Polity · 1636 CE – present
Kingdom of Bhutan
འབྲུག་ཡུལ་ · Druk Gyalkhap · Druk Yul
Also recorded as Bhutan
- Peak recorded area
- 71,861 km²
- 1947 CE
- Rulers on record
- 14
- from 1907 CE
- Data series
- 335
- 1800 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, located in the Eastern Himalayas, bordering China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 mi2), Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. It is a democratic constitutional monarchy with a King as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
18 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated. CShapes 2.0 holds 3 further extents, measured on a different basis and deliberately not merged into this series.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Life Expectancy165 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 73.53years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population143 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 796.7Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 455persons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth141 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 0.687% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 75.55years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male140 obs · 1950 CE–2025 CE | 71.82years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 146 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP220 obs · 1800 CE–2019 CE | 12.2Kint'l $ (inflation adj.)2019 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP Current Usd102 obs · 1970 CE–2025 CE | 3.6Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Asses Stocks64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 17.9Khead2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Area Harvested64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 483ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Production64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 526.67tonnes2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Barley Yield64 obs · 1961 CE–2024 CE | 1,090.1hg_per_ha2024 CE · FAOSTAT |
Military
6 of 12 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| CINC Score46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 0CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 2Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production46 obs · 1971 CE–2016 CE | 0tons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel30 obs · 1971 CE–2000 CE | 6,000persons2000 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Armed Forces Personnel10 obs · 1985 CE–2000 CE | 6,000persons2000 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arms Imports Tiv Million4 obs · 1968 CE–2021 CE | 5tiv_million2021 CE · SIPRI Arms Transfers TIV |
Territory & resources
6 of 55 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %126 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 2.62% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 71.61% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural Land %63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 13.82%2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Arable Land per capita Ha63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 0.1272hectares per person2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Fao Agricultural Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 527Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
| Fao Arable Land63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 100Kha2023 CE · FAOSTAT |
Governance
6 of 29 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.561index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.454index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.344index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 2RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.854index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Polity2106 obs · 1907 CE–2012 CE | 3index (-10 to 10)2012 CE · Clio-Infra |
Development
6 of 36 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index125 obs · 1900 CE–2024 CE | 0.709index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10052 obs · 1960 CE–2023 CE | 95.63per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %51 obs · 1970 CE–2024 CE | 114.88%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 98%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 97%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Who Skilled Birth Attendance39 obs · 1985 CE–2023 CE | 46.65%2023 CE · WHO Global Health Observatory |
Rulers
14 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ugyen WangchuckKing of Bhutan1907 CE – 1926 CE
- Jigme WangchuckKing of Bhutan1926 CE – 1952 CE
- Jigme Dorji WangchuckKing of Bhutan1952 CE – 1972 CE
- Jigme Palden DorjiPrime Minister of Bhutan1952 CE – 1964 CE
- Lhendup DorjiPrime Minister of Bhutan1964 CE
- Jigme Singye WangchuckHead of State1972 CE – 2008 CE
- Jigme ThinleyPrime Minister of Bhutan1998 CE – 1999 CE
- Sangay NgedupPrime Minister of Bhutan1999 CE – 2000 CE
- Yeshey ZimbaPrime Minister of Bhutan2000 CE – 2001 CE
- Khandu WangchukPrime Minister of Bhutan2001 CE – 2002 CE
- Kinzang DorjiPrime Minister of Bhutan2002 CE – 2003 CE
- Jigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckHead of State2008 CE –
- Lotay TsheringPrime Minister of Bhutan2018 CE – 2023 CE
- Tshering TobgayHead of Government2024 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Southern Asia, between China and India
- Government type
- constitutional monarchy
- Executive branch
- chief of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel WANGCHUCK (since 14 December 2006); head of government: Prime Minister Tshering TOBGAY (since 28 January 2024); cabinet: Council of Ministers or Lhengye Zhungtshog members nominated by the monarch in consultation with the prime minister and approved by the National Assembly;
- Ethnic groups
- Ngalop (also known as Bhote) 50%, ethnic Nepali 35% (predominantly Lhotshampas), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
- Natural resources
- timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate
- Economy
- hydropower investments spurring economic development; Gross National Happiness economy; sharp poverty declines; low inflation; strong monetary and fiscal policies; stable currency; fairly resilient response to COVID-19; key economic and strategic relations with India; climate vulnerabilities
Language & currency
- Currency
- ngultrum (BTN)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · member1971 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Clio-Infra2017 datasets
Clio-Infra project (2017). Reconstructions of global inequality and well-being. International Institute of Social History.
Academic use, attribution
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
FAOSTAT2024 release
FAO (2024). FAOSTAT Statistical Database. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
CC BY 4.0
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
SIPRI (2024). Arms Transfers Database (Trend-Indicator Values).
Free for non-commercial use, attribution
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
WHO Global Health Observatory2024
World Health Organization (2024). Global Health Observatory data repository.
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Kingdom of Bhutan is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.