Bhutan: Facts & Stats

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

Last Updated: Jun 05, 2025

News •

New-look Bangladesh ready for Bhutan • June 4, 2025, 3:21 AM ET (Daily Star)

Reliance Power signs PPA with Green Digital, Bhutan • May 20, 2025, 2:41 AM ET (The Hindu)

Also Known As	Druk-Yul • Kingdom of Bhutan
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Tshering Tobgay
Capital	Thimphu
Population	(2025 est.) 784,000
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	(2025) 168
Population Projection 2030	826,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 52.9
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 20.4
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2017) 34.1% • Rural: (2017) 65.9%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2021) 73.9 years • Female: (2021) 75.9 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2022) 79% • Female: (2022) 64%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2022) 2,811
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2022) 3,600
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.