Districts in Nepal are second level of administrative divisions after provinces. Districts are subdivided into municipalities and rural municipalities. There are seven provinces and 77 districts in Nepal.
There were total of 75 districts in Nepal until 2015, grouped into 14 Zones and 5 Development Regions. After the adoption of federalism in 2015, the existing Zones and Development Regions were dissolved. Nawalparasi District and Rukum District were respectively divided into Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District, making total number of districts 77. These 77 districts were regrouped into 7 provinces.
District official include:
During the time of king Rajendra Bir Bikram Shah and prime minister Bhimsen Thapa, Nepal was divided into 10 districts. All areas east of Dudhkoshi River were one district, Dhankuta.
During the time of prime minister Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1885âÂÂ1901), Nepal was divided into 32 districts and Doti, Palpa and Dhankuta were 3 gaunda (, "cantonment"). Hilly region had 20 districts and Terai had 12 districts.
Even after Bir Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana to the end of Rana rule in Nepal in 1951 and till the proclamation of new constitution of Kingdom of Nepal in 1962, Nepal remained divided into 32 districts. Each had a headquarters and Bada Haqim (District Administrator) as its head. From 1951 to 1962 many acts and constitutions passed which shows name of districts as below:
Nepal was divided seven regions (Kshetra) and 32 districts in 1956. Each district was further divided into sub-regions (Upakshetra).
On 20 November 1962 (5 Mangsir 2019 B.S), the Government of Nepal took the decision to divide Nepal into 14 zones and 75 development Districts, and it came into effect upon the publication in the Nepal Gazette on 17 December 1962 (2 Poush 2019 B.S).
In 1975, most districts underwent major boundary changes that shaped NepalâÂÂs present-day districts. Large number of Village Panchayats were shifted across 58 districts. The most significant change was the merger of the former Tibrikot District into Jumla District and the creation of new district Kalikot, carved out of western Jumla. Bhojpur District was moved from Sagarmatha Zone to Koshi Zone, Parbat District from Gandaki Zone to Dhaulagiri Zone, and Dolpa District from Dhaulagiri Zone to Karnali Zone. Despite these changes, the total number of districts remained at 75.
District Panchayat was the district level governing body during the Panchayat System (1962âÂÂ1990).
District Development Committee (DDC) was established in 1990, following the end of the Panchayat system. It replaced the previous District Panchayat. It was composed of elected members at the district level. It was responsible for formulating district-level development policies. It was replaced with District Coordination Committee (DCC) in 2017.
Since 20 September 2015, Nepal is divided into 7 provinces and 77 districts. They are defined by schedule 4 of the new constitution, by grouping together the existing districts. Two districts, Nawalparasi and Rukum, were split in two parts: Parasi District and Nawalpur District, and Eastern Rukum District and Western Rukum District respectively ending up in two different provinces. The old District Development Committee (DDC) was replaced with District Coordination Committee (DCC) in 2017.
Following table shows the geographical classification of districts as per the Local Government Operation Act, 2074 B.S (2017 A.D).
For many purposes like census, districts are classified into only three geographical regions: Mountain, Hill and Terai. In such case, Udayapur, Sindhuli, Makwanpur and Surkhet from Inner Terai, and all districts of Kathmandu Valley are cassified as hill districts. The remaining Inner Terai districts of Chitwan, Nawalpur and Dang are classified as Terai districts. The census still counts Ramechhap, Dhading, Gorkha and Eastern Rukum as hill districts.