Khovd is one of the 21 aimags

Aimags of Mongolia

Mongolia is divided into 21 aimags . Each aimag is subdivided into several sums. The name aimag is derived from the Mongolian and Turkic languages word for "tribe". The modern aimags were established since 1921...

 (provinces) of Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

, 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.

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

Kazakh language

Kazakh is a Turkic language which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages, closely related to Nogai and Karakalpak....

 and Mongolian

Mongolian language

The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...

.

Ethnic groups of Khovd aimag
national censuses data

Ethnic group	Mongolian name	1979	%	1989	%	2000	%
Khalkha Khalkha Khalkha is the largest subgroup of Mongol people in Mongolia since 15th century. The Khalkha together with Tsahar, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by the Altan Urag Khans until the 20th century; unlike the Oirat people who were ruled by the Dzungar nobles or the Khorchins who were ruled by...	Халх	17,343	27.72	20,397	26.64	23,832	27.45
Zakhchin Zakhchin Zakhchin is a subgroup of the Oirats residing in Khovd Province, Mongolia.Zakhchin means 'Border people'. They are so called because they are originated form the border garrison of Dzungar Empire...	Захчин	14,464	23.12	17,228	22.50	21,645	24.93
Kazakh Kazakhs The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....	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 Uriankhai "Uriankhai" , also known as Urianhai or Uryangkhai, is a term applied to several neighboring ethnic groups...	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 Tuvans Tuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...	Тува
239	0.31	724	0.83
Bayad Bayad The bayad بياض, Bagrus bajad, is a species of catfish in the family Bagridae.-Distribution:The natural habitat of the bayad are lakes and rivers in Africa. These lakes include Lake Chad, Lake Mobutu, and Lake Turkana. Rivers include the Nile, the Niger, and the Senegal.-Description:The bayad is...	Баяд	129	0.21	227	0.30	377	0.43
Uzbek Uzbeks The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...	Чантуу	183	0.29	187	0.24	258	0.30
Khoshuud Khoshuud The Khoshut are one of the four major tribes of the Oirat people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeastern Mongolia, but in mid 15th century they migrated to western Mongolia to become an ally of oirats to counter central Mongolian military power...	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 Statoids (Gwillim Law) web pagehttp://www.statoids.com/umn.html

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

Khovd Airport

Khovd Airport is a public airport located in Khovd city, Mongolia.- Airlines :- External links :* Khovd* Khovd...

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

Bulgan (city)

Bulgan is a town, administrative centre of Bulgan province of Mongolia. Bulgan sum has a population of 11,984 , 12,323, town proper has a population of 11,198...

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

Uvs Province

Uvs is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia. It is located in the west of the country, 1336 km away from the national capital Ulaanbaatar.Its capital is Ulaangom which lies 936m above the Sea level....

, 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

Buyant, Khovd

Buyant is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....

 sum, but is administered as independent Jargalant

Jargalant, Khovd

Jargalant is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia. Jargalant sum exists since 1992, includes Khovd aimag capital Khovd city. Jargalant sum is droplet in the Buyant sum....

 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

Sum (subnational entity)

Sum, sumu, sumon, and somon are a type of administrative district used in China, Mongolia, and Russia.-China:...

 of Khovd Aimag

Sum	Mongolian Mongolian language The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...	Population 1979 census	Population 1991 est.	Population 2007 est.	Sum Centre Population	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)	Distance from Khovd city(km)
Altai Altai, Khovd Altai is a sum of Khovd Province in western of Mongolia....		2,141	2,712	3,234	767	13,144	0.25	310
Bulgan Bulgan, Khovd Bulgan is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		7,052	9,169	9,634	3,171	8,104	1.19	335
Buyant Buyant, Khovd Buyant is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		3,361	4,386	3,533	1,568	3,759	0.96	19
Chandmani Chandmani, Khovd Chandmani is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,311	2,963	3,155	689	6,016	0.52	160
Darvi Darvi, Khovd Darvi is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,402	2,775	2,596	579	5,604	0.47	204
Dörgön Dörgön, Khovd Dörgön is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		1,715	2,555	3,015	659	4,128	0.73	106
Duut Duut, Khovd Duut is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		1,675	2,189	2,094	502	2,146	0.98	76
Erdenebüren Erdenebüren, Khovd Erdenebüren is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,258	3,210	3,372	696	2,772	1.22	60
Jargalant Jargalant, Khovd Jargalant is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia. Jargalant sum exists since 1992, includes Khovd aimag capital Khovd city. Jargalant sum is droplet in the Buyant sum.... *		17,620	26,877	29,207	28,601*	70	417.24	0
Khovd Khovd, Khovd Hovd is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia.- Population :In 2005, 4,644 inhabitants and 866 households lived in Khovd sum. It is the only sum in the Hovd aimag with a majority of Kazakh. 96% of the population belongs to Kazakh nationality and the remaining belong to other ethnic and...		3,927	4,850	4,589	719	2,830	1.63	27
Mankhan Mankhan, Khovd Mankhan is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia.-Notable people:* Damdiny Demberel, long standing member and since 2008 speaker of the State Great Khural, was born in Mankhan....		3,273	4,352	4,526	1,258	4,330	1.05	80
Mönkhkhairkhan Mönkhkhairkhan, Khovd Mönkhkhairkhan is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia. It is named after Mount Mönkhkhairkhan....		1,811	2,337	2,554	744	2,554	1.06	155
Möst Möst, Khovd Möst is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		3,239	4,092	3,577	809	3,927	0.91	180
Myangad Myangad, Khovd Myangad is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,940	4,552	3,662	713	3,258	1.12	35
Tsetseg Tsetseg, Khovd Tsetseg is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,189	2,645	2,531	570	3,491	0.72	216
Üyench Üyench, Khovd Üyench is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia....		2,575	3,913	4,760	1,452	7,476	0.64	305
Zereg Zereg, Khovd Zereg is a sum of Khovd Province in western Mongolia. It is the birthplace of Mongolia's president, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj....		2,388	3,092	3,078	796	2,524	1.23	130

^* - The aimag capital Khovd