Local unit · Kathmandu district · Bagmati Province
Kathmandu: land cover and map
Urban land is the largest land cover in Kathmandu, at 95.4% of its area. Forest covers 1.4% (less than the Kathmandu district average of 37.1%), farmland 0.0%, rangeland 3.0%, built-up land 95.4%, bare land, rock and snow 0.1% and water 0.1%.
Area
49.4 km²
Local unit, Kathmandu district
Forest (2025)
1.4%
723rd of 775 local units
Built-up (2025)
95.4%
+0.2 points since 2017
Land cover of Kathmandu in 2025
Show the numbers
| Class | 2017 (%) | 2025 (%) | Change (points) | Area 2025 (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 95.2 | 95.4 | +0.2 | 47.1 |
| Agriculture land | 0.0 | 0.0 | ±0.0 | 0.0 |
| Rangeland | 3.4 | 3.0 | −0.4 | 1.5 |
| Forest land | 1.3 | 1.4 | +0.0 | 0.7 |
| Water | 0.1 | 0.1 | +0.0 | 0.0 |
| Barren land | 0.0 | 0.1 | +0.1 | 0.1 |
Impact Observatory / Esri 10 m annual land-cover map, translated to the paper's seven classes and clipped to the boundary of Kathmandu.
How Kathmandu changed from 2017 to 2025
2017 (compare with 2025 above):
Rangeland −0.4 percentage points (−0.20 km²); Urban land +0.2 percentage points (+0.12 km²); Barren land +0.1 percentage points (+0.06 km²).
Other local units in Kathmandu district
Questions about Kathmandu
- What is the forest cover of Kathmandu?
- Forest covers about 1.4% of Kathmandu (0.7 km²) in the 2025 10 m land-cover map, less than the Kathmandu district average of 37.1%.
- How much of Kathmandu is built-up?
- Built-up land covers 95.4% (47.1 km²), +0.2 percentage points since 2017. Kathmandu ranks 3rd of 775 local units in Nepal for built-up share.
- Where is Kathmandu?
- Kathmandu is a local unit (municipality or rural municipality) in Kathmandu district, Bagmati Province, Nepal, covering 49.4 km².
Source: Impact Observatory / Esri 10 m land cover (CC BY 4.0); boundaries: Survey Department of Nepal via OCHA.