Where is Bhutan?
About Bhutan
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Bhutan is a below average sized country in the centre of southern mainland Asia.
Bhutan is a landlocked country and has no coastal borders.
The land is mainly mountains with some valleys.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Bhutan, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 27 30N
Longitude - 90 30E
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Check the weather in Gangtok in India now. Gangtok is about 120 kms due west of Thimphu. We have no weather details for Thimphu.
This is the time in Thimphu now
The Bhutanese flag is divided diagonally from
the lower flag pole side to the upper far side. The upper portion is yellow and the lower one orange. In the centre of the diagonal line is a black and white dragon, facing away from the flag pole side.
This dragon, known as the thunder dragon, is the national emblem of Bhutan.
The capital of Bhutan is Thimphu.
Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as head of state and a prime minister as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Bhutan is the ngultrum.
Dzongkha is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as head of state and a prime minister as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Bhutan is the ngultrum.
Dzongkha is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Bhutan to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Bhutan is 38,295 kms which is the 37th largest in Asia.
Bhutan has no lakes, rivers and canals.
Bhutan has boundaries with 2 countries
- India 659 kms
- China 477 kms
Bhutan has no coastline.
The highest point in Bhutan is Gangkar Puensum at 7,570 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Bhutan is 7.50 million people, making it the 47th largest country in Asia by population.
Of this number 3.59 million are females and 3.91 million are males.
A person from Bhutan is called a Bhutanese.
To be a citizen of Bhutan, your father must be a citizen of Bhutan. It is not sufficient to be born in Bhutan. You have to live in Bhutan for
10 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Bhutan, by population are:-
- Thimphu 98,676 people
- Punakha 21,500
- Tsirang 18,667
- Phuntsholing 17,043
- Pemagatshel 13,864
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
38.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
38.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Bhutan is 17.5 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Bhutan is 6.6 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 33.6 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 34.2 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 27.1 and for males is 28.2. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 6.9. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 14.5. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Bhutan spends 3.6% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.26 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
6.4% of the population are estimated as obese.
100% of Bhutanese have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
77.9% of the urban population and 33.1% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Bhutan releases 0.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 50th highest in Asia.
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Bhutan spends 7.4% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Bhutan. Primary education is for seven years until age 13 and secondary education can continue till 19. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college. There is no period
of compulsory education.
Generally the school year consists of 2 terms and starts in the first week of February and finishes in early December. There is usually a 2 week
break in July.
55.0% of females and 73.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
10.7% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 12.7% are unemployed while with males 8.2% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Bhutan is 353,000.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 2 paved airports in Bhutan, which is the 47th highest number in Asia.
There are no railways in Bhutan.
There are 2,975 kilometres of roads in Bhutan, which means Bhutan is in 44th place for the most kilometres of roads in Asia.
There are 2 major national newspapers in Bhutan.
There are 698,373 mobile phone users.
3% of the people have a fixed landline.
313,347 people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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