Khovd Province

Khovd Aimag
Ховд аймаг
Province
Flag
Coat of arms
Nickname: Олон ястны өлгий (A Motherland of Many Ethnic Group)
Country Mongolia
Coordinates
Capital Khovd
Area 76,060.38 km2 (29,367 sq mi)
Population 89,040 (2007)
Density 1.17 / km2 (3 / sq mi)
Founded 1931
Timezone UTC+7
Area code +976 (0)143
ISO 3166-2 code MN-043
Website: http://www.hovd.gov.mn/

Khovd (Mongolian: Ховд) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd.

Khovd is approximately 1,580 km from Ulan Bator. It is considered remote even for Mongolian standards. Name is given after Khovd River located in this province.

Contents

Population

Khovd is distinguished by its multi-cultural population. It is home to more than 17 nationalities and ethnicities. Each of these groups has its own distinct traditional dwelling and settlement pattern, dress and other cultural distinctions, literary, artistic, and musical traditions. There is a rather large minority Kazakh-Mongol population that speaks both Kazakh and Mongolian.

Ethnic groups of Khovd aimag[1]
national censuses data
Ethnic
group		 Mongolian
name		 1979 % 1989 % 2000 %
Khalkha Халх 17,343 27.72 20,397 26.64 23,832 27.45
Zakhchin Захчин 14,464 23.12 17,228 22.50 21,645 24.93
Kazakh Казак 9,425 15.06 12,814 16.74 10,005 11.52
Torguud Торгууд 5,566 8.90 6,703 8.76 6,995 8.06
Ööld Өөлд 4,823 7.71 5,622 7.34 6,503 7.49
Uriankhai Урианхай 4,587 7.33 5,403 7.06 6,592 7.59
Dörvöd Дөрвөд 2,856 4.56 3,609 4.71 5,242 6.04
Myangad Мянгад 2,855 4.56 3,517 4.59 4,287 4.94
Tuvan Тува - - 239 0.31 724 0.83
Bayad Баяд 129 0.21 227 0.30 377 0.43
Uzbek Чантуу 183 0.29 187 0.24 258 0.30
Khoshuud Хошууд - - - - 149 0.17
Other Mongolian citizens 93 0.15 176 0.23 203 0.23
Foreigners 241 0.39 431 0.56 19 0.02
Total 62,565 100.00 76,553 100.00 86,831 100.00

The Khovd aimag population growth stopped in 1991, then migration out of the aimag (approx. 20,000 in 1992-2004) compensated the natural increase and confined aimag's population within 87,000 – 92,000 limits.

Khovd aimag population [2][3] [4][5][6]
1956
census		 1960
est.		 1963
census		 1969
census		 1975
est.		 1979
census		 1981
est.		 1989
census		 1991
est.		 1993
est.		 1995
est.		 1997
est.		 1999
est.		 2000
census		 2002
est.		 2004
est.		 2006
est.		 2007
est.
42,300 48,000 47,300 54,000 59,200 62,600 64,500 86,831 89,365 87,171 88,494 91,339 91.490 89,326 89,664 91,770 92,395 89,040

Climate

Khovd is notorious for its harsh weather cycles, as temperatures regularly reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and as low as −30 degrees Celsius (−22 degrees Fahrenheit). The climate is dry, as it receives the same average rainfall of Phoenix, Arizona each year.

Transportation

The Khovd Airport (HVD/ZMKD) has two runways, one of which is paved, and gets served by regular flights from and to Ulan Bator, Mörön, and Bulgan

Economy

The region around the city is famous in Mongolia for its watermelon crop.

There is a sizable hydroelectric dambuilding project underway that will theoretically generate enough electricity to power the three most western aimags (Uvs, Bayan-Ölgii, and Khovd). Currently, the city of Khovd is connected to the Russian power grid and subject to blackouts if it falls behind in its payments.

Administrative Subdivision

The Aimag capital Khovd is geographically located in the Buyant sum, but is administered as independent Jargalant sum. The administrative center of the Khovd Sum is also called Khovd, which is a common source of confusion. The other administrative centers carry the name of the respective Sum as well.

The sums of Khovd Aimag[6]
Sum Mongolian Population
1979 census		 Population
1991 est.		 Population
2007 est.		 Sum Centre
Population		 Area
(km²)[1]		 Density
(/km²)		 Distance
from Khovd
city(km)[1]
Altai Алтай 2,141 2,712 3,234 767 13,144 0.25 310
Bulgan Булган 7,052 9,169 9,634 3,171 8,104 1.19 335
Buyant Буянт 3,361 4,386 3,533 1,568 3,759 0.96 19
Chandmani Чандмань 2,311 2,963 3,155 689 6,016 0.52 160
Darvi Дарви 2,402 2,775 2,596 579 5,604 0.47 204
Dörgön Дөргөн 1,715 2,555 3,015 659 4,128 0.73 106
Duut Дуут 1,675 2,189 2,094 502 2,146 0.98 76
Erdenebüren Эрдэнэбүрэн 2,258 3,210 3,372 696 2,772 1.22 60
Jargalant* Жаргалант 17,620 26,877 29,207 28,601* 70 417.24 0
Khovd Ховд 3,927 4,850 4,589 719 2,830 1.63 27
Mankhan Манхан 3,273 4,352 4,526 1,258 4,330 1.05 80
Mönkhkhairkhan Мөнххайрхан 1,811 2,337 2,554 744 2,554 1.06 155
Möst Мөст 3,239 4,092 3,577 809 3,927 0.91 180
Myangad Мянгад 2,940 4,552 3,662 713 3,258 1.12 35
Tsetseg Цэцэг 2,189 2,645 2,531 570 3,491 0.72 216
Üyench Үенч 2,575 3,913 4,760 1,452 7,476 0.64 305
Zereg Зэрэг 2,388 3,092 3,078 796 2,524 1.23 130

* - The aimag capital Khovd

References

  1. ^ a b c Khovd Aimak Statistical Office. 1983-2008 Dynamics Data Sheet
  2. ^ Statoids (Gwillim Law) web page[1]
  3. ^ National Statistical Office[2]
  4. ^ National Economy of the Mongolian People's Republic (1921 - 1981), Ulaanbaatar 1981
  5. ^ , GeoHive: Global Statistics, [3]
  6. ^ a b Khovd Aimag Statistical Office 2007 Annual Report
Bayan-Olgii Province Uvs Province Zavkhan Province
Govi-Altai Province
   Khovd Province    
Xinjiang, China
Aimags (provinces)
Municipality