Parsa District

Parsa District (Nepali: पर्सा जिल्लाListen^ⓘ), a part of Madhesh Province in Terai plain, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Birgunj as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,353 km² (522 sq mi) and has a population (2001) of 497,219. According to the locals, Parsa is named after the Parashnath temple situated in Mahuwan.

Parsa District पर्सा जिल्ला
District
The gate in Birganj on the Indo-Nepal border
Etymology: derived from Parsagadhi fort
Location of Parsa District (dark yellow) in Madhesh Province
Country	Nepal
Region	Mithila
Province	Madhesh
Established	During Rana regime
Admin HQ.	Birgunj
Government
• Type	Coordination committee
• Body	DCC, Parsa
• Head	Ajay sah sonar
• Deputy-Head	puran patel
• Parliamentary constituencies	4 (List)
• Provincial constituencies	8
Area
• Total	1,353 km2 (522 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	649,397
• Density	480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
• Households	95,516
Demographics [1]
• Ethnic groups	Muslim, Kurmi, Tharu, Yadav
• Female ♀	48%
• Male ♂/100 female	108.21
Human Development Index [2]
• Income per capita (US dollars)	$1657
• Poverty rate	36.37
• Literacy	69.1%
• Life Expectancy	70.25
Time zone	UTC+05:45 (NPT)
Postal Codes	44301... 44315
Telephone Code	051
Main Language(s)	Bhojpuri (78.1%), Nepali (6.4%), Maithili (5.1%), Tharu (3.8%), Urdu (2.2%), others (4.4%)
Website	dccparsa.gov.np

Etymology

According to locals, the name of the district is derived from the Parsagadhi fort, where the Nepali Gorkhali Soldiers defeated British Soldiers.^[3]

Geography and Climate

Climate Zone[4]	Elevation Range	% of Area
Lower Tropical	below 300 meters (1,000 ft)	74.7%
Upper Tropical	300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft.	25.3n%

Demographics

Historical population
Census year	1981	1991	2001	2011	2021
Pop.	284,338	372,524	497,219	601,017	649,397
±% p.a.	—	+2.74%	+2.93%	+1.91%	+0.78%
Source: Citypopulation[5]

At the time of the 2021 Nepal census, Parsa District had a population of 654,471. 9.45% of the population is under 5 years of age. It has a literacy rate of 69.12% and a sex ratio of 935 females per 1000 males. 395,104 (60.37%) lived in municipalities.^[6]

Ethnic groups/castes in Parsa district (2021)^[7]

1. Muslim (17.1%)
2. Kurmi (8.88%)
3. Tharu (6.88%)
4. Yadav (6.82%)
5. Kanu (6.24%)
6. Chamar (5.11%)
7. Teli (4.41%)
8. Paswan (2.83%)
9. Kushwaha (2.47%)
10. Other Madheshi non-Dalit (24.4%)
11. Other Madheshi Dalit (4.08%)
12. Khas non-Dalit (3.22%)
13. Hill Janjati (2.87%)
14. Other Terai Janjati (1.35%)
15. Others (3.26%)

Ethnicity/caste: Madheshi are the largest group, making up over 65% of the population. Muslims are the largest single community, making up over 17% of the population. Tharus are nearly 7% of the population. There are small minorities of Khas and Hill Janjati.^[7]

Languages of Parsa district (2021)^[8]

1. Bhojpuri (84.7%)
2. Nepali (4.80%)
3. Tharu (3.75%)
4. Urdu (2.08%)
5. Tamang (1.16%)
6. Maithili (1.13%)
7. Others (2.37%)

At the time of the 2021 census, 84.71% of the population spoke Bhojpuri, 4.80% Nepali, 3.75% Tharu, 2.08% Urdu, 1.16% Tamang and 1.13% Maithili as their first language.^[8]

Religion in Parsa district (2021)[9]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			80.84%
Islam			17.80%
Buddhism			1.21%
Other or not stated			0.15%

Religion: 81% were Hindu, 18% Muslim, 1% Buddhist.^[9]

Literacy: 55.7% could read and write, 2.9% could only read and 41.3% could neither read nor write.^[10]

Notable people

• Ajay Chaurasiya - Nepali Congress leader, former minister and former Member of House of Representatives/Constituent Assembly
• Ajay Kumar Dwivedi]] - Nepali Congress leader and Member of Constituent Assembly
• Bina Jaiswal - Bina Jaiswal is a Nepalese politician, belonging to the Rastriya Prajatantra Party. She is a member of Parliament currently serving as the member of the 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal.
• Mohammad Lalbabu Raut Gaddhi - First Chief Minister of Madhesh Province
• Pradeep Yadav - leader of PSP-N and member of House of Representatives

Administration

VDC/s and Municipalities (blue) in Parsa District The district consists of one metropolitan city, three urban municipalities and ten rural municipalities. These are as follows:

• Birgunj Metropolitan City
• Bahudarmai Municipality
• Parsagadhi Municipality
• Pokhariya Municipality
• Bindabasini Rural Municipality
• Dhobini Rural Municipality
• Chhipaharmai Rural Municipality
• Jagarnathpur Rural Municipality
• Jirabhawani Rural Municipality
• Kalikamai Rural Municipality
• Pakaha Mainpur Rural Municipality
• Paterwa Sugauli Rural Municipality
• Sakhuwa Prasauni Rural Municipality
• Thori Rural Municipality

Former Village Development Committees (VDCs) and municipalities

Map of the VDCs in Parsa District

Alau, Nepal Amarpatti Auraha Bagahi Bagbana Bageshwari Bahauri Pidari Bahuarba Bhatha Basadilwa Basantpur Belwa Parsauni Beriya Birta Bhauratar Bhawanipur Bhedihari Bhisawa Bijbaniya Bindyabasini Biranchi Barwa Birganj Sub-Metropolitan City Biruwa Guthi Bisrampur Chorani Deukhana Dhobini Gadi Gamhariya Ghoddauda Pipra Ghore

Govindapur Hariharpur Hariharpur Birta Harapatganj Harpur Jagarnathpur Sira Jaimanglapur Janikatala Jhauwa Guthi Jitpur Kauwa Ban Kataiya Lahawarthakari Lakhanpur Lal Parsa Langadi Lipani Birta Madhuban Mathaul Mahadevpatti Mahuwan Mainiyari Mainpur Mikhampur Mirjapur Mosihani Mudali Nagardaha Nirchuta Nirmal Basti Pancharukhi

Parsauni Matha Patbari Tola-Warwa Paterwa Sugauli Pidariguthi Pokhariya Municipality Phulwariya Prasauni Birta Prasurampur Ramgadhawa Ramnagari Sabaithawa Sakhuwa Prasauni Samjhauta Sankar Saraiya Sapauli Sedhawa Shiva Worga Sirsiya Khalwatola Sonbarsa Srisiya Subarnapur Sugauli Birta Sugauli Partewa Surjaha Thori Tulsi Barba Udaypur Ghurmi