Federal Nepal: Provinces & Local Levels of Nepal

According to article 56 of constitution of Nepal, the main structure of the federal democratic republic of Nepal shall be of three levels namely the federation, the state & local levels. As per the present constitution, Nepal has 7 states/provinces & 753 local levels. The new structure divides Nepal into 77 districts & 6,743 wards. The political division of Nepal can be visualized as below:

The local levels include metropolises (6), sub metropolises (11), municipalities (276) & gaupalikas (460).

7 States of Nepal

Province No 1

Capital: Biratnagar

Chief of State: Somnath Adhikari Pyasi

Chief Minister: Sherdhan Rai

Districts: 14

Local Levels: 137

Metropolises: 1

Sub Metropolises: 2

Municipalities: 46

Gaupalikas: 88

Province no 1 lies in eastern region of Nepal. Its boundary touches both of the neighbouring countries of Nepal i.e. India & China. Mount Everest, the highest peak of the world is located in this state. Apart from this it has other mountains like Kanchanjangha, Choyu, Makalu, Lotse etc. Illam, Namche bajar of Solukhumbu, Sagarmatha base camp etc are the major tourist attractions of this region. The famous Pathivara temple of Taplejung district is also located in this state. The Puwa Khola hydroelectricity project & Thame hydroelectricity project are situated in this state. The major rivers of this province are Mechi, Arun, Tamor, Dudhkoshi etc. The major lakes located in this province are namely Mai Pokhari, Jor Pokhari, Baraha Lake etc.

Province No 2

Capital: Janakapur

Chief of State: Tilak Pariyar

Chief Minister: Mohammed Lalbabu Rawat

Districts: 8

Local Levels: 136

Metropolises: 1

Sub Metropolises: 3

Municipalities: 73

Gaupalikas: 59

It is the smallest state of Nepal & only touches India in its boundary. The Janaki temple of Janakpur & Chhinamasta temple of Saptari district are the major religious places of this state. The well known Bagamati irrigation project lies in this province. This is the only province of Nepal that does not contain any hydroelectricity project. The biggest river of Nepal, the Saptakoshi river flows in this region.

Province No 3: Bagmati Pradesh

Capital: Hetauda

Chief of State: Bishnu Prasad Prasai

Chief Minister: Dormani Paudel

Districts: 13

Local Levels: 119

Metropolises: 3

Sub Metropolises: 1

Municipalities: 41

Gaupalikas: 74

It is a relatively more developed & well infrastructured province of Nepal. It has its border connected to both India & China. The capital city of the country, Kathmandu, is situated in this province. Kathmandu city is also known as the city of temples. The Pashupatinath Temple, Krishna temple of Patan, Swyambhunath, Bouddhanath, Changunarayan, Gosaikunda, Kalinchowk Bhagwoti, Manakamana temple, Dakshinkali temple etc are the major religious places of this state. There are other well known tourist attractions as well. They are namely Patan, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot, Chovar, Dhulikhel, Chitwan National Park, Langtang National Park, Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Chandragiri hills, Annapurna base camp trekking etc.

Province No 4: Gandaki Pradesh

Capital: Pokhara

Chief of State: Amik Sherchan

Chief Minister: Prithivi Subba Gurung

Districts: 11

Local Levels: 85

Metropolises: 1

Sub Metropolises: No

Municipalities: 26

Gaupalikas: 58

Gandaki Province is situated in between Province no 5 & Bagmati Province touching both of the neighbouring countries at its boundary. The Pokhara city, also called tourists paradise, is located at the heart of this state. The heavenly Pokhara city, Phewa Lake, Devi's Fall, Mahendra Cave, International Mountain Museum, Annapurna Mountain, Machapuchre Mountain, Tilicho Lake, Upper Mustang etc are the major tourist attractions of this state. Kaligandaki, Budigandaki, Marsyandi, Modi, Seti, Aandhikhola etc are the major rivers flowing in this state.

Province No 5: Lumbini Pradesh

Capital: Bhaluwang

Chief of State: Dharmanath Yadav

Chief Minister: Shankar Pokhrel

Districts: 12

Local Levels: 109

Metropolises: No

Sub Metropolises: 4

Municipalities: 32

Gaupalikas: 73

Province No 5 is one of the 7 provinces established by the present constitution of Nepal that contains 6 districts in Terai region and remaining 6 districts in the mountainous region out of total 12 districts within its territory. It only touches India at its boundary. Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Gautam Buddha is situated in this state. The largest valley of Asia i.e. the Dang valley lies in this region. Lumbini, Bardiya National Park, Banke National Park, Blackbuck Conservation area etc are the major tourist attractions of this province.

Province No 6: Karnali Pradesh

Capital: Surkhet

Chief of State: Govinda Kalauni

Chief Minister: Mahendra Bahadur Shahi

Districts: 10

Local Levels: 79

Metropolises: No

Sub Metropolises: No

Municipalities: 25

Gaupalikas: 54

It is the largest state of Nepal that only touches China in North at its boundary. Humla Karnali, Mugu Karnali, Thulo Bheri, Sano Bheri, Budiganga, Setiganga, Tila etc are the major rivers of this region. Rara lake, Shey Phoksundo lake, Syarpu lake, Jagadulla lake, Bulbule lake etc are the well known lakes of this state. Rara National Park, Shey Phoksundo National Park, Kankrebihar etc are well known sites for tourists attraction in this region.

Province No 7: Sudur Pashchim Pradesh

Capital: Godawari

Chief of State: Sharmila Tripathi

Chief Minister: Trilochan Bhatta

Districts: 9

Local Levels: 88

Metropolises: No

Sub Metropolises: 1

Municipalities: 33

Gaupalikas: 54

It is situated at western end of Nepal & touches both India and China at its boundary. Kailali, Tikapur, Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi etc are the main cities of this state. Khaptad National Park, Shuklaphata National Park, Naini Lake, Jhilamila Lake, Ghodaghodi Lake, Dodhara Chadhani bridge, Karnali bridge, Tikapur Park, Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, Kalapani etc are the major tourist destinations of this region. The Mahakali river flows in this state.

Local Levels of Nepal

A total of 753 local levels have been made in the new federal structure of Nepal. They comprise of 6743 wards. The local levels include gaupalikas, metropolis, sub metropolis & municipalities. Kathmandu & Bhaktapur districts do not have gaupalikas. Likewise Manang, Mustang, Humla, Rauwa & Purbi Rukum districts do not have municipalities. All the local levels of Nepal operate under Local Government Operation Act, 2074 which came into effect in 2074/06/29. This act has made a criteria of 5 - 21 wards limit for Gaupalikas & 9 - 35 wards limit for municipalities.