Bhutan | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

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Facts & Figures

  • Ruler: King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchukin (2006)

    Prime Minister: Tshering Tobgay (2013)

    Total area: 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sq km)

    Population (2014 est.): 733,643 (growth rate: 1.13%); birth rate: 18.12/1000; infant mortality rate: 37.89/1000; life expectancy: 68.98

    Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Thimphu (official), 99,000

    Monetary unit: Ngultrum

    Current Government Officials

    Languages: Sharchhopka 28%, Dzongkha (official) 24%, Lhotshamkha 22%, other 26% (includes foreign languages) (2005 est.)

    Ethnicity/race: Ngalop (also known as Bhote) 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

    National Holiday: National Day, December 17

    Religions: Lamaistic Buddhist 75.3%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 22.1%, other 2.6% (2005 est.)

    Literacy rate: 52.8% (2005 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $5.235 billion; per capita $7,000. Real growth rate: 5.8%. Inflation: 11% Unemployment: 2.1% (2013 est.) Arable land: 2.49%. Agriculture: rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs. Labor force: 336,400; note: Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide. Exports: $721.8 million (2012 est.): electricity (to India), cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones, spices. Imports: $1.28 billion (2011 est.): fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice. Major trading partners: India, South Korea, Hong Kong (2013).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 27,000 (2012); mobile cellular: 560,000 (2012). Broadcast media: state-owned TV station established in 1999; cable TV service offers dozens of Indian and other international channels; first radio station, privately launched in 1973, is now state-owned; 5 private radio stations are currently broadcasting (2012). Internet hosts: 14,590 (2012). Internet users: 50,000 (2009).

    Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 8,050 km; (2003). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 2 (2013 est.).

    International disputes: lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lie in Bhutan's northwest and along the Chumbi salient.

    Major sources and definitions