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                                           
                                                                                
