 percent of Nepal’s total export earnings.

“Remittances constitute a substantial contribution from the diaspora, with 59.6 percent of Nepali diaspora sending money back to Nepal,” the report says. “Total remittance from the US to Nepal in 2023 is estimated at $1.28 billion, accounting for 11.6 percent of Nepal’s total remittance inflow.”

According to the report, the average annual remittance sent from the US is $8,633.04 in 2023.

It states that remittance per capita contributions from the US outpaces other major remittance-sending countries by significant margins.

“Estimated per worker remittance sent from the US is 1.51 times higher than those from Qatar, 2.28 times higher than Malaysia, 1.72 times higher than the UAE, and 1.95 times higher than Saudi Arabia,” the report says.