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Bhutan

Not to be confused with Bohtan, Butuan, or Butane.

Kingdom of Bhutan
འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ (Dzongkha)
Druk Gyal Khap
Anthem: འབྲུག་ཙན་དན
Druk Tsenden
"The Thunder Dragon Kingdom"
Capital
and largest city
Thimphu
27°28.0′N 89°38.5′E / 27.4667°N 89.6417°E / 27.4667; 89.6417
Official languagesDzongkha
Religion
(2020)[1][2]
Demonym(s)Bhutanese
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Tshering Tobgay
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
National Council
• Lower house
National Assembly
Formation
• Unification of Bhutan
1616–1634
• Period of Desi administration
1650–1905
• Start of the Wangchuck dynasty
17 December 1907
8 August 1949
21 September 1971
18 July 2008
Area
• Total
38,394 km2 (14,824 sq mi)[3][4] (133rd)
• Water (%)
1.1
Population
• 2021 estimate
777,486[5][6] (159th)
• 2022 census
727,145[7]
• Density
20.3/km2 (52.6/sq mi) (210th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $10.969 billion[8] (166th)
• Per capita
Increase $14,296[8] (95th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $2.686 billion[8] (178th)
• Per capita
Increase $3,500[8] (124th)
Gini (2022)Positive decrease 28.5[9]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.681[10]
medium (125th)
CurrencyNgultrum (BTN)
Time zoneUTC+06 (BTT)
Date formatYYYY-MM-DD
Drives onleft[11]
Calling code+975
ISO 3166 codeBT
Internet TLD.bt
  1. The population of Bhutan had been estimated based on the reported figure of about 1 million in the 1970s when the country had joined the United Nations and precise statistics were lacking.[12] Thus, using the annual increase rate of 2–3%, the most population estimates were around 2 million in 2000. A national census was carried out in 2005 and it turned out that the population was 672,425. Consequently, United Nations Population Division reduced its estimation of the country's population in the 2006 revision[13] for the whole period from 1950 to 2000.
This article contains Tibetan script. Without proper rendering support, you may see very small fonts, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Tibetan characters.

Bhutan,[a] officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,[b][14] is a landlocked country in South Asia situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south. With a population of over 727,145[15] and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi), Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a Druk Gyalpo (king) as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. The Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion, Vajrayana Buddhism.

The subalpine Himalayan mountains in the north rise from the country's lush subtropical plains in the south.[16] In the Bhutanese Himalayas, there are peaks higher than 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) above sea level. Gangkhar Puensum is Bhutan's highest peak and is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. The wildlife of Bhutan is notable for its diversity,[17] including the Himalayan takin and golden langur. The capital and largest city is Thimphu, holding close to 15% of the population.

Bhutan and neighbouring Tibet experienced the spread of Buddhism, which originated in the Indian subcontinent during the lifetime of Gautama Buddha. In the first millennium, the Vajrayana school of Buddhism spread to Bhutan from the southern Pala Empire of Bengal. During the 16th century, Ngawang Namgyal unified the valleys of Bhutan into a single state. Namgyal defeated three Tibetan invasions, subjugated rival religious schools, codified the Tsa Yig legal system, and established a government of theocratic and civil administrators. Namgyal became the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche and his successors acted as the spiritual leaders of Bhutan, like the Dalai Lama in Tibet. During the 17th century, Bhutan controlled large parts of northeast India, Sikkim and Nepal; it also wielded significant influence in Cooch Behar State.[18] Bhutan ceded the Bengal Duars to British India during the Bhutan War in the 19th century. The House of Wangchuck emerged as the monarchy and pursued closer ties with Britain in the subcontinent. In 1910, a treaty guaranteed British advice in foreign policy in exchange for internal autonomy in Bhutan. The arrangement continued under a new treaty with India in 1949 (signed at Darjeeling) in which both countries recognised each other's sovereignty. Bhutan joined the United Nations in 1971. It has since expanded relations with 55 countries. While dependent on the Indian military, Bhutan maintains its own military units.

The 2008 Constitution established a parliamentary government with an elected National Assembly and a National Council. Bhutan is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In 2020, Bhutan ranked third in South Asia after Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Human Development Index, and 21st on the Global Peace Index as the most peaceful country in South Asia as of 2024, as well as the only South Asian country in the list's first quartile.[19][20] Bhutan is also a member of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, the Non-Aligned Movement, BIMSTEC, the IMF, the World Bank, UNESCO and the World Health Organization (WHO). Bhutan ranked first in SAARC in economic freedom, ease of doing business, peace and lack of corruption in 2016. Bhutan has one of the largest water reserves for hydropower in the world.[21][22] Melting glaciers caused by climate change are a growing concern in Bhutan.[23]

  1. ^ "Pew Research Center – Global Religious Landscape 2010 – religious composition by country" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Bhutan, Religion And Social Profile | National Profiles | International Data". Thearda.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ "9th Five Year Plan (2002–2007)" (PDF). Royal Government of Bhutan. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. ^ "National Portal of Bhutan". Department of Information Technology, Bhutan. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  5. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. ^ "Bhutan". City Population. Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Bhutan)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Gini Index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  11. ^ "List of left- & right-driving countries". WorldStandards. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Treaty Bodies Database – Document – Summary Record – Bhutan". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR). 5 June 2001. Archived from the original on 10 January 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  13. ^ "World Population Prospects". United Nations. 2008. Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  14. ^ Driem, George van (1998). Dzongkha = Rdoṅ-kha. Leiden: Research School, CNWS. p. 478. ISBN 978-90-5789-002-4.
  15. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". population.un.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Bhutan". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Flora and Fauna of Bhutan – Rich Biodiversity of the Himalayan Kingdom". Holidify.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  18. ^ Karthikeyan, Ananth (1 October 2017). "The brief supremacy of a mountain kingdom". DNA India. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Human Development Index: Bangladesh moves 2 notches up, remains 5th in South Asia". Dhaka Tribune. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  20. ^ "2024 GLOBAL PEACE INDEX" (PDF).
  21. ^ "Bhutan". International Hydropower Association. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  22. ^ Tshering, Sonam; Tamang, Bharat. "Hydropower – Key to sustainable, socio-economic development of Bhutan" (PDF). United Nations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  23. ^ "Bhutan". UNDP Climate Change Adaptation. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2021.


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