Karnali Province () is one of the seven federal provinces of Nepal formed by the new constitution which was adopted on 20 September 2015. The total area of the province is covering 18.97% of the country, making it the largest province in Nepal. According to the 2011 Nepal census, the population of the province was 1,570,418, making it the least populous province in Nepal. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, Gandaki Province to the east, Sudurpashchim Province to the west, and Lumbini Province to the south. Birendranagar with a population of 154,886 is both the province's capital and largest city.
Etymology
The province's name is derived from the Karnali River, which flows through the province. A meeting of the provincial assembly on 25 February 2018 adopted the name Karnali for the province.
History
Karnali is an old civilization in Nepal and is connected with the Karnali River Archaeological sites found in Jumla, Surkhet and Dailekh infer that the area was part of the old Khasa kingdom which was established during the 11th century. The capital of the Khas Kingdom was Sinja in present-day Jumla District. The kingdom expanded to a great extent in the 13th and 14th century; expanding to Garhwal in the west, Mansarowar and Guge regions of Tibet in the north, Gorkha-Nuwakot regions in the east and Kapilvastu with large areas of Terai in the south. After the late 14th century, the Khas empire collapsed and was divided into the Baise Rajya (22 principalities) in Karnali-Bheri region.
Before the unification of modern Nepal, a part of Karnali (from Karnali River to Bheri River) was in the Sanghiya Baise Rajya (22 principality confederacy). The principalities were sovereign but intermittently allied among themselves until they were annexed during the unification of modern Nepal from 1744 to 1810.
Geography
Karnali is the largest province of Nepal with an area of . The province is surrounded by Gandaki Province in east, Lumbini Province in south-east and south, Sudurpashchim Province in the west and Tibet Autonomous Region of China in north.
The province has occupied higher mountains land of north and mid-hills of Nepal. It contains Kubi Gangri, Changla and Kanjiroba mountains in north. The Shey Phoksundo National Park with Phoksundo lake is the largest national park of Nepal and Rara lake is the largest lake of Nepal which are located in Karnali Province. Karnali River is the biggest river of the province which is thought to be the longest river in Nepal. Seti River and Bheri River are tributaries of Karnali, and Kupinde Daha is a lake of Karnali.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Census of Nepal, Karnali Province has a population of 1,688,412 comprising 864,651 females and 823,761 males. The province has the lowest population in the country, having 5.93% of the population on 19.74% of the land. The population density of the province is 56 people per square kilometer.
Ethnic groups
Khas Arya is the largest ethno-linguistic indigenous group in the province, with Chhetri, Kami, Thakuri and Bahun dominating the population. The largest non-Khas Arya group are the Magars who make up 170,797 (10.88%) of the population. Tamang (0.88%) and Gurung (0.70%) are other Janajati groups in the province with a significant population.
Languages
95.55% of the population in the province speak Nepali as their native language. Other languages spoken in the region are Magar (2.07%) and Tamang (0.72%).
The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Magar as an additional official language in the province. The most spoken language is Nepali, which is known with its original name Khas Bhasha in the province.
Religion
Hinduism is the most followed religion in the province with 95.34% of the people identifying as Hindus. Buddhists are the largest minority religion being followed by 3.09% and Christianity is the second-largest minority religion being followed by 1.30% of the population.
Government and administration
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 Surkhet High Court is the head of the judiciary. The present Governor, Chief Minister and Chief Judge are Govindra Prasad Kaulani, Jeevan Bahadur Shahi and Hari Kumar Pokharel respectively. The province has 40 provincial assembly constituencies, 12 House of Representative constituencies and eight National Assembly seats.