Jhapa District

Jhapa (Nepali: झापा जिल्लाListen ) is a district of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal named after a Rajbanshi word "Jhapa" meaning "to cover" (verb). The latest official data, the 2011 Nepal Census, puts the total population of the district at 812,650.[3] The total area of the district is 1606 square kilometres.

For rural municipality, see Jhapa rural municipality. For other uses, see Jhapa (disambiguation).
Jhapa District
झापा जिल्ला
District
View of both hills and Terai in Jhapa district
Administrative divisions of Jhapa
Country   Nepal
ProvinceProvince No. 1
Admin HQ.Chandragadhi
Government
 • TypeCoordination committee
 • BodyDCC, Jhapa
 • HeadMr. Somnath Bishwakarma
 • Deputy-HeadMrs. Mina Parajuli
 • Parliamentary constituencies5
 • Provincial constituencies10
Area
 • Total1,606 km2 (620 sq mi)
Elevation
(maximum)
506 m (1,660 ft)
Population
 (2011[1])
 • Total812,650
 • Density510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
 • Households
39,393
Demographics
[2]
 • Ethnic groupsBahun, Chhetri, Rajbanshi, Limbu, Rai
 • Female ♀53%
 • Male ♂/100 female90.07
Human Development Index
 • Per Capita Income1,226 USD
 • Poverty rate21.82
 • Literacy75 %
 • Life Expectancy67.29
Time zoneUTC+05:45 (NPT)
Telephone Code023
Main Language(s)Nepali, Rajbanshi, Limbu, Maithili
Major highwaysMahendra Highway, Postal Highway
Websiteddcjhapa.gov.np

Location

Jhapa is the easternmost district of Nepal and lies in the fertile Terai plains. It is part of the Outer Terai. Jhapa borders with Ilam in the north, Morang in the west, the Indian state of Bihar in the south and the Indian state of West Bengal to the southeast and east. Geographically, it covers an area of 1,606 km2 (620 sq mi) and lies on 87º39’ east to 88º12’ east longitude and 26º20’ north to 26º50’ north latitude.[4]

Climate and geography

Jhapa receives 250 to 300 cm of rainfall a year, and mostly during the monsoon season in the summer, and its hilly northern area receives more rainfall than the south.[5] The maximum temperature recorded is 42 °C in summer and 10 °C in winter. The lowest elevation point is 58 meters which is the lowest land in Nepal and the highest elevation point is 500 meters from mean sea level.[4]

Climate Zone[6] Elevation Range  % of Area
Lower Tropical below 300 meters (1,000 ft) 98.8%
Upper Tropical 300 to 1,000 meters
1,000 to 3,300 ft.		  1.2%

Administrative Division

Jhapa consists of 15 administrative divisions including 8 municipalities and 7 rural municipalities. Each divisions have wards according to the demographic and geographic size. These are:

Municipalities

Rural Municipalities

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1981 479,743—    
1991 593,737+2.15%
2001 688,109+1.49%
2011 812,650+1.68%
2021 994,090+2.04%
Sources:[7]

Jhapa district has average population density of around 428.4 per square kilometer. The district population growth rate is 1.84%. However, the growth is balanced and in-migration is rapidly increasing day to day into the district. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Jhapa District had a population of 812,650 making it the 4th largest district in Nepal after Kathmandu, Morang and Rupandehi.

Being at the cross-roads of the eastern hills and the eastern Terai, Jhapa has huge ethnic diversity with 110 castes/ethnic groups represented. The largest communities are Bahun and Chhetri . Other communities include the Janajati Limbu and other Kirati peoples, Dalit communities like Kami and Damai, as well as Tamang, Newar and Magar and Adivasi communities like the Rajbanshi/Tajpuriya, Gangai, Santal and Dhimal in the Terai.

Languages spoken at home[8]
Rank Language Speakers Percentage
1 Nepali (lingua franca) 453,536 55.82%
2 Rajbanshi/Tajpuria 95,331 11.73%
3 Limbu 45,484 5.60%
4 Maithili 45,038 5.54%
5 Santali 29,464 3.63%
6 Rai 20,665 2.54%
7 Urdu 19,796 2.44%
8 Tamang 17,218 2.12%
9 Newari 11,992 1.48%
10 Magar 10,203 1.26%
11 Dhimal 8,123 1.0%

International Borders

Jhapa borders the Indian state of Bihar to the south and the Indian state of West Bengal to the east. Jhapa is an eastern entry point of Nepal from India. Famous Kakarbhitta-Mechinagar border lies here and is an important trade point for Nepal.

Education

Among 77 districts, Jhapa has a literacy rate of 75.2%, higher than the national average.[9] There are enough primary schools, secondary schools, high schools and colleges available both from private sector and the government.

Notable people

Jhapa district is home to notable personalities including one former prime minister and two former deputy prime ministers.

References
  1. Household and population by districts, Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Nepal Archived 2013-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Nepal Human Development Report 2014". Npc.gov.np. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  3. "Seven places to visit while you're in Jhapa". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2019-12-14. Jhapa might just be the most diverse of Nepal’s districts. Out of the total 126 castes/ethnic groups across the country, Jhapa is home to 110 ethnic groups, including the endangered Santhal and Ganesh (Gangai) tribes.
  4. District Transport Masterplan-Jhapa (PDF), retrieved May 5, 2020
  5. Climate in Jhapa, retrieved May 5, 2020
  6. The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classification system (PDF), Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS Document Series No.110., 2005, ISBN 87-7903-210-9, retrieved Nov 22, 2013
  7. "Nepal: Provinces and Districts". www.citypopulation.de.
  8. "National Data Portal-Nepal". nationaldata.gov.np. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  9. "Census 2001". Census. central bureau of statistics, Nepal. 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2008-08-24.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.