Bhutan

**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.

## 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. 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

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.

## Administrative divisions

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

- Bumthang
- Chhukha
- Dagana
- Gasa
- Haa
- Lhuentse
- Mongar
- Paro
- Pema Gatshel
- Punakha

- Samdrup Jongkhar
- Samtse
- Sarpang
- Thimphu
- Trashigang
- Trashi Yangtse
- Trongsa
- Tsirang
- Wangdue Phodrang
- Zhemgang

### 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

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.

## Related pages

- Bhutan at the Olympics
- Bhutan national football team
- List of rivers of Bhutan

## Infobox (country)

- **native name**: <big style="font-size: 120%;>འབྲུག་རྒྱལ་ཁབ་</big>

_ 'Brug Rgyal-khab_ <small>(Wylie transliteration, Wylie)</small>
_Dru Gäkhap_
- **conventional long name**: Kingdom of Bhutan
- **common name**: Bhutan
- **image flag**: Flag of Bhutan.svg
- **image coat**: Bhutan emblem.svg
- **symbol type**: Emblem
- **national anthem**: _Druk tsendhen, Druk Tsendhen_
- **image map**: Bhutan (orthographic projection).svg
- **capital**: Thimphu
- **largest city**: capital
- **official languages**: Dzongkha language, Dzongkha
- **national languages**: * None
* English language, English
* Nepali language, Nepali
- **demonym**: Bhutanese
- **government type**: Unitary state, Unitary parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
- **leader title1**: King of Bhutan, King
- **leader name1**: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
- **leader title2**: Prime Minister of Bhutan, Prime Minister
- **leader name2**: Tshering Tobgay
- **sovereignty type**: History of Bhutan, Formation
- **sovereignty note**: Early 17th century
- **established event1**: Wangchuk Dynasty
- **established date1**: 17 December 1907
- **established event2**: Constitutional Monarchy
- **established date2**: 2007
- **area rank**: 135th
- **area km2**: 38,394
- **area sq mi**: 14,824
- **percent water**: 1.1
- **population estimate**: 708,427
- **population estimate rank**: 165th
- **population estimate year**: 2011
- **population census**: 634,982
- **population census year**: 2005
- **population density km2**: 18.0
- **population density sq mi**: 46.6
- **population density rank**: 154th
- **gdp ppp**: $3.875 billion
- **gdp ppp year**: 2010
- **gdp ppp per capita**: $5,429
- **gdp nominal**: $1.412 billion
- **gdp nominal year**: 2010
- **gdp nominal per capita**: $1,978
- **hdi**: 0.619
- **hdi change**: increase
- **hdi rank**: 132nd
- **hdi year**: 2007
- **currency**: Ngultrum<sup>2</sup>
- **currency code**: BTN
- **time zone**: Bhutan Time, BTT
- **utc offset**: +6
- **time zone dst**: not observed
- **utc offset dst**: +6
- **drives on**: left
- **cctld**: .bt
- **calling code**: 975
- **footnote1**: 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.
- **footnote2**: The Indian rupee is also legal tender.