The Sustainable Development Sub-Committee under the National Assembly’s (NA) Committee on Development, Economic Affairs, and Good Governance has endorsed its study report on Nepal’s transition from Least Developed Country (LDC) status.
The report was submitted to the Committee following its approval, according to state-owned news agency RSS.
Receiving the document on Friday, February 14, Committee President Kamala Devi Panta stated that it was prepared after extensive discussions with various ministries, stakeholders, and the private sector. She added that the report would serve as a guideline for the government.
The subcommittee, led by NA member Dr. Anjan Shakya, includes Bamdev Gautam, Jitjung Basnet, Bhuwan Bahadur Sunar, and Sabitri Malla.
Nepal is set to graduate from the LDC category by November 2026.
The United Nations evaluates a country’s eligibility for LDC graduation based on three criteria: the Human Assets Index (HAI), Gross National Income (GNI), and the Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index. Nepal met the HAI and Environmental Vulnerability Index thresholds in the UN’s assessments in 2015, 2018, and 2021.
A country qualifies for LDC graduation if it meets at least two of these three criteria or achieves a per capita income more than twice the graduation threshold in two consecutive triennial reviews conducted by the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP). However, the CDP also considers government perspectives, an impact assessment by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), a vulnerability profile prepared by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and other relevant indicators, which are consolidated into a “graduation assessment,” according to the United Nations .
LDCs account for about 15% of the world’s population but contribute less than 2% of global GDP and around 1% of global trade, according to the UN. As of December 2024, there are 44 countries on the LDC list.
Eight countries—Botswana (1994), Cabo Verde (2007), Maldives (2011), Samoa (2014), Equatorial Guinea (2017), Vanuatu (2021), Bhutan (2023), and São Tomé and Príncipe (2024)—have already graduated from LDC status.
Nepal, along with Bangladesh and Laos, is set to graduate in 2026, followed by the Solomon Islands in 2027, and Cambodia and Senegal in 2029.
(With inputs from RSS)
