Bhutan: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Also Known As	Druk-Yul • Kingdom of Bhutan
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Tshering Tobgay
Capital	Thimphu
Population	(2024 est.) 777,200
Head Of State	King: Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk
Form Of Government	constitutional monarchy¹ with two legislative houses (National Council [25²]; National Assembly [47])
Official Language	Dzongkha (a Tibetan dialect)
Official Religion	See footnote 4.
Official Name	Druk-Yul (Kingdom of Bhutan)
Total Area (Sq Km)	38,394
Total Area (Sq Mi)	14,824
Monetary Unit	ngultrum⁵ (Nu)
Population Rank	(2023) 167
Population Projection 2030	826,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2024) 52.4
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2024) 20.2
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2017) 34.1% • Rural: (2017) 65.9%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2017) 68.8 years • Female: (2017) 71.7 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2021) 78% • Female: (2021) 63%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2021) 2,365
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2021) 3,040
¹Bhutan’s first constitution was promulgated on July 18, 2008.²Includes five members appointed by the king.³Buddhism is the spiritual heritage of Bhutan per article 3.1 of the 2008 constitution.⁴Indian currency is also accepted legal tender; the ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee.