List of districts of Nagaland

Districts of Nagaland
Location	Nagaland
Number	17 Districts
Government	Government of Nagaland

Chümoukedima

Dimapur

Kiphire

Kohima

Longleng

Meluri

Mokokchung

Mon

Niuland

Noklak

Peren

Phek

Shamator

Tuensang

Tseminyü

Wokha

Zünheboto

The seventeen districts of Nagaland

The Indian state of Nagaland, has 17 administrative districts: Chümoukedima, Dimapur, Kiphire, Kohima, Longleng, Meluri, Mokokchung, Mon, Niuland, Noklak, Peren, Phek, Shamator, Tuensang, Tseminyü, Wokha and Zünheboto.^[1]

There is ongoing demand for several new districts, especially from the relatively inaccessible remote hilly sub-districts of the larger districts farther away from the existing district headquarters.^{[2][3] [4][5][6]}

In Nagaland, there is no intermediate administrative tier—such as the Commissioner’s Divisions found in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, or West Bengal—functioning between the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and individual district administrations headed by the District Commissioner.^[7] Instead of multiple regional heads, Nagaland utilizes a single State Commissioner who centralizes the supervisory and judicial functions that would typically be split among several Divisional Commissioners in larger states.^[8]

Under the state’s unique customary law framework protected by Article 371A of the Constitution of India, the Commissioner serves as the apex appellate and supervisory authority for a hybrid legal system where Naga customary traditions govern civil and criminal justice.^[9] This role is distinct because the Commissioner oversees the Dobhashi Courts and Village Councils, ensuring that traditional tribal adjudication for land disputes and social matters is harmonized with the Rules for Administration of Justice and Police in Nagaland, 1937, effectively acting as the final executive-judicial bridge for the entire state.^[10]

• Wide-ranging authority of the State Commissioner in civil and customary tribal court cases: The division of jurisdiction between customary courts and the formal judiciary is defined by the nature of the offense and the identity of the parties involved. Customary courts, which include Village Councils and Dobhashi Courts, possess nearly unlimited jurisdiction over civil disputes, particularly those involving land ownership, inheritance, and tribal social practices under the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978.^[11]

• Very limited authority of the State Commissioner only in the petty criminal cases: In criminal matters, however, their authority is strictly limited to "trifle" or petty offenses. Serious and heinous crimes must be reported to the Deputy Commissioner and tried only by formal statutory courts to ensure compliance with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.^[12]

In Nagaland, territorial and tribal authorities are structured through a hierarchy of customary and statutory bodies that operate from the village level to the regional state level. Traditional governance is legally anchored in the Nagaland Village and Tribal Councils Act, 1978, which recognizes a hierarchy consisting of Village Councils for local administration and justice, Village Development Boards (VDBs) for implementing developmental schemes, and individual Apex Tribal Councils (such as the Naga Hoho or tribal Sendens) that manage customary laws for the state's 17 officially recognized major ethnic groups.^[13] These groups include 15 Naga tribes and the 2 non-Naga tribes as follows:^[14]

• 15 Naga tribes: These groups include 15 Naga tribes, Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, Pochury, Rengma, Sangtam, Sumi, Tikhir, Yimkhiung, and Zeliang (Zeliangrong).^[14]

• 2 non- Naga tribes: These groups include 2 non-Naga tribes, Kuki and Kachari tribes.^[14]

On 5 February 2026, the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) via a tripartite agreement between the Government of India, the Government of Nagaland, and the Eastern Nagaland Peoples' Organisation (ENPO) was created covering 8 tribes and 6 eastern-most districts of Nagaland on India–Myanmar border.^[15] The FNTA provides legislative, executive, and financial autonomy over 46 subjects for six eastern-most districts on India–Myanmar border, (listed north to south) Mon, Longleng, Tuensang, Noklak, Shamator, and Kiphire — representing eight tribes including the Konyak, Sangtam, Chang, Khiamniungan, Yimkhiung, Tikhir, Phom, and Sumi.^[16]

A district of an Indian state is an administrative geographical unit, headed by a district magistrate or a deputy commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service. The district magistrate or the deputy commissioner is assisted by a number of officials belonging to different wings of the administrative services of the state.

A superintendent of police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues at the district level.

On 1 December 1957, the Naga Hills District of Assam and Tuensang Frontier Division of the North-East Frontier Agency (now Arunachal Pradesh) were joined to form the centrally governed Naga Hills Tuensang Area. At that point the previous subdivisions became Kohima District, Mokokchung District and Tuensang District. February 1961 saw the renaming of Naga Hills Tuensang Area to "Nagaland", and in December 1963 Nagaland became the 16th state of India.

19 December 1973 saw the new districts of Wokha District and Zünheboto District carved out of Mokokchung District, Mon District carved from Tuensang District, and Phek District created out of Kohima District.^[17]

On 2 December 1997, Dimapur District was carved out from Kohima District and was inaugurated in April 1998.^[18][19]

Three more districts were added in 24 October 2003: Kiphire District, Longleng District and Peren District.^[20] Kiphire and Longleng Districts were carved out from Tuensang District, Peren District was carved from Kohima District.^[21]

Noklak District was created on 20 January 2021, previously having been a sub-district of Tuensang District.^[22]

On 18 December 2021, three new districts were created: Chümoukedima District and Niuland District carved from Dimapur District and Tseminyü District carved from Kohima District.^[23]

On 19 January 2022, Shamator District carved from Tuensang was created as the 16th district of Nagaland.^[24]

In 2024, Meluri sub-division of the Phek district was upgraded to form Meluri district.^[25]

The seventeen districts of Nagaland, and their headquarters, 2011 census populations,^[26] areas and elevations (of the seat) are:

District	Headquarter	Area (km2)	Elevation (m)	Population total	Population rural	Population urban	Date created	Map
Chümoukedima District	Chümoukedima	610	171	125,400	81,884	43,516	2021
Dimapur District	Dimapur	70	145	170,000	0	170,000	1997
Kiphire District	Kiphire	1,130	896	74,004	57,517	16,487	2004
Kohima District	Kohima	1,207	1,444	267,988	146,900	121,088	1957
Longleng District	Longleng	885	1,100	50,484	42,871	7,613	2004
Meluri District	Meluri	1,011	n/a	22,558	n/a	n/a	2024
Mokokchung District	Mokokchung	1,719	1,325	194,622	138,897	55,725	1957
Mon District	Mon	1,786	655	250,260	215,816	34,444	1973
Niuland District	Niuland	440	154	11,876	11,876	0	2021
Noklak District	Noklak	1,152		59,300	59,300	0	2017
Peren District	Peren	2,300	1,445	95,219	81,429	13,790	2004
Phek District	Phek	2,026	1,524	163,418	138,843	24,575	1973
Shamator District	Shamator	410	n/a	12,726	n/a	n/a	2022
Tseminyü District	Tseminyü	256	1,261	63,629	60,766	2863	2021
Tuensang District	Tuensang	2,536	1,371	137,296	100,522	36,774	1957
Wokha District	Wokha	1,628	1,313	166,343	131,339	35,004	1973
Zünheboto District	Zünheboto	1,255	1,852	140,757	113,160	27,597	1973

People of several sub-districts of Nagaland state continue to demand the district status (listed north to south):

• Existing Mon district - from the existing central and southern parts of the existing Mon District:

• • Aboi District from the central part of existing Mon district: The Aboi District Demand Committee (ADDC) has long campaigned for upgradation, asserting that the sub-division fulfills all administrative criteria, including a significant population and established government departments. The demand gained renewed urgency following the creation of other districts in 2021, which local leaders viewed as an oversight of Aboi's longstanding grievances.^[2][27]

• • Tobu District from the southern part of existing Mon district: The Tobu District Demand Committee (TDDC) seeks to separate Tobu and Moka from the current district structure. Advocates highlight the area's extreme remoteness—with some villages located 190 km from the current district headquarters near the Myanmar border—as a primary justification for a separate administrative unit to improve service delivery.^[3][28]

• Existing Noklak district - from the southern parts of the existing Noklak District:

• • Thuonoknyu District from the southern parts of the existing Noklak District: There are ongoing local aspirations for the upgradation of the Thonoknyu sub-division into a separate administrative unit to better serve the Khiamniungan and Tikhir populations, particularly given its historical status as an aspirational block with significant developmental deficits.^[29]

• Existing Kiphire district - from the southeastern parts of the existing Kiphire District:

• • Pungro District from the southeastern parts of the existing Kiphire District: Pungro sub-division, which is a critical border area near Mount Saramati, often requires specialized administrative attention due to its geographic isolation.

• Existing Mokokchung district - from the existing northwestern and western parts of the existing Mokokchung District:

• • Mangkolemba District: Mangkolemba is the oldest and largest sub-division of Mokokchung district. Demand for Mangkolemba has seen intensified rallies in late 2025 by the District Demand Committee Mangkolemba (DDCM). Proponents cite decades of neglect, poor road connectivity, and the economic burden on villagers who must travel up to 80 km to Mokokchung for administrative work.^[4][30]

• Existing Wokha District - from the existing northwestern and western parts of the existing Wokha District:

• • Bhandari District: Stakeholders in the Bhandari sub-division of Wokha district have frequently raised the need for district status to better manage the region's unique border issues with Assam and to tap into its economic potential in agriculture and livestock.^[5]

• Existing Phek District - from the existing western and southern parts of the existing Phek District:

• • Chozuba District from the existing western part of the existing Phek District: Demand remains unfulfilled.^[6]

• • Pfutsero District from the existing southern part of the existing Phek District: Demand remains unfulfilled.^[6]

• Existing Peren District - from the southern parts of the existing Paren District: :

• • Tening District - from the existing southern parts of the existing Paren District: There have been calls for more localized administration in the remote Tening area to manage land-use and developmental challenges.^[31]

• Local government in Nagaland

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