Bhutan

Airports

total: 2 usable: 2 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 0 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 2

Highways

total: 2,165 km paved: NA unpaved: gravel 1,703 km undifferentiated: 462 km

Telecommunications

domestic telephone service is very poor with very few telephones in use; international telephone and telegraph service is by land line through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990); broadcast stations - 1 AM, 1 FM, no TV (1990)

Branches

Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 424,558; fit for military service 226,851; reach military age (18) annually 17,310 (1994 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 45% 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 products, eggs

Budget

revenues: $100 million expenditures: $112 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (FY92 est.) note: the government of India finances nearly one-quarter of Bhutan's budget expenditures

Currency

1 ngultrum (Nu) = 100 chetrum; note - Indian currency is also legal tender

Economic aid

recipient: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $115 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $11 million

Electricity

capacity: 336,000 kW production: 1.5422 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,203 kWh (25.8% is exported to India leaving 1,633 kWh per capita; 1990-91)

Exchange rates

ngultrum (Nu) per US$1 - 31.370 (January 1994), 30.493 (1993), 25.918 (1992), 22.742 (1991), 17.504 (1990), 16.226 (1989); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee

Exports

$66 million (f.o.b., FY93 est.) commodities: cardamon, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, electricity (to India), precious stones, spices partners: India 82%, Bangladesh, Singapore

External debt

$141 million (June 1993)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

Imports

$125 million (c.i.f., FY93 est.) commodities: fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics partners: India 60%, Japan, Germany, US, UK

Industrial production

growth rate NA%; accounts for 8% of GDP; primarily cottage industry and home based handicrafts

Industries

cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages, calcium carbide

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

11% (October 1993)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $500 million (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$700 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

5% (FY93 est.)

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. The industrial sector is small and technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. 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; however, the government limits the number of tourists to 4,000 per year to minimize foreign influence. Much of the impetus for growth has come from large public-sector companies. Nevertheless, in recent years, Bhutan has shifted toward decentralized development planning and greater private initiative. The government privatized several large public-sector firms, is revamping its trade regime and liberalizing administerial procedures over industrial licensing. The government's industrial contribution to GDP decreased from 13% in 1988 to about 10% in 1992.

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total area: 47,000 sq km land area: 47,000 sq km comparative area: slightly more than half the size of Indiana

Climate

varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Environment

current issues: soil erosion; limited access to safe drinking water natural hazards: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon international agreements: party to - Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

340 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 1,075 km, China 470 km, India 605 km

Land use

arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 5% forest and woodland: 70% other: 23%

Location

Southern Asia, in the Himalayas, between China and India

Map references

Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

Natural resources

timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide

Note

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

Terrain

mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

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

Capital

Thimphu

Chief of State and Head of Government

King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972)

Constitution

no written constitution or bill of rights

Digraph

BT

Diplomatic representation in US

no formal diplomatic relations; the Bhutanese mission to the UN in New York has consular jurisdiction in the US consulate(s) general: New York

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

Independence

8 August 1949 (from India)

Judicial branch

High Court

Legal system

based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Tshogdu); no national elections

Member of

AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF, INTELSAT, IOC, ITU, NAM, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO

Names

conventional long form: Kingdom of Bhutan conventional short form: Bhutan

National holiday

National Day, 17 December (1907) (Ugyen Wangchuck became first hereditary king)

Other political or pressure groups

Buddhist clergy; Indian merchant community; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant antigovernment campaign

Political parties and leaders

no legal parties

Royal Advisory Council (Lodoi Tsokde)

nominated by the king cabinet: Council of Ministers (Lhengye Shungtsog); appointed by the king

Suffrage

each family has one vote in village-level elections

Type

monarchy; special treaty relationship with India

US diplomatic representation

no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassies in New Delhi (India)

Birth rate

39.31 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate

15.93 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

Infant mortality rate

121 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force

NA by occupation: agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2% note: massive lack of skilled labor

Languages

Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects; Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 50.6 years male: 51.15 years female: 50.03 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Nationality

noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural) adjective: Bhutanese

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population

716,380 (July 1994 est.) note: other estimates range as high as 1.7 million (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.34% (1994 est.)

Religions

Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%

Total fertility rate

5.42 children born/woman (1994 est.)