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The female rate is just under 48%.
Considering that many countries have rates over 90%, Nepal's performance can be described as abysmal.
This isn't the end of the story.
The standard of education in Nepal itself is dreadful.
Trained teachers in subjects like: English, computers, math and science, considered essential by most Nepalese, is in very short supply.
These were the stats that convinced Amanda Williams of Wilmington, Delaware, to volunteer to teach in Nepal.
Amanda is just a sophomore studying to major in media studies.
Rather than waste her summer holiday doing nothing, she choose to come to Nepal to teach in a school and help train English teachers in rural Nepal.
"It was a great experience," said Amanda, who volunteered from May 20 to August 31, 2011 in Chitwan, Nepal.
"I stayed with a host family and they treated me like one of their own," she continued.
"It was little boring to have dal bhat all the time but that's what my host family have had all their life and I wanted to share this experience.
" Dal bhat is rice and lentil soup in Nepalese.
It's a stable food for most Nepalese.
Regarding teaching, she said, "Teaching kids was amazing.
They were so inquisitive and wanted to interact so much.
With me, they had to speak in English, and it's not like that with their local English teachers.
That helped them a lot.
" Amanda also taught two resident English teachers.
"I looked at their writing, how they expressed themselves and gave them few tips.
They really appreciated that.
" The school is in a very rural part of Nepal.
It is only one of two schools in the region and a single classroom has as many as 60 students.
"I was kinda tired of teaching 60 students.
So I had to ask for an assistant to help me.
That's not what the school does normally.
They have just a teacher teaching the whole class and I doubt it if the students learn anything.
" Did her approach work? "It became very interactive," added Amanda.
"I could then ask questions, get the other teacher to translate some of the things the kids didn't understand, and soon we were holding debates and discussions.
" Each year, hundreds of volunteers like Amanda come to Nepal to help the education system.
There is no official study on the impact of these volunteers.
But Amanda has no doubt Nepal needs volunteers like her.
"I only taught for 2 months," Amanda said, "but I could see the kids become much more interested.
That's a start, right?" The school where Amanda taught has agreed to allow volunteers next year also.
That's probably because of Amanda's work.
It may be more than just a start after all.
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