| Khövsgöl Province | |
| Native Name: | Хөвсгөл аймаг |
| Native Name Lang: | mn |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Coordinates: | 49.6333°N 110°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Mongolia |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Mörön |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 100628.82 |
| Population Total: | 132146 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | MNT 952 billion US$ 0.3 billion (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | MNT 6,905,270 US$ 2,211 (2022) |
| Timezone1: | UTC+8 |
| Area Code: | +976 138 |
| Iso Code: | MN-041 |
| Registration Plate: | ХӨ_ |
Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.
The round-topped Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of the Khangai massif dominate the south and southwest of the largely mountainous province, and north and west of Lake Khövsgöl, lie the alpine Khoridol Saridag, Ulaan Taiga, and Mönkh Saridag mountains. The center and eastern parts of the province are less mountainous, but still hilly.
The region is well known in Mongolia for its natural environment, and Lake Khövsgöl is one of the country's major tourist attractions. The largest forests of Mongolia are located around and to the north of the lake, extending the South Siberian taiga.
The aimag was founded in 1931. Khatgal was the administrative center until 1933; since then it has been Mörön.
The region is home to many ethnic minority groups: Darkhad, Khotgoid, Uriankhai, Buriad, and Tsaatan. Both the Darkhad and Tsaatan are famous for their practice of shamanism.
| Ethnic minority groups in Khövsgöl (self-identification), 2000 census[2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Population | Percentage | |
| 16,268 | 13.8% | ||
| 6229 | 5.3% | ||
| 3036 | 2.6% | ||
| 996 | 0.84% | ||
| 269 | 0.23% | ||
| Total population | 117914 | 100% | |
Famous people from Khövsgöl include:
Henning Haslund-Christensen, a Danish traveller and explorer, spent one or two years in a place that today is in Erdenebulgan sum in the early 1920s. Some locals believe that Alan Gua, an ancestor of Genghis Khan, hails from what is now Chandmani-Öndör.
In 2007, the aimag was home to about 3.43 million heads of livestock, among them about 1,510,000 goats, 1,442,000 sheep, 322,000 cattle and yaks, 150,000 horses, 2,350 camels, and 652 reindeer.
The Mörön Airport (ZMMN/MXV) has one paved runway. It offers regular flights from and to Ulaanbaatar, and also serves as intermediate stop into the western Aimags.
The Khatgal Airport (HTM) only runs scheduled flights from and to Ulaanbaatar in summer, offering a more direct approach to Lake Khövsgöl for the tourists.
The road distance from Mörön to Ulaanbaatar is 690 km. A new paved road finished in fall 2012 now connects Mörön to Khatgal on Lake Khövsgöl.
| + The Sums of Khövsgöl Aimag | ||||||||||
| Sum | Mongolian | Population 1987 (approx.)[8] | Population 1994 [9] | Population 2000[10] | Population 2005[11] | Population 2009[12] | Sum centre population (2009) | Area (km²) | Density (/km²) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alag-Erdene Khatgal | Mongolian: Алаг-Эрдэнэ Mongolian: Хатгал | 2,300 7,000[13] | 2,809 3,756 | 2,825 2,498 | 2,992 2,831 | 2,980 2,952 | 744 2,952 | 3,591.5 911,4 | 0.83 3.24 | |
| Arbulag | Mongolian: Арбулаг | 3,100 | 4,272 | 4,487 | 4,164 | 3,989 | 728 | 3,529.21 | 1.13 | |
| Bayanzürkh | Mongolian: Баянзүрх | 3,300 | 4,180 | 4,202 | 3,863 | 3,964 | 742 | 4,299.14 | 0.92 | |
| Mongolian: Бүрэнтогтох | 3,800 | 5,043 | 4,678 | 4,251 | 4,245 | 735 | 3,768.60 | 1.12 | ||
| Mongolian: Чандмань-Өндөр | 2,100 | 2,891 | 3,063 | 2,944 | 3,006 | 1,018 | 4,487.54 | 0.67 | ||
| Mongolian: Эрдэнэбулган | 2,300 | 3,086 | 2,739 | 2,849 | 2,763 | 1,060 | 4,694.38 | 0.59 | ||
| Galt | Mongolian: Галт | 4,400 | 5,573 | 5,328 | 4,876 | 5,132 | 777 | 3,596.83 | 1.43 | |
| Ikh-Uul | Mongolian: Их-Уул | 3,200 | 3,767 | 3,959 | 4,126 | 4,170 | 1,387 | 2,023.82 | 2.06 | |
| Mongolian: Жаргалант | 3,700 | 4,866 | 5,086 | 5,109 | 5,183 | 1,315 | 2,549.28 | 2.03 | ||
| Khankh | Mongolian: Ханх | n.a. | 2,227 | 2,140 | 2,346 | 2,460 | 1,422 | 5,498.71 | 0.45 | |
| Mörön | Mongolian: Мөрөн | n.a. | 27,230 | 28,147 | 35,872 | 36,082 | 36,072 | 102.90 | 350.55 | |
| Rashaant | Mongolian: Рашаант | 2,500 | 3,195 | 3,280 | 3,559 | 3,501 | 987 | 1,982.52 | 1.77 | |
| Renchinlkhümbe | Mongolian: Рэнчинлхүмбэ | 3,900[14] | 4,040 | 4,284 | 4,614 | 4,740 | 825 | 8,448.34 | 0.56 | |
| Shine-Ider | Mongolian: Шинэ-Идэр | 3,900 | 4,616 | 4,348 | 4,068 | 3,824 | 1,718 | 2,053.56 | 1.86 | |
| Tarialan | Mongolian: Тариалан | 4,800 | 6,122 | 6,070 | 5,936 | 6,085 | 3,272 | 3,430.67 | 1.77 | |
| Tömörbulag | Mongolian: Төмөрбулаг | 3,100 | 4,084 | 4,171 | 4,353 | 4,174 | 613 | 2,521.72 | 1.66 | |
| Mongolian: Тосонцэнгэл | 2,800 | 3,683 | 4,161 | 3,615 | 4,144 | 1,166 | 2,042.23 | 2,03 | ||
| Mongolian: Цагааннуур | 900 | 1,248 | 1,317 | 1,405 | 1,547 | 708 | 5,408.30 | 0.29 | ||
| Mongolian: Цагаан-Уул | 4,300 | 5,547 | 5,696 | 5,145 | 5,332 | 940 | 5,866.3 | 0.91 | ||
| Mongolian: Цагаан-Үүр | 2,000 | 2,590 | 2,421 | 2,442 | 2,459 | 946 | 8,735.33 | 0.28 | ||
| Tsetserleg | Mongolian: Цэцэрлэг | 4,400 | 5,591 | 5,876 | 4,693 | 4,766 | 807 | 7,451.62 | 0.64 | |
| Tünel | Mongolian: Түнэл | 2,900 | 3,579 | 3,556 | 3,465 | 3,528 | 1,105 | 3,577.33 | 0.99 | |
| Ulaan-Uul | Mongolian: Улаан-Уул | 2,700 | 3,396 | 3,726 | 3,898 | 4,118 | 1,386 | 10,057.52 | 0.41 |