Road accidents across the country claimed 1,233 lives in the first six months of the current fiscal year, an increase from the same period last year, the state-owned national news agency RSS reported citing government data. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the rise in fatalities has been attributed to reckless driving and non-compliance with traffic rules.

The RSS, referring to the ministry data, reported that 1,149 people died in 12,856 road accidents across the country by mid-January 2024, whereas 1,233 fatalities occurred in 11,338 accidents by mid-January 2025. Although the total number of road accidents has decreased, the death toll has risen, said ministry spokesperson Ram Chandra Tiwari.

Data from the ministry show that 152 people lost their lives in 1,619 accidents from mid-July to mid-August. The death toll rose to 174 in mid-August to mid-September, followed by 200 fatalities in mid-September to mid-October. From mid-October to mid-November, road accidents claimed 258 lives, while 214 people died in mid-November to mid-December. The highest number of accidents—2,276—was recorded from mid-December to mid-January, resulting in 197 fatalities.

The ministry noted that while road accidents declined in Gandaki Province, Kathmandu Valley, and Karnali Province, fatalities increased.

According to World Bank reports, road accidents in Nepal have a significant negative impact on the country's economy, disproportionately affecting the poor, with the cost of road traffic injuries representing a substantial percentage of the Gross National Product (GNP) and causing a significant loss of productive workforce due to deaths and injuries.

A study by the World Bank in Nepal showed that the economic cost of road traffic injuries has increased threefold since 2007 and is equivalent to 1.5% of the gross national product.

Road crashes also have a devastating and disproportionate impact on the poor. More than 70% of all road fatality victims in Nepal are vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.  The loss of income and medical expenses from a crash can thrust a family into deep poverty, added the report.

Another report by the World Bank states that the Department of Roads has developed various manuals and concept notes to address safety measures in Nepal like the Road User Guide, Road Safety Audit Manual, Safety Barriers, Safety at Bridges, and Identifying and Treating Accidents Site. However, most of these are outdated and require substantive updating to address current safety contexts and training support to ensure their implementation.

According to the World Bank, Nepal Police records and maintains road crash data in Nepal. These data lack detailed information and are not amenable to insightful crash analysis. Under the Nepal–India Regional Trade and Transport Project (NIRTTP), the Government of Nepal in 2019 developed the Road Accident Information Management System (RA–IMS), the first web-based road crash database system in the country, using TRL and DRIVER (Data for Road Incident Visualization, Evaluation and Reporting) software (GRSF 2018).

The RA–IMS is expected to support collection, reporting, storage, analysis, and dissemination of road crash data for improved planning, preparation, delivery, and monitoring and evaluation of road safety initiatives in Nepal, added the report

Suicide and Cyber Crime Cases

In the first six months of the current fiscal year, 3,134 people committed suicide, a decrease from 3,457 during the same period last year, according to the data provided by the ministry.

According to RSS, the ministry also reported a surge in cyber crime cases, with 10,776 applications filed in the first six months this fiscal year. Most cyber crimes involved misuse of social media, with Telegram being the most frequently used platform, accounting for 1,187 cases. Authorities also registered 1,098 complaints related to Facebook, 731 linked to Instagram, and 153 involving TikTok.

A total of 19,730 cyber crime-related applications were filed in Fiscal Year 2023/24, compared to 9,013 in Fiscal Year 2022/23, the ministry stated.