Process and characteristics of urbanisation in Nepal

Urbanisation refers to increasingly large numbers of people living in small places and basically engaged in non-agricultural activities, which depend on development of industrialisation, infrastructure within cities, towns and their neighbourhoods; urbanisation is considered as an indicator of modernisation. The economic system within a country generating migration opportunities to specific locations/regions is a refined input in urbanisation and urban growth as well. In ordinary language, 'urbanisation' has a dual meaning. Demographers, economists, statisticians, and geographers see urbanisation with specific views and tools in several ways. Demographers generally try to see urbanisation according to urban population, population in urban areas being counted as 'percent of total population'. Economists usually try to relate population growth, pattern of defined technology on the process of urbanisation. Statisticians try to relate production functions, growth rates of urban population. Geographers consider urbanisation in relation to distribution of urban spaces and see proportions and the growth of urban spaces and see proportions and the growth of urban population at different spacial contexts. But for the present purposes, urbanisation has been defined as the proportion of total population living in designated urban areas where urban growth refers to the net growth of population in designated urban areas.