The Nepal Living Standards Survey, 1995/96 (NLSS-I) was a milestone in the collection of data for the objective measurement of the living standards of the people and for determining the level of poverty in the country. The survey covered a wide range of topics related to “household welfare” (demography, consumption, income, access to facilities, housing, education, health, employment, credit, remittances and anthropometry, etc.).
NLSS-I for the first time, provided a measure of “extent and dimension” of poverty in Nepal. The survey findings became popular among decision makers in the government agencies, the general public and the international agencies as well.
It was realized that a second round of the survey was needed to update the results and to assess the impact of policies and programs on poverty and social indicators over the years (since the NLSS-I was conducted). Accordingly, the second round of the survey (NLSS-II) was carried out in 2003/04 after 8 years of the first survey.
The findings of the NLSS-II helped the government to monitor progress in improving national living standards and the survey became a good basis for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) over time.
Realizing the importance of time series data, the Government of Nepal decided to conduct another round of the Nepal Living Standards Survey. Accordingly, the Central Bureau of Statistics for the third time conducted the survey in 2010/11 (NLSS-III). The survey was carried out with the assistance from the World Bank.
Objective of the Survey
The main objective of the NLSS-III is to update data on the living standards of the people. The survey aims to assess the impact of various government policies and programs on the socioeconomic changes in the country during the last 7 years. Further, the survey aims to track changes experienced by previously enumerated households during the past fifteen and seven years.