Hovd is a sum (district) of Khovd Province in western 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...

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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

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

. 96% of the population belongs to Kazakh nationality and the remaining belong to other ethnic and national groups, like Chantuu (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...

), Myangad, Torguud or Khalkh. The total population increased until 1991 and declined sharply in 1992 and 1993. This decline was caused by the outmigration of Kazakhs to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

(approx. 1,650 or 33% of total population). In the following years, some migrants returned and the population increased also due to comparably high birth rates. In recent years, the population decreased again, caused by net outmigration.