Background: Following Britain’s victory in the 1865 Duar War, Britain and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Sinchulu, under which Bhutan would receive an annual subsidy in exchange for ceding land to British India. Ugyen WANGCHUCK - who had served as the de facto ruler of an increasingly unified Bhutan and had improved relations with the British toward the end of the 19th century - was named king in 1907. Three years later, a treaty was signed whereby the British agreed not to interfere in Bhutanese internal affairs, and Bhutan allowed Britain to direct its foreign affairs. Bhutan negotiated a similar arrangement with independent India in 1949. The Indo-Bhutanese Treaty of Friendship returned to Bhutan a small piece of the territory annexed by the British, formalized the annual subsidies the country received, and defined India's responsibilities in defense and foreign relations. Under a succession of modernizing monarchs beginning in the 1950s, Bhutan joined the UN in 1971 and slowly continued its engagement beyond its borders.

Geographic coordinates: 27 30 N, 90 30 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 38,394 km²
Land: 38,394 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Maryland; about one-half the size of Indiana

Land boundaries
Total: 1,136 km
Border countries: (2) China 477 km; India 659 km

Coastline: 0 km (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

Elevation
Highest point: Gangkar Puensum 7,570 m
Lowest point: Drangeme Chhu 97 m
Mean elevation: 2,220 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate

Land use
Agricultural land: 13.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 2.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 10.7% (2018 est.)
Forest: 85.5% (2018 est.)
Other: 0.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 320 km² (2012)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 3 million cubic meters (2019 est.)
Agricultural: 320 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 78 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's Bhutanese name, which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season

Geography
Note: landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes

Population: 876,181 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.96% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 8.2% (2017 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic groups: Ngalop (also known as Bhote) 50%, ethnic Nepali 35% (predominantly Lhotshampas), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

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

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.49% (male 105,317/female 100,526)
15-64 years: 69.97% (male 318,732/female 294,292)
65 years and over: 6.54% (2023 est.) (male 29,582/female 27,732)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 40.7
Youth dependency ratio: 32.1
Elderly dependency ratio: 8.6
Potential support ratio: 11.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 30.2 years (2023 est.)
Male: 30.6 years
Female: 29.8 years

Population growth rate: 0.96% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 15.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Urbanization
Urban population: 44.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 203,000 THIMPHU (capital) (2018)

Environment
Current issues: soil erosion; limited access to potable water; wildlife conservation; industrial pollution; waste disposal
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 26.1 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 1.26 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 1.11 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 60 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 25.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 25.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 25.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73 years (2023 est.)
Male: 71.8 years
Female: 74.3 years

Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.5% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 99.8% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.5% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 4.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.5 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 1.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 70.9%
Male: 77.9%
Female: 62.8% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years (2018)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 18.8% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 15.6%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 22%

Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Bhutan
Conventional short form: Bhutan
Local long form: Druk Gyalkhap
Local short form: Druk Yul
Etymology: named after the Bhotia, the ethnic Tibetans who migrated from Tibet to Bhutan; "Bod" is the Tibetan name for their land; the Bhutanese name "Druk Yul" means "Land of the Thunder Dragon"

Government type: constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Thimphu
Geographic coordinates: 27 28 N, 89 38 E
Time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: the origins of the name are unclear; the traditional explanation, dating to the 14th century, is that thim means "dissolve" and phu denotes "high ground" to express the meaning of "dissolving high ground," in reference to a local deity that dissolved before a traveler's eyes, becoming a part of the rock on which the present city stands

Administrative divisions: 20 districts (dzongkhag, singular and plural); Bumthang, Chhukha, Dagana, Gasa, Haa, Lhuentse, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatshel, Punakha, Samdrup Jongkhar, Samtse, Sarpang, Thimphu, Trashigang, Trashi Yangtse, Trongsa, Tsirang, Wangdue Phodrang, Zhemgang

Independence: 17 December 1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king); 8 August 1949 (Treaty of Friendship with India maintains Bhutanese independence)

National holiday: National Day (Ugyen WANGCHUCK became first hereditary king), 17 December (1907)

Constitution
History: previous governing documents were various royal decrees; first constitution drafted November 2001 to March 2005, ratified 18 July 2008
Amendments: proposed as a motion by simple majority vote in a joint session of Parliament; passage requires at least a three-fourths majority vote in a joint session of the next Parliament and assent by the king

Legal system: civil law based on Buddhist religious law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Bhutan
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK (since 14 December 2006); note - King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK abdicated the throne on 14 December 2006 to his son
Head of government: Prime Minister Lotay TSHERING (since 7 November 2018)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers or Lhengye Zhungtshog members nominated by the monarch in consultation with the prime minister and approved by the National Assembly; members serve 5-year terms
Elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary but can be removed by a two-thirds vote of Parliament; leader of the majority party in Parliament is nominated as the prime minister, appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch
Description:

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