Out of the total remittance Nepal receives, 79 per cent goes for consumption. Nepal has been receiving Rs 259.9 billion remittance annually. According to the Nepal Living Standards Survey 2011, published by Central Bureau of Statistics, 79 per cent of all the remittance is used for consumption purpose. 

According to the 2011 Census report, there are 1.92 million missing population which means they are living outside the country. The census report of 2001 says that there were only 762,181 missing population, a decade ago. 

Experts say that those who choose foreign employment basically belong to rural areas and are from a poor family. So, their first requirement is fulfilling their basic needs – food, clothes and shelter. So, majority of the remittance goes for meeting those basic requirements. Suman Pokharel, CEO of International Money Express said it is usual for remittance being used more for consumption. “It is the first preference for those who have difficulty in meeting their basic needs to fulfil their requirements. So, it should not be taken otherwise,” he said.

People having thatched roof have upgraded to galvanised sheet, better quality food grains, better clothing and have purchase mobile phones and televisions. Pokharel, however accepts that the remittance has been used for unnecessary expenditures lately. 

To control the unproductive use of remittance, the central bank had come up with idea of bonds targeting migrant workers but according to Bhaskar Mani Gyawali, Spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank, none of the companies have requested the release of the bonds. According to the census report, 55.8 per cent households receive remittance with an average of Rs 80,436 per each household.