Hinduism is the major religion of Nepal. In the 2011 census, approximately 81.3 percent of the Nepalese people identified themselves as Hindus, although observers note that many of the people regarded as Hindus in the 1981 census could, with as much justification, be called Buddhists.The national calendar of Nepal, Vikram Samvat, is a solar Hindu calendar essentially the same to that widespread in North India as a religious calendar, and is based on Hindu units of time.