List of districts of Nepal

District
CategoryJilla
LocationNepal
Created
  • pre-1816
Number77 (as of 20 September 2015)
Populations2,041,587 – 5,658
Areas7,889 square kilometres (3,046 mi2) - 119 square kilometres (46 sq mi)
Government
Subdivisions

Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Districts are subdivided into municipalities and rural municipalities. There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal.

There were total of 75 districts in Nepal until 2015, grouped into 14 Zones and 5 Development Regions. After the adoption of federalism in 2015, the existing Zones and Development Regions were dissolved. Nawalparasi District and Rukum District were respectively divided into Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District, making total number of districts 77. These 77 districts were regrouped into 7 provinces.

District officials

District official include:

History

During the time of king Rajendra Bir Bikram Shah and prime minister Bhimsen Thapa, Nepal was divided into 10 districts.[1] All areas east of Dudhkoshi River were one district, Dhankuta.

Rana regime (1885–1950)

During the time of prime minister Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1885–1901), Nepal was divided into 32 districts and Doti, Palpa and Dhankuta were 3 gaunda (Nepali: गौंडा, "cantonment"). Hilly region had 20 districts and Terai had 12 districts.[1]

Even after Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana to the end of Rana rule in Nepal in 1951 and till the proclamation of new constitution of Kingdom of Nepal in 1962, Nepal remained divided into 32 districts. Each had a headquarters and Bada Haqim (District Administrator) as its head. From 1951 to 1962 many acts and constitutions passed which shows name of districts as below:[2][3][4]

Districts before 1956

Districts from 1956 to 1962

Nepal was divided seven regions (Kshetra) and 32 districts in 1956. Each district was further divided into sub-regions (Upakshetra).[4]

S.N. Region (Kshetra) District (Jilla) Sub-regions (Upakshetra)
1 Arun Mechi Ilam, Jhapa
2 Biratnagar Biratnagar, Rangeli
3 Taplejung Taplejung, Panchthar
4 Dhankuta Dhankuta, Shankhuwasabha, Chainpur
5 Bhojpur Bhojpur, Khotang
6 Janakpur Hanumannagar Hanumannagar, Siraha, Udayapur
7 Sagarmatha Okhaldhunga, Rawa
8 Janakpur Janakpur, Jaleshwar, Sarlahi, Sindhuli
9 Dolakha Chisankhu (Ramechhap), Dolakha
10 Kathmandu Chautara Chautara, Dhulikhel
11 Kathmandu Kantipur, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur
12 Birgunj Bara, Parsa, Rautahat
13 Trishuli Trishuli, Dhading
14 Rapti Chitwan, Chisapani, Makwanpur
15 Gandak Gorkha Gorkha, Lamjung, Manang
16 Pokhara Tanahun, Kaski
17 Syangja Bhirkot, Nuwakot
18 Lumbini Palhi, Bhairahawa, Palpa
19 Kapilvastu Baglung Mustang, Chharka, Baglung
20 Gulmi Gulmi, Galkot, Argha
21 Kapilvastu Dang, Khajahani
22 Pyuthan Pyuthan, Swargadwari
23 Karnali Humla Humla, Mugukarnali
24 Jumla Jumla, Karnali
25 Jajarkot Rukum, Jajarkot
26 Salyan Salyan, Rolpa
27 Dailekh Dailekh, Surkhet
28 Nepalgunj Banke, Bardiya
29 Mahakali Bajhang Bajhang, Bajura
30 Doti Doti, Achham
31 Dhangadhi Kailali, Kanchanpur
32 Mahakali Dadeldhura, Baitadi, Chamwa

Panchayat era (1960–1990)

In 1962, the traditional 32 districts were dissolved and Nepal was divided into 14 zones and 75 development Districts.[5]

In 1975, most districts underwent major boundary changes that shaped Nepal’s present-day districts. Large number of Village Panchayats were shifted across 58 districts. The most significant change was the merger of the former Tibrikot District into Jumla District and the creation of new district Kalikot, carved out of western Jumla. Bhojpur District was moved from Sagarmatha Zone to Koshi Zone, Parbat District from Gandaki Zone to Dhaulagiri Zone, and Dolpa District from Dhaulagiri Zone to Karnali Zone. Despite these changes, the total number of districts remained at 75.[6][7]

District Panchayat was the district level governing body during the Panchayat System (1962–1990).

Zones and Districts of Nepal (1975-2015)
S.N. Zone Districts No. of Districts
1 Mechi Taplejung • Panchthar • Ilam • Jhapa 4
2 Koshi Sankhuwasabha • Tehrathum • Bhojpur • Dhankuta • Morang • Sunsari 6
3 Sagarmatha Solukhumbu • Khotang • Okhaldhunga • Udayapur • Saptari • Siraha 6
4 Janakpur Dolakha • Ramechhap • Sindhuli • Dhanusha • Mahottari • Sarlahi 6
5 Bagmati Rasuwa • Nuwakot • Dhading • Sindhupalchok • Kavrepalanchok • Bhaktapur • Lalitpur • Kathmandu 8
6 Narayani Makwanpur • Rautahat • Bara • Parsa • Chitwan 5
7 Gandaki Gorkha • Manang • Lamjung • Kaski • Tanahun • Syangja 6
8 Lumbini Gulmi • Palpa • Arghakhanchi • Nawalparasi • Rupandehi • Kapilvastu 6
9 Dhaulagiri Mustang • Myagdi • Baglung • Parbat 4
10 Rapti Rukum • Rolpa • Pyuthan • Salyan • Dang 5
11 Bheri Jajarkot • Dailekh • Surkhet • Banke • Bardiya 5
12 Karnali Dolpa • Mugu • Humla • Jumla • Kalikot 5
13 Seti Bajura • Bajhang • Achham • Doti • Kailali 5
14 Mahakali Darchula • Baitadi • Dadeldhura • Kanchanpur 4
Nepal 75

District Development Committee (1990–2017)

District Development Committee (DDC) was established in 1990, following the end of the Panchayat system. It replaced the previous District Panchayat. It was composed of elected members at the district level. It was responsible for formulating district-level development policies. It was replaced with District Coordination Committee (DCC) in 2017.[8]

Maps of historical Districts of Nepal
  • Districts of Nepal in 1942
  • Districts of Nepal in 1952
  • Districts of Nepal until 2015
  • Districts of Nepal after 2015
  • Districts of Nepal in 2020

Districts under new administration

Since 20 September 2015, Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 77 districts. They are defined by schedule 4 of the new constitution, by grouping together the existing districts. Two districts, Nawalparasi and Rukum, were split in two parts: Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District respectively ending up in two different provinces.[9] The old District Development Committee (DDC) was replaced with District Coordination Committee (DCC) in 2017.[8]

Provinces Capital Districts Area
(KM2) 		Population
(2021) CBS 		Density
(people/KM2) 		Major Languages
Nepal Kathmandu 77 147,641.28 km2 29,164,578 198.15 Nepali
Koshi Province Biratnagar 14 25,905 km2 4,961,412 191.52 Nepali/Rai/Limbu/ Rajbanshi
Madhesh Province Janakpur 8 9,661 km2 6,114,600 632.92 Nepali/Maithili/Bhojpuri
Bagmati Province Hetauda 13 20,300 km2 6,116,866 301.32 Nepali/Tamang/Nepal Bhasha
Gandaki Province Pokhara 11 21,504 km2 2,466,427 113.18 Nepali/Gurung/Magar
Lumbini Province Deukhuri 12 22,288km2 5,122,078 265.79 Nepali/Tharu/Awadhi
Karnali Province Birendranagar 10 27,984km2 1,688,412 54.97 Nepali/Magar/Tamang
Sudurpashchim Province Godawari 9 19,999.28 km2 [10] 2,694,783 137.92 Nepali/Doteli/Tharu

List of districts

Koshi Province

Districts of Koshi
Name Nepali Headquarters Area (km2) Population (2021)[11] Website
Bhojpur District भोजपुर जिल्ला Bhojpur 1,507 157,923 [1]
Dhankuta District धनकुटा जिल्ला Dhankuta 891 150,599 [2]
Ilam District इलाम जिल्ला Ilam 1,703 279,534 [3]
Jhapa District झापा जिल्ला Chandragadhi (Bhadrapur) 1,606 998,054 [4]
Khotang District खोटाङ जिल्ला Diktel 1,591 175,298 [5]
Morang District मोरङ जिल्ला Biratnagar 1,855 1,148,156 [6]
Okhaldhunga District ओखलढुङ्गा जिल्ला Okhaldhunga (Siddhicharan) 1,074 139,552 [7]
Panchthar District पाँचथर जिल्ला Phidim 1,241 172,400 [8]
Sankhuwasabha District सङ्खुवासभा जिल्ला Khandbari 3,480 158,041 [9]
Solukhumbu District सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला Salleri (Solududhkunda) 3,312 104,851 [10]
Sunsari District सुनसरी जिल्ला Inaruwa 1,257 926,962 [11]
Taplejung District ताप्लेजुङ जिल्ला Phungling 3,646 120,590 [12]
Terhathum District तेह्रथुम जिल्ला Myanglung 679 88,731 [13]
Udayapur District उदयपुर जिल्ला Gaighat (Triyuga) 2,063 340,721 [14]
Koshi Pradesh कोशी प्रदेश Biratnagar 25,905 km2 4,961,412 [15]

Madhesh Province

Districts of Madhesh Province
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Parsa District पर्सा जिल्ला Birgunj 1,353 654,471 [16]
Bara District बारा जिल्ला Kalaiya 1,190 763,137 [17]
Rautahat District रौतहट जिल्ला Gaur 1,126 813,573 [18]
Sarlahi District सर्लाही जिल्ला Malangwa 1,259 862,470 [19]
Dhanusha District धनुषा जिल्ला Janakpur 1,180 867,747 [20]
Siraha District सिराहा जिल्ला Siraha 1,188 739,953 [21]
Mahottari District महोत्तरी जिल्ला Jaleshwar 1,002 706,994 [22]
Saptari District सप्तरी जिल्ला Rajbiraj 1,363 706,255 [23]
Madhesh Province मधेश प्रदेश Janakpur 9,661 km2 6,114,600 [24]

Bagmati Province

Districts of Bagmati
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Sindhuli District सिन्धुली जिल्ला Sindhulimadhi (Kamalamai) 2,491 300,026 [25]
Ramechhap District रामेछाप जिल्ला Manthali 1,546 170,302 [26]
Dolakha District दोलखा जिल्ला Charikot (Bhimeshwar) 2,191 172,767 [27]
Bhaktapur District भक्तपुर जिल्ला Bhaktapur 119 432,132 [28]
Dhading District धादिङ जिल्ला Dhading Besi (Nilkantha) 1,926 325,710 [29]
Kathmandu District काठमाडौँ जिल्ला Kathmandu 395 2,041,587 [30]
Kavrepalanchok District काभ्रेपलाञ्चोक जिल्ला Dhulikhel 1,396 364,039 [31]
Lalitpur District ललितपुर जिल्ला Lalitpur 385 551,667 [32]
Nuwakot District नुवाकोट जिल्ला Bidur 1,121 263,391 [33]
Rasuwa District रसुवा जिल्ला Dhunche 1,544 46,689 [34]
Sindhupalchok District सिन्धुपाल्चोक जिल्ला Chautara 2,542 262,624 [35]
Chitwan District चितवन जिल्ला Bharatpur 2,218 719,859 [36]
Makwanpur District मकवानपुर जिल्ला Hetauda 2,426 466,073 [37]
Bagmati Province बागमती प्रदेश Hetauda 20,300 km2 6,116,866 [38]

Gandaki Province

Districts of Gandaki
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2.) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Baglung District बागलुङ जिल्ला Baglung 1,784 249,211 [39]
Gorkha District गोरखा जिल्ला Gorkha 3,610 251,027 [40]
Kaski District कास्की जिल्ला Pokhara 2,017 600,051 [41]
Lamjung District लमजुङ जिल्ला Besisahar 1,692 155,852 [42]
Manang District मनाङ जिल्ला Chame 2,246 5,658 [43]
Mustang District मुस्ताङ जिल्ला Jomsom 3,573 14,452 [44]
Myagdi District म्याग्दी जिल्ला Beni 2,297 107,033 [45]
Nawalpur District नवलपरासी (बर्दघाट सुस्ता पूर्व) जिल्ला Kawasoti 1,370 378,079 [46]
Parbat District पर्वत जिल्ला Kusma 494 130,887 [47]
Syangja District स्याङग्जा जिल्ला Putalibazar 1,164 253,024 [48]
Tanahun District तनहुँ जिल्ला Damauli (Vyas) 1,546 321,153 [49]
Gandaki Province गण्डकी प्रदेश Pokhara 21,793 km2 2,466,427 [50]

Lumbini Province

Districts of Lumbini
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2.) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Kapilvastu District कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला Taulihawa 1,738 682,961 [51]
Nawalparasi (West of Bardaghat Susta) District नवलपरासी (बर्दघाट सुस्ता पश्चिम) जिल्ला Parasi (Ramgram) 792 386,868 [52]
Rupandehi District रुपन्देही जिल्ला Bhairahawa (Siddharthanagar) 1,360 1,121,957 [53]
Arghakhanchi District अर्घाखाँची जिल्ला Sandhikharka 1,193 177,086 [54]
Gulmi District गुल्मी जिल्ला Tamghas (Resunga) 1,149 246,494 [55]
Palpa District पाल्पा जिल्ला Tansen 1,373 245,027 [56]
Dang District दाङ जिल्ला Ghorahi 2,955 674,993 [57]
Pyuthan District प्युठान जिल्ला Pyuthan 1,309 232,019 [58]
Rolpa District रोल्पा जिल्ला Liwang (Rolpa) 1,879 224,506 [59]
Eastern Rukum District पूर्वी रूकुम जिल्ला Rukumkot 1,161 56,786 [60]
Banke District बाँके जिल्ला Nepalganj 2,337 603,194 [61]
Bardiya District बर्दिया जिल्ला Gulariya 2,025 459,900 [62]
Lumbini Province लुम्बिनी प्रदेश Deukhuri 19,271 km2 5,122,078 [63]

Karnali Province

Districts of Karnali
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Western Rukum District पश्चिमी रूकुम जिल्ला Musikot 1,716 166,740 [64]
Salyan District सल्यान जिल्ला Salyan (Sharada) 1,462 238,515 [65]
Dolpa District डोल्पा जिल्ला Dunai (Thuli Bheri) 7,889 42,774 [66]
Humla District हुम्ला जिल्ला Simikot 5,655 55,394 [67]
Jumla District जुम्ला जिल्ला Jumla (Chandannath) 2,531 118,349 [68]
Kalikot District कालिकोट जिल्ला Manma (Khandachakra) 1,741 145,292 [69]
Mugu District मुगु जिल्ला Gamgadhi 3,535 64,549 [70]
Surkhet District सुर्खेत जिल्ला Birendranagar 2,451 415,126 [71]
Dailekh District दैलेख जिल्ला Dailekh (Narayan) 1,502 252,313 [72]
Jajarkot District जाजरकोट जिल्ला Jajarkot Khalanga (Bheri) 2,230 189,360 [73]
Karnali Province कर्णाली प्रदेश Birendranagar 30,712 km2 1,688,412 [74]

Sudurpashchim Province

Districts of Sudurpaschim
Districts Nepali Headquarters Area (km2) Population (2021)[11] Official Website
Kailali District कैलाली जिल्ला Dhangadhi 3,235 904,666 [75]
Achham District अछाम जिल्ला Mangalsen 1,680 228,852 [76]
Doti District डोटी जिल्ला Dipayal Silgadhi 2,025 204,831 [77]
Bajhang District बझाङ जिल्ला Chainpur (Jayaprithvi) 3,422 189,085 [78]
Bajura District बाजुरा जिल्ला Martadi (Badimalika) 2,188 138,523 [79]
Kanchanpur District कंचनपुर जिल्ला Mahendranagar (Bheemdatta) 1,610 513,757 [80]
Dadeldhura District डडेलधुरा जिल्ला Dadeldhura (Amargadhi) 1,538 139,602 [81]
Baitadi District बैतडी जिल्ला Baitadi Khalanga (Dasharathchand) 1,519 242,157 [82]
Darchula District दार्चुला जिल्ला Darchula Khalanga (Mahakali) 2,322 133,310 [83]
Sudurpashchim Province सुदूर-पश्चिम प्रदेश Dhangadhi 19,539 km2 2,694,783 [84]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "संक्षिप्त परिचय" [Short Intro]. ddcdhankuta.gov.np (in Nepali). Govt of Nepal. Retrieved 6 February 2018. ..."श्री ५ राजेन्द्रविक्रम शाह र प्रधानमन्त्री भीमसेन थापाको शासनकालमा प्रशासनिक दृष्टिकोणले वि.सं.१८७३ साल पश्चात देश १० जिल्लामा विभाजन भयो।"
  2. ^ "Government of Nepal Act 1948" (PDF).
  3. ^ "प्रशासकीय पुनर्गठन समिति (बुच कमिशन) को प्रतिवेदन, २००९" (PDF).
  4. ^ a b "नेपालको जिल्ला प्रशासन पुनर्गठनको रिपोर्ट, २०१३" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Memorial Step of King Mahendra in 1st Poush 2017 BS". reviewnepal.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018. ..." "
  6. ^ "भइरहेका अञ्चल जिल्लाको पुनः विभाजन गरी सिमाना र सदरमुकाम हेरफेर गरी तोकेको". (In Nepali) Nepal Rajpatra, Government of Nepal. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  7. ^ Gurung, Harka (1981). "Population Change in Nepal (1971-1981)". The Himalayan Review. 13. Nepal Geographical Society: 2.
  8. ^ a b "जिविस अब देखि जिल्ला समन्वय समिति". (In Nepali) Ekantipur. Archived from the original on 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  9. ^ "There will be 77 districts in the country: Minister Thapa". myrepublica.com. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  10. ^ "About Sudurpashchim Province". invest.sudurpashchim.gov.np. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Population of Each Districts in Nepal". 9 August 2023.
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