Panthar District is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province in the eastern hilly region of Nepal. It is a Hill district of eastern Nepal. The district covers 1241 km2 of area. The 2011 census counted 191,817 population. Phidim is the district headquarters.

History

Panthar was a part of Old Dhankuta District during Rana era and until 1962. Dhankuta district had two subdivisions Chhathum and Tehrathum. Panchthar was a thum (county) under the Terhathum subvision. It became a separate district in 1962 when the old 32 traditional districts divided into 75 district.

Geography and climate

Demographics

At the 2021 Nepal census, Panchthar District had 42,495 households and a population of 172,400. 8.11% of the population was under 5 years of age. Panchthar had a literacy rate of 82.48% and a sex ratio of 1012 females per 1,000 males. 12,336 (7.16%) lived in urban areas. Ethnicity/caste: Janjatis make up the majority in the district at 73%. Limbu people make up over 43% of the population. Rai peoples such as the Bantawa, Chamling and Sunuwar are 15% of the population. Chhetri are 9%, Bahun 8% and Khas Dalit groups are 6% of the population. Religion: 55.71% were Kirati, 29.21% were Hindu, 12.26% Buddhist, 2.72% Christian and 0.10% others. As their first language, 42.27% of the population spoke Limbu, 29.28% Nepali, 6.96% Bantawa, 6.82% Tamang, 3.41% Magar Dhut, 2.86% Rai, 1.87% Chamling, 1.16% Gurung and 1.00% Sunuwar as their first language. In 2011, 33.9% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.

Municipality and Rural Municipalities of Panchthar

VDC's in small brackets means they are combined to form main Rural Municipality

Previous Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Municipalities

People from Panchthar District