This survey presents public perceptions on a number of public concerns surrounding personal security, dispute resolution, good governance, identity politics, economic outlooks, and the country’s overall direction. A Survey of the Nepali People in 2020, is based on a nationally representative sample of 7,060 Nepalis, and is representative of the Nepali population, both at the national and provincial levels. Fieldwork for this survey was conducted in February-March 2020, just before the Government of Nepal (GON) decided to impose a national lockdown to contain the novel coronal virus (COVID-19). As this survey timeframe captured perceptions of Nepalis just before the influence and impacts of COVID-19 in the country, the SNP 2020 can also serve as a baseline for future research, comparing the national mood before and after the national lockdown.

The overall message from the survey’s findings is that Nepal is stabilizing and federalism is gradually being implemented. About two-thirds of Nepalis believe that the country is heading towards the right direction. Opinions on social, cultural, political, economic, and infrastructural conditions are broadly favorable, indicating that national optimism was trending upwards. More than four-fifths of Nepalis stated that there were no security problems or threats to their personal safety in their locality. There was also a sharp increase in the number of Nepalis willing to choose elected representatives over other mechanisms for dispute resolutions.

Production of the SNP 2020 was led by Kathmandu University School of Arts (KUSOA), and supported by Inter-Disciplinary Analysts (IDA) for field work and data collection.