NEPAL’S POPULATION 26.494 MILLION Kathmandu, 26 Nov.: Nepal’s population is 26.494 million, according to final figures released Monday of the 11th National Census conducted six months ago. The figures were released by Central Bureau of Statistics in the presence of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. Population increased 1.35% since the last census. Women outnumber men The male population is 12,849,041 while female population is 13,645,463. People in the terai-- 50.27 percent (13,318,705)—are the largest block. Forty-three percent live in the hills and 6.73 percent in the mountains. Hindus population has increased to has increased to 81.3 percent of the total population and 9 percent are Buddhists followed by Muslims who constitute 4.4 percent of the population. Three percent are Kirats and 1.4 percent Christians. nnnn