Bhutan

Kingdom of Bhutan
འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་

*'Brug Rgyal-khab* (Wylie)
*Dru Gäkhap*
Kingdom of Bhutan འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་; ; 'Brug Rgyal-khab (Wylie); Dru Gäkhap
	Flag of Bhutan
	Anthem:
	File:Bhutan (orthographic projection).svg
Capital and largest city	Thimphu; 27°28.0′N 89°38.5′E / 27.4667°N 89.6417°E
Official languages	Dzongkha
Demonym(s)	Bhutanese
Government	Unitary parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
• King	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
• Prime Minister	Tshering Tobgay
Formation Early 17th century
• Wangchuk Dynasty	17 December 1907
• Constitutional Monarchy	2007
Area
• Total	38,394 km2 (14,824 sq mi) (135th)
• Water (%)	1.1
Population
• 2011 estimate	708,427 (165th)
• 2005 census	634,982
• Density	18.0/km2 (46.6/sq mi) (154th)
GDP (PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$3.875 billion
• Per capita	$5,429
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$1.412 billion
• Per capita	$1,978
HDI (2007)	0.619; medium · 132nd
Currency	Ngultrum2 (BTN)
Time zone	UTC+6 (BTT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+6 (not observed)
Driving side	left
Calling code	975
ISO 3166 code	BT
Internet TLD	.bt
	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. Thus using the annual increase rate of 2–3%, the most population estimates were around 2 million in the year 2000. A national census was carried out in 2005 and it turned out that, 672,425 people lived there. Consequently, United Nations Population Division had down-estimated the country's population in the 2006 revision for the whole period from 1950 to 2050.; The Indian rupee is also legal tender.;

Bhutan (officially called Kingdom of Bhutan) is a small landlocked country in the Himalaya mountains of South Asia. It is ruled by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who has been king since 2006. Bhutan was founded in 1644 by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel. The Bhutanese people are proud that they have always been an independent country. Bhutan's capital city is Thimphu. The official language is Dzongkha.

About 700,000 people live in Bhutan. The people and government of Bhutan are proud of their culture which is based on Tibetan Buddhism. 97% of Bhutan's people are Buddhist.

Until 1974, Bhutan was closed to the outside world. Now people can visit the country, but only in small numbers. The only airport is in Paro District. The country is bordered on the south by the Republic of India and on the north by China. The Indian state of Sikkim separates Bhutan and Nepal. The main export of Bhutan is hydroelectricity which is sold to India. The economy of Bhutan is very small but is growing quickly. The currency is the Ngultrum, which is pegged at par with the Indian rupee.

Bhutan is the only carbon-neutral and carbon-negative country in the entire world.

National symbols of Bhutan

National bird of Bhutan
National tree of Bhutan
National flower of Bhutan

Landscape

082 - Gangkar Puensum - 7,570m (Dochula pass) (4677022812).jpg

Gangkhar Puensum, the highest mountain in Bhutan
Himalayan Landscape.jpg

The Subalpine landscape common in Bhutan
Himalayan peak from Bumthang.jpg

A Himalayan mountain seen from the town of Bumthang
Jigme Dorji National Park, Bhutan.JPG

Jigme Dorji National Park
HaaValley.jpg

The Haa Valley in Western Bhutan

Military

The Royal Bhutan Army is Bhutan's military service. It includes the Royal Bodyguard and the Royal Bhutan Police. Membership is voluntary, and the minimum age for recruitment is 18. The standing army numbers about 16,000 and is trained by the Indian Army.^[8] Being a landlocked country, Bhutan has no navy. It also has no air force or army aviation corps. The Army relies on Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force for air assistance.

Wildlife

File:Takin, Thimphu mini-zoo.jpg

The Takin is Bhutan's national animal.

More than 770 species of bird and 5,400 species of plants are known to occur throughout the kingdom. Bhutan has a rich primate life with rare species such as the golden langur.^[9]^[10]

Administrative divisions

Bhutan is divided into 20 districts. Locally these are named dzongkhags. The districts are:

Cities

The major cities of Bhutan are:

Thimphu, the largest city and capital of Bhutan
Damphu, the administrative headquarters of Tsirang District
Jakar, the administrative headquarters of Bumthang District and the place where Buddhism entered Bhutan
Mongar, the eastern commercial hub of the country
Paro, site of the international airport
Phuentsholing, Bhutan's commercial hub
Punakha, the old capital
Samdrup Jongkhar The south eastern town on the border with India
Trashigang, administrative headquarters of Trashigang District the most populous district in the country
Trongsa, in central Bhutan which has the largest and the most magnificent of all the dzongs in Bhutan

Sports

File:Bhutan archery.jpg

Changlimithang Stadium, during a parade.

Bhutan's national sport is archery. Competitions are held regularly in most villages. Cricket has gained popularity in Bhutan, particularly since the introduction of television channels from India. The Bhutan national cricket team is one of the more successful affiliate nations in the region. Football is also an increasingly popular sport.

Bhutan Media

Bhutan National Anthem Druk Tsendhen.ogg

Natioanl anthem of bhutan Instrumental
A map of the countries between Constantinople and Calcutta including Turkey in Asia, Persia, Afghanistan and Turkestan.tif

Bhutan, shaded in green in the centre of three Himalayan regions, shown on a 1912 map of Western Asia
Portuguese cannons in the Paro national museum
Tashigang Dzong 111120.jpg

Trashigang Dzong, built in 1659
Wangdue Zam, Samuel Davis, 1783.jpg

Sketch of Bhutan's interior, 1783
View of Choka.jpg

View of Choka. StillImage; PrintPlate 1 from Samuel Davis (1813), Views in Bootan
British envoys in Bhutan's royal court in 1905
Leaders of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal at the 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu, 2010

Related pages

References

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Other websites

Media related to Bhutan at Wikimedia Commons
File:Wikivoyage-Logo-v3-icon.svg Bhutan travel guide from Wikivoyage

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Kingdom of Bhutan འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་ 'Brug Rgyal-khab (Wylie) Dru Gäkhap
Flag of Bhutan
Anthem:
File:Bhutan (orthographic projection).svg
Capital and largest city	Thimphu 27°28.0′N 89°38.5′E / 27.4667°N 89.6417°E / 27.4667; 89.6417
Official languages	Dzongkha
Demonym(s)	Bhutanese
Government	Unitary parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy

• King	Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck^[1]
• Prime Minister	Tshering Tobgay

Formation Early 17th century

• Wangchuk Dynasty	17 December 1907
• Constitutional Monarchy	2007

Area
• Total	38,394 km² (14,824 sq mi) (135th)
• Water (%)	1.1
Population
• 2011 estimate	708,427^[2] (165th)
• 2005 census	634,982^[3]
• Density	18.0/km² (46.6/sq mi) (154th)
GDP (PPP)	2010 estimate
• Total	$3.875 billion^[4]
• Per capita	$5,429^[4]
GDP (nominal)	2010 estimate
• Total	$1.412 billion^[4]
• Per capita	$1,978^[4]
HDI (2007)	0.619^[5] medium · 132nd
Currency	Ngultrum² (BTN)
Time zone	UTC+6 (BTT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+6 (not observed)
Driving side	left
Calling code	975
ISO 3166 code	BT
Internet TLD	.bt
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.^[6] Thus using the annual increase rate of 2–3%, the most population estimates were around 2 million in the year 2000. A national census was carried out in 2005 and it turned out that, 672,425 people lived there. Consequently, United Nations Population Division had down-estimated the country's population in the 2006 revision^[7] for the whole period from 1950 to 2050. The Indian rupee is also legal tender.