BHUTAN
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 47,000 km2; land area: 47,000 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Indiana
Land boundaries: 1,075 km total; China 470 km, India 605 km
Coastline: none--landlocked
Maritime claims: none--landlocked
Climate: varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot
summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas
Terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide,
tourism potential
Land use: arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and
pastures 5%; forest and woodland 70%; other 23%
Environment: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas were the
source of the country name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India;
controls several key Himalayan mountain passes
PEOPLE
Population: 1,598,216 (July 1991), growth rate 2.0% (1991)
Birth rate: 37 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 135 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 50 years male, 48 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 4.9 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Bhutanese (sing., pl.); adjective--Bhutanese
Ethnic divisions: Bhote 60%, ethnic Nepalese 25%, indigenous or
migrant tribes 15%
Religion: Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced
Hinduism 25%
Language: Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects--most widely spoken
dialect is Dzongkha (official); Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Literacy: NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force: NA; agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and
commerce 2%; massive lack of skilled labor
Organized labor: not permitted
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Kingdom of Bhutan
Type: monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
Capital: Thimphu
Administrative divisions: 18 districts (dzongkhag, singular
and plural); Bumthang, Chhukha, Chirang, Daga, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi,
Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Punakha, Samchi, Samdrup Jongkhar, Shemgang,
Tashigang, Thimphu, Tongsa, Wangdi Phodrang
Independence: 8 August 1949 (from India)
Constitution: no written constitution or bill of rights
Legal system: based on Indian law and English common law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: National Day (Ugyen Wangchuck became first
hereditary king), 17 December (1907)
Executive branch: monarch, chairman of the Royal Advisory Council,
Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde), chairman of the Council of
Ministers, Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog)
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Tshogdu)
Judicial branch: High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK
(since 24 July 1972)
Political parties: no legal parties
Suffrage: each family has one vote in village-level elections
Elections: no national elections
Communists: no overt Communist presence
Other political or pressure groups: Buddhist clergy, Indian
merchant community; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant
antigovernment campaign
Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF,
IOC, ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation: no formal diplomatic relations, although
informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassies in
New Delhi (India); the Bhutanese mission to the UN in New York has
consular jurisdiction in the US
Flag: divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the
upper triangle is orange and the lower triangle is red; centered along
the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the
hoist side
ECONOMY
Overview: The economy, one of the world's least developed,
is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood
for 90% of the population and account for about 50% of GDP. Rugged
mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other
infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely
aligned with that of India through strong trade and monetary links.
Low wages in industry lead most Bhutanese to stay in agriculture.
Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian
migrant labor. Bhutan's hydropower potential and its attraction for
tourists are its most important natural resources.
GDP: $273 million, per capita $199 (1988) real growth rate 4%
(1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9% (1990 est.)
Unemployment: NA
Budget: revenues $99 million; expenditures $128 million, including
capital expenditures of $65 million (FY89 est.)
Exports: $70.9 million (f.o.b., FY89);
commodities--cardamon, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit;
partners--India 93%
Imports: $138.3 million (c.i.f., FY89 est.);
commodities--fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts,
vehicles, fabrics;
partners--India 67%
External debt: $70.1 million (FY89 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate - 12.4% (1988 est.); accounts
for 18% of GDP
Electricity: 353,000 kW capacity; 2,000 million kWh produced,
1,280 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic
beverages, calcium carbide
Agriculture: accounts for 50% of GDP; based on subsistence farming
and animal husbandry; self-sufficient in food except for foodgrains;
other production--rice, corn, root crops, citrus fruit, dairy, and eggs
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $86.0 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $11
million
Currency: ngultrum (plural--ngultrum); 1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100
chetrum; note--Indian currency is also legal tender
Exchange rates: ngultrum (Nu) per US$1--18.329 (January 1991),
17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989), 13.917 (1988), 12.962 (1987), 12.611
(1986), 12.369 (1985); note--the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the
Indian rupee
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 1,304 km total; 418 km surfaced, 515 km improved, 371 km
unimproved earth
Civil air: 1 jet, 2 prop
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 1 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 2,439 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: inadequate; 1,990 telephones (1988); 22,000
radios (1990 est.); 85 TVs (1985); stations--1 AM, 1 FM, no TV (1990)
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 398,263; 213,083 fit for
military service; 17,321 reach military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP