Dhankuta District

Dhankuta District (Nepali: धनकुटा जिल्ला) (Listen (help·info)) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district covers an area of 891 km² (344 sq mi) and has a population (2011) of 163,412. Dhankuta is the district headquarters of Dhankuta District.

History

Dhankuta was a part of Kirat Region before unification of those parts into Kingdom of Nepal.

After 1816 there were 10 districts in Nepal and Dhankuta-chainpur district was one of them. All land from east of Dudhkosi river to the Mechi river was one district Dhankuta-chainpur.

From 1885 to 1962 Nepal remained divided into 32 districts and there were six districts in eastern-hill region: East No. 1, East No. 2, East No. 3, East No. 4, Ilam and Dhankuta. Dhankuta was center of these districts. That time also dhankuta was a large (by area) district. Current Sankhuwasabha, Tehrathum, Taplejung, Panchthar and Dhankuta districts were Incorporated under one district. The total area of the former Dhankuta district was 3,448 square miles (8,930 km²).

In 1962, Nepal divided into 75 districts and 16 districts of eastern Nepal grouped to form Eastern Development Region and Dhankuta became the headquarter of it.

Geography and Climate

Dhankuta is a mid-hill district of eastern hill region of Nepal. It is situated between 26°53′ to 27°19′ north latitude and 87°8′ to 88°33′ east longitude. Total area of the district is 888.7 square kilometres (343.1 sq mi) and it is located at 243 metres (9,600 in) to 629 metres (24,800 in) of elevation above sea level.

Vegetation

The vegetation zones in the district range from sub-tropical Sal forest along the Tamor and Arun rivers, and cooler temperate forests on some of the high ridges that mark the watershed between the two catchments. The altitude ranges from around 300m to 2500m. The majority of the population are involved in agriculture and crops include maize, rice and millet. Important cash crops include citrus fruits, cauliflower, cabbage, ginger, and in recent years, tea. A well-preserved forest (Rani Ban – Queen’s Forest) spreads along a ridge line on the northwest side of the village, with well-developed mature stands of rhododendron and sallo (pine) trees.

Climate Zone	Elevation Range	% of Area
Lower Tropical	below 300 meters (1,000 ft)	3.7%
Upper Tropical	300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft.	44.7%
Subtropical	1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft.	46.6%
Temperate	2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft.	3.2%

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1981	129,781	—
1991	146,386	+1.21%
2001	166,479	+1.29%
2011	163,412	−0.19%
2021	149,984	−0.85%
Sources:

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Dhankuta District had a population of 163,412. Of these, 20.35% were Chhetri, 19.66% Rai, 13.04% Limbu, 9.72% Magar and 6.43% Tamang. 43.47% spoke Nepali, 12.43% Limbu, 9.59% Bantawa, 9.29% Magar, 5.67% Tamang, 3.5% Rai, 3.3% Athpariya, 3.0% Yakkha, 2.3% Chintang, 2.2% Newari, 1.2% Chulung, 0.7% Yamphu and 0.6% Maithili as their first language.

51.8% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 1.4% Bantawa and 0.6% Chintang as their second language.

Divisions

Dhankuta is divided into 3 urban municipalities and 4 rural municipalities.

No.	Type	Name	Nepali	Population (2011)	Area	Website
1	Urban	Dhankuta	धनकुटा	36,619	111	www.dhankutamun.gov.np
2	Urban	Pakhribas	पाख्रीबास	22078	144.29	www.pakhribasmun.gov.np
3	Urban	Mahalaxmi	महालक्ष्मी	24,800	129	www.mahalaxmimundhankuta.gov.np
4	Rural	Sangurigadhi	सागुरीगढी	21,536	147.6	www.sangurigadhimun.gov.np
5	Rural	Chaubise	चौविसे	19,283	147.6	www.choubisemun.gov.np
6	Rural	Khalsa Chhintang Sahidbhumi	खाल्सा छिन्ताङ सहीदभूमि	18,760	99.55	www.choubisemun.gov.np
7	Rural	Chhathar Jorpati	छथर जोरपाटी	18,322	102.83	www.choubisemun.gov.np
	District	Dhankuta	धनकुटा	163,412	892	www.ddcdhankuta.gov.np

Former divisions

Formerly Dhankuta was divided into 2 municipalities and many Village development committees.