Khovd (; ), alternatively romanized as Khobhd, is one of the twenty-one aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. Khovd province is approximately from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It takes its name from the Khovd River, which is located in this province.

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. Islam is a significant religion practiced by around 10–15% of the population, namely the Kazakhs and a small minority of Uyghurs."Монгол улсын ястангуудын тоо, байршилд гарч буй өөрчлөлтуудийн асуудалд" М. Баянтөр, Г. Нямдаваа, З. Баярмаа pp.57-70

+ Ethnic groups of Khovd aimagKhovd Aimak Statistical Office. 1983-2008 Dynamics Data Sheet national censuses dataEthnicgroupMongolianname 1979%1989%2000%KhalkhaХалх17,34327.7220,39726.6423,83227.45Zakhchin Захчин14,46423.1217,22822.5021,64524.93KazakhХасаг9,42515.0612,81416.7410,00511.52Torguud Торгууд5,5668.906,7038.766,9958.06Olots Өөлд4,8237.715,6227.346,5037.49Altai Uriankhai Урианхай4,5877.335,4037.066,5927.59Dörvöd Дөрвөд2,8564.563,6094.715,2426.04Myangad Мянгад2,8554.563,5174.594,2874.94Tuvan Тува--2390.317240.83Bayad Баяд1290.212270.303770.43Chantuu Чантуу1830.291870.242580.30Khoshuud Хошууд----1490.17Other Mongolian citizens 930.151760.232030.23Foreigners 2410.394310.56190.02Total 62,565100.0076,553100.0086,831100.00

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 the limits of 87 thousand to 92 thousand since.

+ Khovd aimag population Statoids (Gwillim Law) web pageNational Statistical Office National Economy of the Mongolian People's Republic (1921 - 1981), Ulaanbaatar 1981GeoHive: Global StatisticsKhovd Aimag Statistical Office 2007 Annual Report 1956 census 1960 est. 1969 census 1979 census 1981 est. 1989 census 1995 est. 2000 census 2006 census 2010 census 42,30048,000 54,000 62,600 64,50086,831 88,494 89,326 92,395 82, 204

Climate Khovd is notorious for its harsh weather, for temperatures regularly reach as high as during summer and as low as during winter. The climate is dry, as it receives approximately the same average annual precipitation as Phoenix, Arizona.

Rivers The major rivers are: Khovd River Bulgan River Buyant River Hoid tsenher River Dund tsenher River Uench River Bodonch River

Lakes Khar-Us Lake Khar Lake Dörgön Lake Tsetseg Lake

Mountains Altai Mountains Jargalant hairhan Bumbat hairhan Baatar hairhan Monkh hairhan Baitag bogd

Transportation The Khovd Airport (HVD/ZMKD) has two runways, one of which is paved, and gets served by regular flights from and to Ulaanbaatar, Mörön, and Bulgan. And flights are planned to Ürümqi city of Xinjiang.

Economy The region around the Khovd city is famous in Mongolia for its watermelon crop. There is a sizable hydroelectric dam-building project underway that will theoretically generate enough electricity to power the three most western aimags (Uvs, Bayan-Ölgii, and Khovd). The city of Khovd is connected to the Russian power grid and subject to blackouts if it falls behind in its payments. Domestic and international tourism and sports hunting are a sizable industry of Khovd province. The natural environment, fresh and salt water lakes, mountains, valleys, caves, ancient rock paintings and fortresses are other sightseeing attractions.

Animal herding is the main economy of this province.

+ Number of livestockAnnual livestock census data. The National Statistical Office of Mongolia. http://khovd.nso.mn/page/650 1950 census 1960 census 1970 census 1980 census 1990 census 2000 census 2005 census 2010 census 2014 census 1,131,7331,691,934 1,539,574 1,687,703 2,070,6221,836,272 1,963,712 1,639,100 2,625,577

In 2018, the province contributed to 1.21% of the total national GDP of Mongolia.

Administrative subdivisions

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 Sum Mongolian Population1979 census Population1991 est. Population2007 est. Population2010 est. Major Ethnic. Sum CentrePopulation Area(km²) Density(/km²) Distancefrom Khovdcity(km) Altai 2,141 2,7123,2342 849Zahchin76713,1440.25310 Bulgan 7,052 9,169 9,6348 262Torguud3,1718,1041.19335 Buyant 3,361 4,386 3,5332 673Halh/Tuva1,5683,7590.9619 Chandmani 2,311 2,963 3,1552 469Halh6896,0160.52160 Darvi 2,402 2,775 2,5962 362Halh5795,6040.47204 Dörgön 1,715 2,555 3,0152 266Dorvod6594,1280.73106 Duut 1,675 2,189 2,0941 287Urianhai5022,1460.9876 Erdenebüren 2,258 3,210 3,3721 995Oold6962,7721.2260 Jargalant* 17,620 26,877 29,20729 012Halh/Mixed28,601*70417.240 Khovd 3,927 4,850 4,5892 722Halh7192,8301.6327 Mankhan 3,273 4,352 4,5263 480Zahchin1,2584,3301.0580 Mönkhkhairkhan 1,811 2,337 2,5541 955Urianhai/Zahchin7442,5541.06155 Möst 3,239 4,092 3,5772 939Zahchin8093,9270.91180 Myangad 2,940 4,552 3,6622 615Myangad7133,2581.1235 Tsetseg 2,189 2,645 2,5312 423 Halh5703,4910.72216 Üyench 2,575 3,913 4,7604 024Zahchin1,4527,4760.64305 Zereg 2,388 3,092 3,0782 727Zahchin7962,5241.23130 * - The aimag capital Khovd

References Citations

Sources

Natalia Rudaya, Pavel Tarasov, Nadezhda Dorofeyuk... Holocene environments and climate in the Mongolian Altai reconstructed from the Hoton-Nur pollen and diatom records: a step towards better understanding climate dynamics in Central Asia // Quaternary Science Reviews Expedition trip to the North-West Mongolia, Tomsk State University and the University of Hovd, cooperation. Video.