District of Nepal · Sudur Paschim Province
Kailali District: land cover, map and municipalities
Forest land is the largest land cover in Kailali District, at 56.8% of its area. Forest covers 56.8% (more than the national 41.4%), farmland 21.6%, rangeland 7.9%, built-up land 12.5%, bare land, rock and snow 0.7% and water 0.6%.
Land cover of Kailali District
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 12.5 | 1.2–23.8 | 410 |
| Agriculture land | 21.6 | 5.8–37.4 | 710 |
| Rangeland | 7.9 | 3.8–11.9 | 258 |
| Forest land | 56.8 | 38.7–74.8 | 1,865 |
| Water | 0.6 | 0.0–1.8 | 20 |
| Barren land | 0.7 | 0.0–1.9 | 23 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 22 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Kailali District year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: urban land +7.9 points, agriculture land −7.7 points, forest land −2.5 points.
Coloured lines: the U-Net on each year's Sentinel-2 cloudless mosaic, with 95% intervals. Grey: the independent 10 m Impact Observatory map at the same sites. Differences of a few points between years can come from how each year's mosaic was processed, and the 2016 and 2018 mosaics are read less reliably (too little built-up land, too much bare land and water); compare from 2019 on.
Municipalities and rural municipalities of Kailali District
| Local unit | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bardagoriya | 77 | 41.7 | 43.4 | 11.8 |
| Bhajani | 176 | 34.9 | 51.2 | 8.1 |
| Chure | 492 | 79.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Dhangadhi | 261 | 36.6 | 39.7 | 18.8 |
| Gauriganga | 244 | 64.5 | 23.8 | 6.6 |
| Ghodaghodi | 354 | 64.3 | 25.9 | 5.4 |
| Godawari | 308 | 63.2 | 16.5 | 9.7 |
| Janaki | 107 | 15.5 | 58.9 | 10.8 |
| Joshipur | 66 | 3.8 | 80.0 | 15.5 |
| Kailari | 233 | 50.4 | 38.1 | 5.8 |
| Lamki Chuha | 225 | 57.8 | 24.5 | 9.5 |
| Mohanyal | 626 | 85.1 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| Tikapur | 118 | 12.0 | 57.1 | 21.3 |
Local-unit land cover is from the 10 m Impact Observatory map (2025), clipped to each boundary.
Fires in Kailali District each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Kailali District: about 1,595 a year on average, most in 2016 (3,764).
Questions about Kailali District
- What is the forest cover of Kailali District?
- About 56.8% of Kailali District is forest (95% interval 38.7–74.8%), roughly 1,865 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 22 sample sites. That ranks 27th of 77 districts.
- How much of Kailali District is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 12.5% (410 km²). Kailali District ranks 14th of 77 districts for built-up share.
- How big is Kailali District?
- Kailali District covers 3,286 km² and has 13 local units (municipalities and rural municipalities).
Source: Nepal-adapted U-Net (Khadka & Pradhan 2026) on Esri and EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless imagery; Impact Observatory/Esri 10 m land cover; boundaries: Survey Department of Nepal via OCHA.