The majority of the Jirels live in the Jiri area, located in Dolakha District, Janakpur Zone in eastern Nepal. A small number of Jirels inhabit some villages to the north-west of Jiri. The Jiri area has an average altitude of 2000 metres. The total Jirel population varies according to the various censuses or estimates. According to the census of 1961 there were about 3,000 Jirels living in the Jiri area. The census of 1991 records the population of the ethnic group of the Jirels as being 4,889, and the census of 2001, as 5,316. However, there is reason to believe that the total population of the Jirels is greater than the census figures would indicate.

Bradley (1997) classifies Jirel as a central Bodish/Tibetan Language of Central Tibeto-Burman, gTsang. G. Thurgood (2003) classifies Jirel also as a Bodic Language of Central Tibetan, U-Tsang. Van Driem (2001: 862) mentions the Jirel as speaking a Bodish language related to the Sherpa dialects; (2001: 829) he lists Jirel along with Sherpa, Kagate, Langthang, Dolpo, Lo of Mustang and Lhomi as languages of Nepal belonging to Central Tibetan.