Urban–Rural Gaps in Household Living Conditions in Nepal: Evidence from the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey

In 2022, 94 percent of rural Nepali households had electricity, while 21 percent used a clean main cooking fuel. Using 13,786 households from the 2022 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, I compare nine living conditions across urban and rural municipalities. The largest urban advantages are in clean cooking fuel, finished floors, and finished walls. After adjusting for geography, household assets, and household-head characteristics, the gaps are 18, 15, and 13 percentage points. For housing materials and crowding, the estimated urban gap is 0.357 index points with an asset measure that excludes the outcomes. Adding the three building-material indicators to that measure lowers the estimate to 0.122. Nearly half of the households lacking clean cooking fuel, a finished floor, and finished walls live in urban municipalities. A rural-only rule would reach 51 percent of these households, while a rule based on missing at least one basic service would reach 41 percent.