ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP CERTIFICATE IN NEPAL ESTIMATION AND PROJECTION Findings In 2013, FWLD published a report which concluded that by July 2011 4.3 million Nepalese people aged 16 and above lacked citizenship certificates, representing 23.65%of the total population of Nepal.10 Below is the data of 2012, 2013 and 2014 which shows the changing number of people without citizenship certificate in Nepal. Year Number of people who became eligible (L) Number of citizenship certificates issued (M) Gap in the distribution of citizenship certificates and the number of eligible persons (N) 2011 - 685,225 (F) - 2012 766,520 (L1) 220,036 (M1) 546,484 (N1) 2013 660,929 (L2) 1,126,430 (M2) (465,501)11 (N2) 2014 692,944 (L3) 442,920 (M3) 250,024 (N3) The total number of people without citizenship certificates in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 can be found in the table below:- Year Number of people without citizenship certificates in the previous year Annual Gap in the distribution of citizenship certificate in that year Number of people without citizenship certificates in that year 2012 4,346,046 (K) 546,484 (N1) 4,892,530 (O1) 2013 4,892,530 (N2) (465,501) (N2) 4,427,029 (O2) 2014 4,427,029 (O2) 250,024 (N3) 4,677,053 (O3) The special efforts of the government of Nepal to issue citizenship certificates through integrated mobile camps and citizenship certificate distribution camps in the year 2013 decreased the number of people without citizenship certificates significantly from 4.8 million (O1) to 4.4 million (O2). The number of total eligible population to acquire citizenship certificates was thus lesser than the total number of citizenship certificates distributed in that year. However, this was organized as a onetime effort which resulted in the subsequent widening of the gap between the two variables, that led to the gap increasing from 4.4 million (O2) to 4. 6 million (O3). 10. 11. Ibid The brackets symbolize that the value is in negative. In the year 2013, the Ministry of Home Affairs distributed citizenship certificates through mobile camps across the country which was a special effort made in addition to regular distribution of citizenship certificates. In that year 603,094 people received citizenship certificates through the mobile camps, while 523,336 received certificates through regular process. This is the reason why the annual gap in distribution of citizenship certificates and the number of eligible persons is in negative value. 11