National Statistics Office Projects FY 2025/26 GDP at Rs 66 Trillion Amid Regional Imbalances

According to the preliminary provincial Gross Domestic Product (PGDP) report for FY 2025/26 released by the National Statistics Office, Nepal's gross economic size is projected to reach Rs 66 trillion at consumers' prices. The data exposes severe regional economic disparities, with Bagmati Province dominating the financial landscape by capturing a 36.7% share (Rs 2.42 trillion), while Karnali Province remains the smallest economy with a mere 4.2% contribution. Against a national average GDP growth projection of 3.85%, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces comfortably outpaced the benchmark at 5.40% and 5.01% respectively, whereas Madhesh Province plummeted to a nominal 1.31% growth due to a direct contraction in its dominant agricultural sector (-1.26%). Per capita income figures reflect a similar geographic divide, with Bagmati peaking at USD 2,644 while Madhesh trails at the bottom with USD 934 against the national average of USD 1,513. Although a robust 20.93% expansion in the electricity and gas sector provides a significant macroeconomic silver lining, these uneven provincial indices present a stern policy-making challenge to mitigate the nation's widening development gap.