the province has a population of 2,552,517 which is 9.63% of the total population of nepal. the population density is about 130 persons per square kilometre. the province has a population growth rate of 1.53%. the sex ratio is 912 males for 1000 females, with a total of 1,217,887 males and 1,334,630 females recorded in 2011. the urban population of the region is 1,504,279 (58.9%) and the rural population is 1,048,238 (41.1%).