Khövsgöl Province () is the northernmost of the 21 provinces of Mongolia, bordering Buryatia and Tuva, Russia. Its name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl. The province was established in 1931. Its administrative center is the city of Mörön; prior to 1933, its capital was Khatgal.
Geography and history
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 central 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.
Population
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.
{| class="wikitable"
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="3"| Ethnic minority groups in Khövsgöl (self-identification), 2000 census
|-
! Group !! Population !! Percentage
|-
| Darkhad || 16,268 || 13.8%
|-
| Khotgoid || 6229 || 5.3%
|-
| Uriankhai || 3036 || 2.6%
|-
| Buriad || 996 || 0.84%
|-
| Tsaatan || 269 || 0.23%
|-
| Total population || 117914 || 100%
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Khövsgöl aimag population
|-
! 1956 <br /> census
! 1960 <br /> est.
! 1963 <br /> census
! 1969 <br /> census
! 1975 <br /> est.
! 1979 <br /> census
! 1981 <br /> est.
! 1989 <br /> census
! 1992 <br /> est.
! 1996 <br /> est.
! 1998 <br /> est.
! 2000 <br /> census
! 2003 <br /> est.
! 2005 <br /> est.
! 2007 <br /> est.
|-
| 58,200||64,000||63,700|| 74,800|| 82,300|| 88,200|| 91,100||101,800|| 119,133|| 113,312|| 117,123|| 117,914|| 124,126|| 123,416||123,275
|}
Economy
In 2018, the province contributed to 1.84% of the total national GDP of Mongolia.
Livestock
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.
! style="width:80px;"|Population<br />1994<br />
! style="width:80px;"|Population<br />2000
! style="width:80px;"|Population 2005
! style="width:80px;"|Population<br />2009
! style="width:80px;"| Sum centre<br />population<br />(2009)</small>
||2,809<br /><small>3,756</small>
||2,825<br /><small>2,498</small>
||2,992<br /><small>2,831</small>
||2,980<br /><small>2,952</small>
||744<br /><small>2,952</small>
||3,591.5<br /><small>911,4</small>
||0.83<br /><small>3.24</small>
|-
| Arbulag || ||3,100|| 4,272||4,487||4,164||3,989||728||3,529.21||1.13
|-
| Bayanzürkh || ||3,300|| 4,180||4,202||3,863||3,964||742||4,299.14||0.92
|-
| Bürentogtokh || ||3,800|| 5,043||4,678||4,251||4,245||735||3,768.60||1.12
|-
| Chandmani-Öndör || ||2,100|| 2,891||3,063||2,944||3,006||1,018||4,487.54||0.67
|-
| Erdenebulgan || ||2,300|| 3,086|| 2,739||2,849||2,763||1,060||4,694.38||0.59
|-
| Galt || ||4,400|| 5,573|| 5,328||4,876||5,132||777||3,596.83||1.43
|-
| Ikh-Uul || ||3,200|| 3,767|| 3,959||4,126||4,170||1,387||2,023.82||2.06
|-
| Jargalant || ||3,700|| 4,866|| 5,086||5,109||5,183||1,315||2,549.28||2.03
|-
| Khankh || ||n.a.|| 2,227|| 2,140||2,346||2,460||1,422||5,498.71||0.45
|-
| Mörön || ||n.a.|| 27,230|| 28,147||35,872||36,082||36,072||102.90||350.55
|-
| Rashaant || ||2,500|| 3,195||3,280||3,559||3,501||987||1,982.52||1.77
|-
| Renchinlhümbe || ||3,900|| 4,040||4,284||4,614||4,740||825||8,448.34||0.56
|-
| Shine-Ider || ||3,900|| 4,616||4,348||4,068||3,824||1,718||2,053.56||1.86
|-
| Tarialan || ||4,800|| 6,122||6,070||5,936||6,085||3,272||3,430.67||1.77
|-
| Tömörbulag || ||3,100|| 4,084||4,171||4,353||4,174||613||2,521.72||1.66
|-
| Tosontsengel || ||2,800|| 3,683||4,161||3,615||4,144||1,166||2,042.23||2,03
|-
| Tsagaannuur || ||900|| 1,248||1,317||1,405||1,547||708||5,408.30||0.29
|-
| Tsagaan-Uul || ||4,300|| 5,547||5,696||5,145||5,332||940||5,866.3||0.91
|-
| Tsagaan-Üür || ||2,000|| 2,590||2,421||2,442||2,459||946||8,735.33||0.28
|-
| Tsetserleg || ||4,400|| 5,591||5,876||4,693||4,766||807||7,451.62||0.64
|-
| Tünel || ||2,900|| 3,579||3,556||3,465||3,528||1,105||3,577.33||0.99
|-
| Ulaan-Uul || ||2,700|| 3,396||3,726||3,898||4,118||1,386||10,057.52||0.41
|}
Notable natives
- Chingünjav, leader of an anti-Manchu rebellion in 1756/57;
- The Jalkhanz Khutagt Damdinbazar, a prime minister of Mongolia in the early 1920s;
- Öndör Gongor, a tall man with the gigantism condition in early-20th century Mongolia;
- Gelenkhüü, an inventor and hero of local folklore;
- Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, human rights advocate, first Mongolian to graduate from Stanford, first woman to join the Mongolian parliament;
- Bayarjargal, conservationist and founder of Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation;
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.
Gallery
<gallery perrow="4" widths="200px" heights="200px">
Landscape of Hubsugul province.jpg|Landscape of Hubsugul province
Steppe flora of the province.png|Steppe flora of the province
Yurt locals.jpg|Yurt locals
Nomadic cattle.jpg|Nomadic cattle
</gallery>