Rolpa (), is a "hill" district in Lumbini Province of Nepal. Rolpa district covers an area of with population (2011) of 221,177. Rolpa town is the district's administrative center.
The various grievances of Rolpa's population made the district ripe for revolt. It became a "Maoist Stronghold" of the Communist Party of Nepal. In May 2002 a major battle between Maoist guerrillas and the army was fought at Lisne Lekh near the Rolpa-Pyuthan border.
The area of Rolpa District was under the Rukumkot (Rukum District) King before 15th century. Tuthansen (King of Salyankot) established a separate kingdom carving out some 18 villages from Rukumkot Kingdom. The new kingdom was named Gajulkot. These 18 villages were given to Tuthansen in dowry by Jayant Berma who was the king of Rukumkot. These ruins are still available to see in Rolpa District.
Rolpa district was part of two different districts Pyuthan District and Salyan District during Rana regime. In 1962, Rolpa district established carving out parts of Pyuthan District and Salyan District.
Rolpa district is divided into 10 local level bodies in which nine are rural municipalities and one is municipality:
Rolpa is drained southward by the Madi Khola from a complex of 3,000 to 4,000 meter ridges about 50 kilometers south of the Dhaulagiri Himalaya. This mountainous barrier historically isolated Rolpa by encouraging travelers between India and Tibet to detour to follow easier routes to the east or west, while eastâÂÂwest travelers found easier routes to the north through Dhorpatan Valley, or to the south through Dang Valley or along the Mahabharat Range.
At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Rolpa District had a population of 234,793. 10.26% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 75.63% and a sex ratio of 1137 females per 1000 males. 35,376 (15.07%) lived in municipalities..
Khas people make up a majority of the population with 55% of the population, of which Khas Dalits are 17% of the population. Hill Janjatis make up 44% of the population, of which Magars are 43% and are the largest single community in the district.
At the time of the 2021 census, 85.03% of the population spoke Nepali, 13.10% Magar Kham and 1.03% Magar Dhut as their first language. In 2011, 86.1% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.
Sources:
Rolpa is one of the most remote district in Nepal in terms of Health services some notable Health care centers being: