Mustang District is part of Dhaulagiri Zone in Nepal's Western Development Region. In 2017, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (Nepal) re-structured the area into five Gaunpalikas or rural municipalities with five areas each, which are different from old VDCs. Since establishment of Kingdom of Mustang until restructuring of local governance of Nepal, the area of this district was divided into one parliamentary constituency, nine Ilakas, and 16 Village Development Committees (VDCs). While an Ilaka functioned as the local development unit, the VDCs functioned as local political units.