Province of Nepal
Lumbini Province: land cover, map and districts
Forest land is the largest land cover in Lumbini Province, at 56.8% of its area. Forest covers 56.8% (more than the national 41.4%), farmland 17.9%, rangeland 18.8%, built-up land 5.0%, bare land, rock and snow 1.0% and water 0.6%.
Land cover of Lumbini Province
Show the numbers
| Class | Share (%) | 95% interval | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban land | 5.0 | 3.1–6.8 | 957 |
| Agriculture land | 17.9 | 13.5–22.3 | 3,451 |
| Rangeland | 18.8 | 16.1–21.5 | 3,631 |
| Forest land | 56.8 | 51.1–62.6 | 10,981 |
| Water | 0.6 | 0.1–1.0 | 111 |
| Barren land | 1.0 | 0.0–2.4 | 189 |
Latest high-resolution imagery (captured 2011–2026, median 2025-11). Estimated from 135 randomly placed 1.2 km sample windows classified by the Nepal-adapted U-Net; intervals are 95% confidence. How it works.
Lumbini Province year by year
Largest changes in the reference map from 2017 to 2025: urban land +2.3 points, agriculture land −2.1 points, forest land +1.4 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.
Districts of Lumbini Province
| District | Area (km²) | Forest % | Farmland % | Built-up % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arghakhanchi | 1,239 | 83.4 | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Banke | 1,881 | 62.4 | 30.7 | 2.9 |
| Bardiya | 2,001 | 54.3 | 29.8 | 8.4 |
| Dang | 3,059 | 69.6 | 12.2 | 4.2 |
| Gulmi | 1,108 | 74.4 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| Kapilbastu | 1,651 | 24.9 | 50.9 | 17.0 |
| Nawalparasi West | 726 | 49.1 | 34.7 | 14.1 |
| Palpa | 1,462 | 78.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Pyuthan | 1,321 | 63.8 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Rolpa | 1,885 | 61.2 | 0.3 | 3.2 |
| Rukum East | 1,682 | 31.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Rupandehi | 1,305 | 23.0 | 61.2 | 10.9 |
Fires in Lumbini Province each year
Satellite fire detections (NASA FIRMS, VIIRS S-NPP) inside Lumbini Province: about 7,598 a year on average, most in 2016 (14,969).
Questions about Lumbini Province
- What is the forest cover of Lumbini Province?
- About 56.8% of Lumbini Province is forest (95% interval 51.1–62.6%), roughly 10,981 km², according to the Nepal-adapted U-Net applied to 135 sample sites. That ranks 1st of 7 provinces.
- How much of Lumbini Province is built-up or urban?
- Built-up land covers about 5.0% (957 km²). Lumbini Province ranks 4th of 7 provinces for built-up share.
- How big is Lumbini Province?
- Lumbini Province covers 19,319 km² and has 12 districts.
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.