Nepal is in the process of revising its first National Shelter Policy of 1996. The Urban Housing Sector Profile Study is aimed at supporting this process, driven by the Government, for the urban part. It is meant to improve the understanding of the sector, to enable the Government of Nepal, local authorities, and other actors to formulate appropriate policy responses and recommendations leading to improvement of housing provision in the changed context.

Nepal is a landlocked country, bordered by the Tibet region of China on the north and India on the south, east, and west. Situated on the lap of the high Himalayas, Nepal has a unique geographical profile: the country rises from 65 m above sea level to more than 8,000 m., resulting in a highly versatile landscape with six different climate zones within the country’s average width of 193 km. Nepal is broadly divided into three ecological belts: Mountains, Hills, and Terai Plain separated by three mountain ranges, Chure, Mahabharat, and Himalayas.