Bagmati Province बागमती प्रदेश | |
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 Location of Bagmati  | |
Map of Bagmati, Nepal | |
| Country |  Nepal |
| Formation | 20 September 2015 |
| Capital | Hetauda |
| Largest city | Kathmandu |
| Districts | 13 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Self governing province |
| • Body | Government of Bagmati Province |
| • Governor | Deepak Prasad Devkota |
| • Chief Minister | Indra Bahadur Baniya |
| • Legislature | Unicameral (110 seats) |
| • Parliamentary constituency | House of Representatives (33) National Assembly (8) |
| • High Court | Patan High Court |
| Area | |
• Total | 20,300 km2 (7,800 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 5th |
| Highest elevation | 7,422 m (24,350 ft) |
| Lowest elevation (Golaghat) | 141 m (463 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 6,084,042 |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| • Density | 300/km2 (776/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| Time zone | UTC+5:45 (NST) |
| Geocode | NP-TH |
| ISO 3166 code | NP-P3 |
| Official language | Nepali |
| Other Official language(s) | 1.Nepal Bhasa 2.Tamang |
| Ethnic groups | |
| HDI |  0.673 (medium) |
| HDI rank | 1st |
| Literacy | 83% (2024) |
| Sex ratio | 98.77♂ /100♀ (2011) |
| GDP | US$ 14.5 billion (Rank 1) |
| GDP Per Capita | US$ 2618 |
| Website | bagamati |
Bagmati Province (Nepali:बागमती प्रदेश,Bāgmatī pradēśa)[1][2] is one of the sevenprovinces ofNepal established by theconstitution of Nepal.[3] Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered byTibet Autonomous Region ofChina to the north,Gandaki Province to the west,Koshi Province to the east,Madhesh Province and theIndian state ofBihar to the south. WithHetauda as its provincial headquarters,[4] the province is also the home to the country's capitalKathmandu, is mostly hilly and mountainous, and hosts mountain peaks includingGaurishankar,Langtang,Jugal, andGanesh.
Being the second most populous province of Nepal, it possesses rich cultural diversity with resident communities and castes including Thami (Thangmi) (Shneiderman, 2009, 2015; Turin, 1998),Newar,Tamang,Sherpa,Tharu,Chepang,Jirel,Brahmin,Chhetri, and more.[5] It hosted the highest number of voters in the 2017 election for theHouse of Representatives andProvincial Assembly.
Bagmati is named after theBagmati River which runs through theKathmandu valley. The river is considered the source of theNewar civilization and urbanization.[6] The river has been mentioned asVaggumuda (Nepali:वग्गुमुदा) inVinaya Pitaka and Nandabagga.[6] It has also been mentioned as Bahumati (Nepali:बाहुमति) inBattha Suttanta ofMajjhima Nikaya.[6] An inscription dated 477A.D. describes the river asBagvati Parpradeshe (Nepali:वाग्वति पारप्रदेशे) and subsequently in theGopalraj Vanshavali.[6]
A provincial assembly meeting on 12 January 2020 endorsed the proposal to name the province as Bagmati by a majority vote.Hetauda was declared as the permanent state capital on 12 January 2020.[7][8]
Bagmati Province has an area of 20,300 km2 which is about 13.79% of the total area of Nepal. The elevation of the province ranges from 141 m at Golaghat inChitwan District to 7,422m atGanesh Himal. The province has an altitude low enough to supportdeciduous,coniferous, andalpine forests and woodlands. 27.29% land is covered by forest. The temperature varies with altitude. There are 10 sub-basins and 33 major rivers flowing through the province. The longest river is theSunkoshi measuring 160.19 km.
Bagmati province has climatic variations, which are associated with the diverse nature of its topography and altitude. The climatic zone of Bagmati province starts from the High Himalaya in the north, above 5000 m with tundra and an arctic climate to the Siwalik region in the south, 500–1000 m with a sub-tropical climatic zone. The annual precipitation also varies from 150 to 200 mm in the high Himalayas to 1100–3000 mm in the southern plains. Similarly, the average annual temperature of the province varies from 30 °C to −10 °C. Rainfall takes place mainly during the summer.
| Location | August (°C) | January (°C) | Annual Precipitation (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banepa | 23.7 | 9.9 | 1930.8 |
| Bharatpur | 27.6 | 14.2 | 2550.1 |
| Hetauda | 26.5 | 12.9 | 2069.5 |
| Suryabinayak | 21.4 | 7.7 | 1821.7 |
| Kathmandu | 23 | 10 | 1360 |
| Kirtipur | 23.5 | 9.4 | 2100.9 |
During the Lichhavi and Malla period, this region was known as Nepalmandal and was ruled by Newar kings. Historically the area of Bagmati province known as "Kathmandu Kshetra", which was established in 1956. Kathmandu Kshetra was composed by grouping the then five districts. Those five districts are now divided into many districts. Kathmandu Kshetra had a total area of 6,144 square miles (15,910 km2) and total population was 17.93 Lakhs (1.7 million).[10]
The five districts were:
In 1962, administrative system restructured and the "Kshetras" system cancelled and the country restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones.[11] In 1972, the region was named toCentral Development Region. It had 3 zones and 19 districts.
Makwanpurgadhi is located about 17 kilometers northeast of Hetauda, the district headquarters ofMakwanpur district. Makwanpur Fort is a place of historical and tourist importance in Makwanpur district.[12]
Sindhuli Gadhi is an important place in terms of natural beauty and history. This place is about 150 kilometers east of Kathmandu. Sindhuligadi Nepal is a living document of theBritish War.
Rasuwa Fort on the Nepal-China border is considered to be an important security fort between Nepal and China. The historical fortress is about a century and a half old.
According to the 2021 Nepal Census, Bagmati Province has a population of 6,084,042 comprising 2,761,224 females and 2,672,594 males. The province has thesecond-highest population in the country having 20.84% of the population. The population density of the province is 300 people per square kilometre which is the second highest in the country.[13] 6.51% of the population was under 5 years of age. Bagmati Province has a literacy rate of 82.06%.[14]
Tamang is the largest ethnic group in the province making up around 19.89% of the population.Hill Brahmans are the next largest group making up around 17.84% of the population followed byChhetris (17.41%) andNewars (15.57%) respectively. SimilarlyMagar,Kami andGurung make up 5.11%, 2.75% and 2.30% of the population respectively.Tharu (1.80%),Rai (1.84%),Damai (1.55%),Sarki (1.38%) andChepang (1.27%) are other smaller ethnic groups in the province.[15]
Nepali is the most common mother tongue in the province with 56.04% of the population speakingNepali as their mother tongues.Tamang language is spoken by 18.00% andNepal Bhasa is spoken by 11.82% of the population as their mother tongue.Magar (2.30%).,Gurung (1.11%) andChepang (0.90%) are other languages spoken in the province. Madheshi languages such as Maithili and Bhojpuri are spoken by Madheshi and Muslim migrants to Kathmandu from the plains as well as in Chitawan district.[16]
TheLanguage Commission of Nepal has recommendedNepal Bhasa andTamang as official language in the province.[17]
Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province, with 72.03% of the population identifying as Hindus. Buddhists are the largest minority population with 23.3% of the population following Buddhism andChristianity is followed by 3.30% of the population in the province.[18]
There are total 119 local administrative units in the province which include 3 metropolitan cities, 1 sub-metropolitan city, 41 urban municipalities and 74 rural municipalities.[19][20]
Bagmati is divided into 13 districts, which are listed below. A district is administered by the head of theDistrict Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided intomunicipalities orrural municipalities.
Districts in Nepal are the second level of administrative divisions afterprovinces. Bagmati Province is divided into 13 districts, which are listed below. A district is administered by the head of theDistrict Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities.
| Districts | Headquarters | Population (2021)[21] |
|---|---|---|
| Sindhuli | Kamalamai | 300,026 |
| Ramechhap | Manthali | 170,302 |
| Dolakha | Bhimeshwar | 172,767 |
| Bhaktapur | Bhaktapur | 432,132 |
| Dhading | Dhading Besi | 325,710 |
| Kathmandu | Kathmandu | 2,041,587 |
| Kavrepalanchok | Dhulikhel | 364,039 |
| Lalitpur | Lalitpur | 551,667 |
| Nuwakot | Bidur | 263,391 |
| Rasuwa | Dhunche | 46,689 |
| Sindhupalchok | Chautara | 262,624 |
| Chitwan | Bharatpur | 719,859 |
| Makwanpur | Hetauda | 466,073 |
Cities and villages are governed by municipalities inNepal. A district may have one or more municipalities. Bagmati has two types of municipalities.
The government of Nepal has set out a minimum criteria to meet cities and towns. These criteria include a certain population, infrastructure and revenues.
| Rank | District | Pop. | Rank | District | Pop. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kathmandu | Kathmandu | 845,767 | 11 | Kageshwori Manohara | Kathmandu | 133,327 | ||
| 2 | Bharatpur | Chitwan | 369,377 | 12 | Madhyapur Thimi | Bhaktapur | 119,955 | ||
| 3 | Lalitpur | Lalitpur | 299,843 | 13 | Mahalaxmi | Lalitpur | 118,710 | ||
| 4 | Hetauda | Makawanpur | 195,951 | 14 | Nagarjun | Kathmandu | 115,507 | ||
| 5 | Budhanilkantha | Kathmandu | 179,688 | 15 | Godawari | Lalitpur | 100,972 | ||
| 6 | Tarakeshor | Kathmandu | 151,508 | 16 | Ratnanagar | Chitwan | 90,978 | ||
| 7 | Gokarneshwar | Kathmandu | 151,200 | 17 | Changunarayan | Bhaktapur | 88,612 | ||
| 8 | Suryabinayak | Bhaktapur | 137,971 | 18 | Kirtipur | Kathmandu | 81,782 | ||
| 9 | Chandragiri | Kathmandu | 136,928 | 19 | Bhaktapur | Bhaktapur | 78,854 | ||
| 10 | Tokha | Kathmandu | 135,741 | 20 | Kamalamai | Sindhuli | 71,811 | ||
Bagmati provincial assembly is theunicamerallegislative assembly consisting of 110 members. Candidates for eachconstituency are chosen by thepolitical parties or stand as independents. Each constituency elects one member under thefirst past the post (FPTP) system of election. The current constitution specifies that sixty percent of the members should be elected from thefirst past the post system and forty percent through theparty-list proportional representation (PR) system. Women should account for one-third of total members elected from each party. If one-third percentage are not elected, the party that fails to ensure so shall have to elect one-third of the total number as women through theparty-list proportional representation. The Governor acts as the head of the province, while the Chief Minister is the head of the provincial government. The Chief Judge of the Patan High Court is the head of the judiciary.[22]
The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge areYadav Chandra Sharma,Rajendra Prasad Pandey and Tek Bahadur Moktan respectively.[23][24] The provincial assembly has 110 members while the province has 33House of Representativeconstituencies.[25] The term length of provincial assembly is five years. TheProvincial Assembly is currently housed at the Regional Education Directorate in Hetauda.[26]
| Party | FPTP | PR | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist) | 725,113 | 35.37 | 41 | 677,317 | 35.81 | 12 | 45 | |
| CPN (Unified Socialist) | 9 | 4 | 13 | |||||
| Nepali Congress | 748,207 | 36.50 | 9 | 559,249 | 29.57 | 14 | 23 | |
| 21,552 | 1.05 | 23,958 | 1.27 | |||||
| CPN (Maoist Centre) | 355,126 | 16.32 | 15 | 316,876 | 16.75 | 8 | 23 | |
| Bibeksheel Sajha Party | 74,656 | 3.64 | 0 | 124,442 | 6.58 | 3 | 3 | |
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 27,960 | 1.36 | 0 | 59,268 | 3.13 | 1 | 1 | |
| Nepal Mazdoor Kisan Party | 40,502 | 1.98 | 1 | 41,610 | 2.20 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Democratic) | 1,399 | 0.07 | 0 | 28,855 | 1.53 | 1 | 1 | |
| Others | 50,791 | 3.48 | 0 | 59,731 | 3.16 | 0 | 0 | |
| Independent | 4,688 | 0.23 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | |
| Invalid/Blank votes | 70,471 | – | – | 226,043 | – | – | – | |
| Total | 2,120,465 | 100 | 66 | 2,117,314 | 100 | 44 | 110 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 3,074,381 | 68.97 | – | 3,074,381 | 68.87 | – | – | |
| Source:Election Commission of Nepal | ||||||||
Bagmati Province is the most industrialized province and has maintained the leading position in the economic sector in Nepal. WithGDP ofNPR 1.43 Trillion (as of 2019),[27] Bagmati alone is thesingle largest contributor to thenational economy with a share of36.8% in thecountry's GDP.
According to the National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2016, the Province'sNeonatal Mortality (per 1000 live births) stands at 17 andInfant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) stands at 29, both of which are below the national average of 21 and 32, respectively.
According to the Annual report of Department of Health Services (DoHS) 2018/19, Bagmati Province has 35 public hospitals, 41 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCCs), 641 Health posts and 1417 Non-public facilities.[28]
The province has always been an educational hub of the country.
Enrollment rate in primary school in the province is 95.79, whereasadult literacy stands at 74.85%.
There are various education levels in Bagmati Province. They are: Primary Level (31%), Lower Secondary Level (18%), Secondary Level (11%), SLC (12%), Intermediate Level (11%), Beginner (3%), Non-formal (5%), Graduate (6%), Postgraduate and above (2%).
(Nepali:मदन भण्डारी विज्ञान तथा प्रविधि विश्वविद्यालय)
In Bagmati province, 58.6% have radio access, followed by 54.0% have access to TV, and only 10.0% have access to the internet. Similarly, 16.7% have access to landline telephones, while 76.1% have access to mobile phones. There are a total of 51 radio stations. Some of the radio stations are Radio Chitwan, Radio Upathyaka, and Radio Lalitpur. There are a total of 405 newspaper channels in Bagmati Province with national, Provincial and local outreach. As per the classification, some of the top-ranking newspapers areGorkhapatra Dainik,Himalayan Times.[29]
Bagmati Province has the second highest level of electrification with 94.44 percent electrification among the provinces. Districts like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Nuwakot are fully electrified. Sindhuli district has the lowest electrification rate with the coverage of 69.51% so far.
Roads connect all 13 districts of Bagmati Province. However, people living in the high-altitude regions of Rasuwa, Sindhuplachok and Dolakha experience difficulty accessing roadways perennially. Major highways of the province are as follows:
NH41) which is also part of Asian Highway 42 (
AH42) connects the capital city with Birgunj, a major business hub in Province 2 bordered with India.
NH34) which is also part of AH42 connects capital city with Kodari on the Nepal-China border.
NH17) connects capital city via Naubise, Dhading with Pokhara in Gandaki Province. This landslide-prone and heavily congested highway passes through five districts: Kathmandu, Dhading, Chitwan, TanahuandKaski.
NH13), also known as the Banepa- Bardibas Highway, links Kathmandu Valley with Province 2 and connects with eastern Nepal.Bagmati Province Sports Development Council, Hetauda is the main Provincial Sports organizing and Managing body with in the Province. It's the Provincial branch ofNational Sports Council. Through the CouncilTeam Bagmati participates inNational Games.
Bagmati Province Football Association is the provincial body forfootball in Bagmati Province. Currently there are 11 District FAs are affiliated to Bagmati Province FA.
Bagmati Province Cricket Association is the provincial body forCricket in Bagmati Province. Currently there are 6 District CAs are affiliated to Bagmati Province CA.
Bagmati Province Volleyball Association is provincial body forVolleyball in Bagmati Province. Currently 7 District VAs are affiliated to Bagmati Province VA.
Places adjacent to Bagmati Province | |
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