Geography & Administration · Data

Districts of Nepal ranked by population, area & density

A sortable, province-filterable ranking of all 77 districts of Nepal from the 2021 census. The largest district in Nepal by population is Kathmandu with 2,041,587 people, while by area it is Dolpa at 7,889 km². Click any column to re-rank the table, or filter to a single province. Every figure is from the National Population and Housing Census 2021.

Largest by population

Kathmandu

2,041,587 people (2021)

Largest by area

Dolpa

7,889 km²

Densest

Kathmandu

5,169 people per km²

Total population

29,164,578

across 77 districts · 147,181 km²

At a glance

The extremes among Nepal's districts

The contrasts are stark — from a Himalayan district the size of a small country to a valley district packed denser than any other.

Most populous: Kathmandu; 2,041,587 people · Bagmati Province
Least populous: Manang; 5,658 people · Gandaki Province
Largest by area: Dolpa; 7,889 km² · Karnali Province
Smallest by area: Bhaktapur; 119 km² · Bagmati Province
Densest: Kathmandu; 5,169 people per km² · Bagmati Province
Second most populous: Morang; 1,148,156 people · Koshi Province

The full ranking

All 77 districts, sortable and filterable

Default order is by 2021 population, highest first. Sort by any column and filter by province; each district name links to its full profile.

Province

Showing 77 districts

Districts of Nepal ranked by 2021 census population, area and density. Sortable by any column.

1	Kathmandu	Bagmati	2,041,587	395	5,169	+1.51	89.2
2	Morang	Koshi	1,148,156	1,855	619	+1.66	78.6
3	Rupandehi	Lumbini	1,121,957	1,360	825	+2.33	81.2
4	Jhapa	Koshi	998,054	1,606	621	+1.97	82.8
5	Sunsari	Koshi	926,962	1,257	737	+1.86	78.1
6	Kailali	Sudurpashchim	904,666	3,235	280	+1.48	77.6
7	Dhanusha	Madhesh	867,747	1,180	735	+1.34	65.2
8	Sarlahi	Madhesh	862,470	1,259	685	+1.09	60.3
9	Rautahat	Madhesh	813,573	1,126	723	+1.63	57.8
10	Bara	Madhesh	763,137	1,190	641	+1.00	64.5
11	Siraha	Madhesh	739,953	1,188	623	+1.43	65.1
12	Chitwan	Bagmati	719,859	2,218	325	+2.07	83.7
13	Mahottari	Madhesh	706,994	1,002	706	+1.14	59.8
14	Saptari	Madhesh	706,255	1,363	518	+0.96	67.7
15	Kapilvastu	Lumbini	682,961	1,738	393	+1.70	71.8
16	Dang	Lumbini	674,993	2,955	228	+1.92	81.4
17	Parsa	Madhesh	654,471	1,353	484	+0.82	69.1
18	Banke	Lumbini	603,194	2,337	258	+1.97	73.4
19	Kaski	Gandaki	600,051	2,017	297	+1.90	87.7
20	Lalitpur	Bagmati	551,667	385	1,433	+1.58	88.1
21	Kanchanpur	Sudurpashchim	513,757	1,610	319	+1.25	79.6
22	Makwanpur	Bagmati	466,073	2,426	192	+0.99	77.8
23	Bardiya	Lumbini	459,900	2,025	227	+0.72	76.9
24	Bhaktapur	Bagmati	432,132	119	3,631	+3.35	88.0
25	Surkhet	Karnali	415,126	2,451	169	+1.62	82.7
26	Nawalparasi West	Lumbini	386,868	729	527	+1.47	78.0
27	Nawalpur	Gandaki	378,079	1,433	265	+1.86	82.4
28	Kavrepalanchok	Bagmati	364,039	1,396	261	-0.46	75.7
29	Udayapur	Koshi	340,721	2,063	165	+0.68	77.2
30	Dhading	Bagmati	325,710	1,926	169	-0.30	72.4
31	Tanahun	Gandaki	321,153	1,546	208	-0.06	81.6
32	Sindhuli	Bagmati	300,026	2,491	120	+0.12	72.6
33	Ilam	Koshi	279,534	1,703	164	-0.36	83.4
34	Nuwakot	Bagmati	263,391	1,121	235	-0.50	69.1
35	Sindhupalchok	Bagmati	262,624	2,542	103	-0.88	68.0
36	Syangja	Gandaki	253,024	1,164	217	-1.28	81.7
37	Dailekh	Karnali	252,313	1,502	168	-0.35	75.5
38	Gorkha	Gandaki	251,027	3,610	70	-0.74	72.4
39	Baglung	Gandaki	249,211	1,784	140	-0.72	80.0
40	Gulmi	Lumbini	246,494	1,149	215	-1.23	80.3
41	Palpa	Lumbini	245,027	1,373	178	-0.61	83.7
42	Baitadi	Sudurpashchim	242,157	1,519	159	-0.34	76.8
43	Salyan	Karnali	238,515	1,462	163	-0.16	77.3
44	Rolpa	Lumbini	234,793	1,879	125	+0.43	75.6
45	Pyuthan	Lumbini	232,019	1,309	177	+0.16	80.1
46	Achham	Sudurpashchim	228,852	1,680	136	-1.13	72.6
47	Doti	Sudurpashchim	204,831	2,025	101	-0.32	70.7
48	Jajarkot	Karnali	189,360	2,230	85	+0.96	75.5
49	Bajhang	Sudurpashchim	189,085	3,422	55	-0.30	70.5
50	Arghakhanchi	Lumbini	177,086	1,193	148	-1.05	80.0
51	Khotang	Koshi	175,298	1,591	110	-1.56	76.0
52	Dolakha	Bagmati	172,767	2,191	79	-0.74	72.3
53	Panchthar	Koshi	172,400	1,241	139	-1.02	82.3
54	Ramechhap	Bagmati	170,302	1,546	110	-1.67	68.1
55	Rukum West	Karnali	166,740	1,217	137	+0.68	75.7
56	Sankhuwasabha	Koshi	158,041	3,480	45	-0.04	79.7
57	Bhojpur	Koshi	157,923	1,507	105	-1.39	78.9
58	Lamjung	Gandaki	155,852	1,692	92	-0.70	77.5
59	Dhankuta	Koshi	150,599	891	169	-0.78	81.4
60	Kalikot	Karnali	145,292	1,741	83	+0.57	72.7
61	Dadeldhura	Sudurpashchim	139,602	1,538	91	-0.17	78.2
62	Okhaldhunga	Koshi	139,552	1,074	130	-0.56	73.9
63	Bajura	Sudurpashchim	138,523	2,188	63	+0.25	71.2
64	Darchula	Sudurpashchim	133,310	2,322	57	0.00	77.8
65	Parbat	Gandaki	130,887	494	265	-1.09	80.1
66	Taplejung	Koshi	120,590	3,646	33	-0.53	82.2
67	Jumla	Karnali	118,349	2,531	47	+0.80	70.2
68	Myagdi	Gandaki	107,033	2,297	47	-0.57	79.7
69	Solukhumbu	Koshi	104,851	3,312	32	-0.09	76.9
70	Terhathum	Koshi	88,731	679	131	-1.30	81.9
71	Mugu	Karnali	64,549	3,535	18	+1.49	68.1
72	Rukum East	Lumbini	56,786	1,660	34	+0.63	71.4
73	Humla	Karnali	55,394	5,655	10	+0.82	63.8
74	Rasuwa	Bagmati	46,689	1,544	30	+0.72	69.6
75	Dolpa	Karnali	42,774	7,889	5	+1.47	67.0
76	Mustang	Gandaki	14,452	3,573	4	+0.69	75.1
77	Manang	Gandaki	5,658	2,246	3	-1.39	78.4

Rank (#) is fixed by 2021 population, so it stays meaningful whichever column you sort by. Click any column header to re-sort; click again to reverse. Filter by province with the selector above.

By area

The five largest districts by area

Nepal's biggest districts are all sparsely populated mountain districts of the Karnali and the high Himalaya.

Common questions

District rankings, answered

What is the largest district in Nepal by population?

Kathmandu is the largest district in Nepal by population, with 2,041,587 people in the 2021 census — far ahead of Morang (1,148,156) and Rupandehi (1,121,957), the only other districts above one million. Kathmandu is also Nepal's densest district at 5,169 persons per km².

What is the largest district in Nepal by area?

Dolpa in Karnali Province is the largest district by area at 7,889 km² of official statistical area, yet it is home to only about 42,774 people — a density of roughly 5 per km². The smallest district by area is Bhaktapur at just 119 km².

Which is the least populous district in Nepal?

Manang in Gandaki Province has the smallest population of any district, just 5,658 people in 2021, at a density of about 3 per km² — the lowest in the country. Neighbouring Mustang is the second-least populous.

Which district in Nepal is the most densely populated?

Kathmandu, with 5,169 persons per km² in 2021 — by far the densest. Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, the other two Kathmandu Valley districts, follow, while trans-Himalayan Manang (about 3 per km²) is the least dense.

Which district is growing fastest, and which is shrinking?

Bhaktapur grew fastest of all 77 districts at +3.35% per year between 2011 and 2021, while Ramechhap shrank fastest at -1.67% per year. In total 34 districts — every one a hill or mountain district — recorded fewer people in 2021 than in 2011, reflecting sustained migration to the Tarai, the cities and abroad.

How can I sort and filter the district ranking table?

Click any column header — district name, province, population, area, density, growth or literacy — to sort by that column, and click again to reverse the order. Use the province selector to narrow the table to a single province. The rank number stays fixed to the 2021 population so it remains meaningful whichever way you sort.

Keep exploring

All 77 districts →The full library — every district by province, with the interactive boundary map.Kathmandu district →Nepal's most populous and densest district — the full profile.Dolpa district →Nepal's largest district by area — Shey Phoksundo and the trans-Himalaya.

Sources & data note

All population, household, density, sex-ratio and growth figures are from the National Population and Housing Census 2021 (NSO National Report, Table 15; census reference date 25 November 2021), with 2011 comparisons from the 2011 census recalculated to current boundaries for the four districts split in 2017. Areas are the official statistical areas used by NSO/CBS — the 77 districts sum to exactly 147,181 km² — not GIS polygon areas; where Wikipedia's list page prints conflicting areas for the four split districts (Nawalpur, Nawalparasi West, Rukum East, Rukum West), the NSO-consistent figures are used. Literacy rates are computed from NSO Table 24 raw counts (population aged 5+ who can read and write); the computed national aggregate, 76.25%, matches NSO's published 76.2%. Headquarters coordinates are approximate map-pin locations (±2–5 km), not surveyed points.