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Gandaki Province गण्डकी प्रदेश Gaṇḍakī pradēśa
Province
From Top left to right Annapurna, Phewa Lake, Upper Mustang, Tilicho Lake, Manakamana Temple, Muktinath Temple, Machapuchare and Gorkha Durbar
Seal
Location of Gandaki Province
Mustang Myagdi Baglung Manang Kaski Parbat Gorkha Lamjung Syangja Tanahun Nawalpur Bagmati Lumbini China Karnali India Map of Gandaki Province, Nepal
Coordinates: 28°12′34″N 83°59′29″E / 28.20944°N 83.99139°E / 28.20944; 83.99139
Country	Nepal
Formation	20 September 2015
Capital city	Pokhara
Largest city	Pokhara
Districts	11
Government
• Type	Self governing province
• Body	Government of Gandaki Province
• Governor	Dilli Raj Bhatta
• Chief Minister	Surendra Raj Pandey (Congress)
• High Court	Pokhara High Court
• Provincial Assembly	Unicameral (60 seats)
• Parliamentary constituencies	18
Area
• Total	21,504 km (8,303 sq mi)
• Rank	4th
Elevation	2,563 m (8,409 ft)
Population
• Total	2,479,745
• Rank	6th
• Density	120/km (300/sq mi)
• Rank	6th
Time zone	UTC+5:45 (NST)
Geocode	NP-FO
ISO 3166 code	NP-P4
Official language	Nepali/Khas, Magar, Gurung
Other Official language(s)	1.Gurung 2.Magar
Ethnic groups	Muslim 4.6% Khas people 52.6% Bahun 21.26% Chhetri 13.13% Kami 8.66% Sarki 4.10% Damai 3.84% Thakuri 1.61% Magar 18.79% Gurung 11.30% Newar 4.23% Tamang 2.03% Tharu 1.68% Kumal 1.49% Bhujel 1.27%
HDI	0.567 (medium)
HDI rank	2nd
Literacy	83.4% (2024)
Sex ratio	83.84 ♂ /100 ♀ (2011)
GDP	US$3.12 billion
GDP rank	5th
Website	gandaki.gov.np

Gandaki Province (Nepali: गण्डकी प्रदेश [ɡʌɳɖʌki]) Listen), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China to the north, Bagmati Province to the east, Karnali Province to the west, and Lumbini Province and Bihar of India to the south. The total area of the province is 21,504 km - constituting 14.57% of Nepal's total area. According to the latest census, the population of the province was 2,479,745. The newly elected Provincial Assembly adopted Gandaki Province as the permanent name by replacing its initial name Province No. 4 on 27 April 2023. Surendra Raj Pandey is the present chief minister of Gandaki Province.

Etymology

Gandaki Province was named after the river Gandaki, which is a major river in the province. This river has important links with historical Hindu civilization. The Gandaki river is mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit epic Mahabharata. It has been said that Valmiki wrote the great epic Ramayana here. It is also believed to be the birthplace of Luv & Kush. Its evolution is described in Shiva Purana, Kumarakhand, in the chapter of the killing of Shankhachuda.

History

Gandaki province was once home to the Chaubisi Rajya, the 24 kings, of which Gorkha was one. From Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah arose to unify all the kingdoms and expand to include all of present-day Nepal. Gandaki Province was known as "Gandak Kshetra" which was established in 1956. Gandak Kshetra was composed by grouping the then 4 districts. Those 4 districts are now divided into many districts. Gandak Kshetra had total area of 5,400 square miles (14,000 km) and total population was 12 Lakhs. The four districts were:

1. Lumbini District (Rupandehi, Parasi, Palpa)
2. Syangja District (Syangja, Nawalpur)
3. Pokhara District (Tanahun, Kaski)
4. Gorkha District (Gorkha, Lamjung, Manang)

In 1962, the administrative system was restructured again and the "Kshetras" system was canceled. The country was restructured into 75 development districts and those districts were grouped into zones. In 1972 area of the Gandaki Province named Western Development Region. It had 3 zones and 16 districts.

Geography

The province has an area of 21,773 km which is about 14.66% of the total area of Nepal. The state extends between 27°-20' N ~ 29°-20' N latitude and 82° 52' E ~ 85°-12' E longitude. In terms of terrain, the province is spread over the Himalayan, Hilly and Terai region of Nepal; 5,919 km (26.8%) of the area falls under the Himalayan region, 14,604 km (67.2%) of the area falls under the Hilly region and 1,310 km (6%) of the area falls under the Terai region.

Demographics

Religion in Gandaki Province

The province has a population of 2,403,016 which is just about 9.06% of the total population of Nepal. The population density is about 110 persons per square kilometre. The province has a population growth rate of -0.33%. The sex ratio is 89 males for 100 females, with a total of 948,028 males and 1,144,124 females recorded in 2011. The urban population of the region is 1,452,186 (60.5%) and the rural population is 943,652 (39.5%). About 50.1% of the population in the province are independent population.

Ethnicity

Caste/ethnicities in Gandaki Province

Hill Brahmins are the largest community with 21.26% of the population. Other aboriginal Khas communities include Khas/Chhetri (13.13%), Kami (8.66%), Sarki (4.10%), Damai (3.84%), Thakuri (1.61%) and Kumal (1.49%). The Janajati groups are Magar (18.79%), Gurung (11.30%), Newar (4.23%), Tamang (2.03%), Tharu (1.68%) and Bhujel (1.27%).

Language

Languages of Gandaki province (2011)

According to the 2011 Nepal census there are total 88 languages spoken in Gandaki Province. Nepali/Gorkhali/Khas Kura is the most-spoken language, by 72.67% of the population. 9.85% speak Kham Magar, 8.70% Gurung, 1.72% Newar, 1.48% Tharu and 1.42% Tamang.

The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Magar, Gurung and Bhojpuri as official language in the province. The commission has also recommended Tharu, Nepal Bhasa and Tamang to be additional official languages, for specific regions and purposes in the province.

Administrative subdivisions

Gandaki province is divided into 11 districts, which are listed below. A district is administered by the head of the District Coordination Committee and the District Administration Officer. The districts are further divided into municipalities or rural municipalities. The municipalities include one metropolitan city and 26 municipalities. There are 58 rural municipalities in the province.

Districts in the province:

1. Baglung District
2. Gorkha District
3. Kaski District
4. Lamjung District
5. Manang District
6. Mustang District
7. Myagdi District
8. Nawalpur District
9. Parbat District
10. Syangja District
11. Tanahun District

Largest cities or towns in Gandaki Province Central Bureau of Statistics
	Rank		District	Pop.	Rank		District	Pop.
Pokhara	1	Pokhara	Kaski	513,504	11	Bhanu	Tanahun	42,794	Gaindakot
	2	Kawasoti	Nawalpur	86,821	12	Putalibazar	Syangja	41,743
	3	Gaindakot	Nawalpur	79,349	13	Besishahar	Lamjung	38,232
	4	Vyas	Tanahun	78,939	14	Kushma	Parbat	38,101
	5	Madhyabindu	Nawalpur	61,091	15	Palungtar	Gorkha	37,409
	6	Devchuli	Nawalpur	58,003	16	Beni	Myagdi	32,697
	7	Baglung	Baglung	56,102	17	Galyang	Syangja	31,034
	8	Shuklagandaki	Tanahun	55,620	18	Galkot	Baglung	30,588
	9	Gorkha	Gorkha	52,468	19	Bhimad	Tanahun	29,248
	10	Waling	Syangja	50,488	20	Jaimini	Baglung	24,628

Government and administration

History and overview

The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is formed under Article 175 of the Constitution of Nepal 2015 which guarantees a provincial legislative for each province in the country. The first provincial elections were conducted for all seven provinces in Nepal and the elections in Gandaki Province was conducted for 60 seats to the assembly. The first meeting of the provincial assembly was held on 4 February 2018. Netra Nath Adhikari from Maoist Centre was elected as the first speaker of the provincial assembly, and Srijana Sharma from CPN (UML) as the first deputy speaker of the provincial assembly.

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 Pokhara High Court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Sita Kumari Poudel (governor), Surendra Raj Pandey (chief minister) and Purushottam Bhandari. The province has 60 provincial assembly constituencies and 18 federal House of Representative constituencies.

Gandaki Province has a unicameral legislature, like that of the other provinces in Nepal. The tenure of the provincial assembly is of five years. The Provincial Assembly of Gandaki Province is temporarily housed at the Urban Development Training Centre in Pokhara.

Gandaki Provincial Assembly

Further information: Gandaki Provincial Assembly

Gandaki has 36 provincial assembly seats under FPTP.

List of assemblies

Committees

Article 195 of the Constitution of Nepal provides provincial assemblies the power to form special committees in order to manage working procedures.

Current composition

Main article: 2nd Gandaki Provincial Assembly § Members

Economy

The economy of the province is largely dependent on tourism.

Infrastructure

Roadways

9 out of 11 districts of Gandaki Province are connected via surfaced roads. Road connections to Mustang and Manang are unsurfaced and can be impassable during the rainy season. Siddhartha Highway connects Lumbini to Gandaki. The highway starts at the Nepal-India Border in Siddharthanagar and terminates at Prithivi chowk, Pokhara. The major settlements on the highway are Siddharthanagar, Butwal, Tansen, Waling, Putalibazar, Syangja, and Pokhara.

Kali Gandaki Corridor Project

Airways

Here are the lists of domestic and international airport in the province.

Current airports

• Pokhara International Airport PKR- VNPK & VNPR - Operates both International as well as domestic flights.
• Pokhara Airport (old), which continues to operate flights to Mustang and also offers ultra-light aircraft services.
• Manang Airport NGX- VNMA
• Jomsom Airport JMO- VNGS
• Dhorpatan Airport VNDR
• Baglung Airport

Former airport

• Palungtar Airport GKH- VNGK

See also

• Provinces of Nepal
• List of districts in Nepal

References

1. "Nepal Provinces". statoids.com. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
2. "Gandaki Province in Nepal population". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
3. नेपालको जिल्ला प्रशासन पुनर्गठनको रिपोर्ट, २०१३ (PDF). Nepal: Nepal Govt. pp. 38, 39, 40.
4. "Memorial Step of King Mahendra in 1st Poush 2017 BS". reviewnepal.com. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
5. "Province Profile" (PDF). nepalmap.org. Government of Province No. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
6. "Nepal Travel Weather Averages (Weatherbase)". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2018-04-28.
7. "गण्डकी प्रदेशको भाषिक स्थिति" [Linguistic status of Gandaki Province]. www.annapurbapost.com (in Nepali). Annapurna Post. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
8. "सरकारी कामकाजको भाषाका आधारहरूको निर्धारण तथा भाषासम्बन्धी सिफारिसहरू (पञ्चवर्षीय प्रतिवेदन- साराांश) २०७८" (PDF). Language Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
9. "स्थानिय तह". 103.69.124.141. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
10. ^ "Constituent Assembly of Nepal". Archived from the original on 2016-11-17. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
11. "High Courts get their chief judges". Retrieved 2018-04-27.
12. "Prithvi Subba Gurung appointed as Province 4 CM - The Himalayan Times". The Himalayan Times. 2018-02-12. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
13. "President of Nepal administers oath to Chiefs of seven provinces | DD News". ddnews.gov.in. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
14. "CDC creates 495 constituencies". The Himalayan Times. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
15. "First Provincial Assembly meeting of province 4 begins". Retrieved 2018-04-27.

v t e Places adjacent to Gandaki Province
Karnali Province Tibet Autonomous Region,  China Gandaki Bagmati Province Lumbini Province Lumbini Province Bihar,  India

• Gandaki Province
• Provinces of Nepal
• 2015 establishments in Nepal
• States and territories established in 2015