Khovd (/kɒvd/; Mongolian: Ховд [ˈχɔɸt]), alternatively romanized as Khobhd, is one of the twenty-one aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km (980 mi) from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It takes its name from the Khovd River, which is located in this province.
Islam is a significant religion practiced by around 10–15% of the population, namely the Kazakhs and a small minority of Uyghurs.
Time in Mongolia is officially represented by the Mongolian Standard Time (UTC+08:00). However, the far western provinces of Khovd, Uvs and Bayan-Ölgii use UTC+07:00.
The Torghut (Mongolian: Торгууд, ᠲᠤᠷᠭᠣᠣᠠ, Torguud, "Guardsman", simplified Chinese: 土尔扈特; traditional Chinese: 土爾扈特) are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut nobles traced their descent to the Mongol Keraite ruler Toghrul, and many Torghuts descended from the Keraites. They are scattered in the provinces of Xinjiang (China), Kalmykia (Russia) and Khovd (Mongolia).
The Great Lakes Depression, also called the Great Lakes Hollow, is a large semi-arid depression in Mongolia that covers parts of the Uvs, Khovd, Bayan-Ölgii, Zavkhan and Govi-Altai aimags. Bounded by the Altai in the West, Khangai in the East and Tannu-Ola Mountains in the North,it covers the area of over 100,000 km (39,000 sq mi) with elevations from 750 to 2,000 m (2,460–6,560 ft).
Small northern parts of the depression are part of Russia.
Olkhonud (Mongolian: Олхуноуд, Олхонууд, Олгонууд; Chinese: 斡勒忽讷; pinyin: wòlēihūnè), also rendered as Olqunuut, was the clan of Hoelun, the mother of Genghis Khan. They helped Genghis to defeat the Naimans. The Olkhunut people were very closely related to the Hongirad tribe. Their descendants still live in Khovd Province of Mongolia and in Inner Mongolia of China.
Erdenebüren (Mongolian: Эрдэнэбүрэн) is a sum (district) of Khovd Province in western Mongolia. It is 60 km away from the city of Khovd.
As of 2022, Islam in Mongolia, is practiced by approximately 5.4% of those who identify with a religion, according to the USCIRF. Given that 59.4 percent of the population reported having a religious identity in the 2020 census, Muslims constitute roughly 3.2 percent of the total population It is practised by the ethnic Kazakhs of Bayan-Ölgii Province (88.7% of total aimag population) and Khovd Province (11.5% of total aimag population, living primarily in the Khovd city, Khovd district, and Buyant district) in western Mongolia. In addition, a number of small Kazakh communities can be found in various cities and towns spread throughout the country. Islam is also practiced by the smaller communities of Khotons and Uyghurs.
Some Mongolian Muslims fused elements from Buddhism into their beliefs, even thinking of the Buddha as synonymous to Adam, the first prophet in Islam, although this does not happen in modern times.