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Demographics of Bhutan

Discoverer · ages 10+Adapted from Wikipedia
Bhutanese people celebrating at the Wangdi Phodrang festival.

Bhutan is a small country in South Asia, and learning about its people helps us understand its culture and way of life. The study of who lives in Bhutan, called demographics, looks at many important facts, such as how many people live there, where they live, their backgrounds, their health, and what jobs they have.

Bhutanese people in national dress at the Wangdi Phodrang festival

In 2003, the Royal Government of Bhutan said the country had about 752,700 people. Before that, in the 1970s, Bhutan was one of the most isolated places in the world, and nobody really knew how many people lived there because no one had ever counted them all. Later, in 2005, Bhutan did its first modern count of everyone living there.

Today, learning about the people of Bhutan helps us see how the country has grown and changed over time. It also shows us how different groups of people live together and share the beautiful land of Bhutan.

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

In 2003, the Royal Government of Bhutan reported that the country's population was 752,700 people. The government also kept records of how many families lived in each area, which helped them understand the population better.

Population

In 2011, Bhutan's population was estimated to be around 708,427 people. By 2012, this number grew to about 716,896. In 2016, the population was around 750,125. These numbers help us understand how many people live in Bhutan over time.

There are also details about the ages and sexes of the people in Bhutan, shown in tables. The median age for people living there was about 27.2 years in 2016. Around 38.6% of people lived in urban areas in 2015, and this number was growing each year.

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total381 582351 421733 004100
0-442 72541 99984 72411,56
5-938 39637 72576 12110,38
10-1432 16931 59363 7628,70
15-1935 43234 40369 8359,53
20-2436 52634 74571 2719,72
25-2935 43332 06567 4989,21
30-3433 27928 49161 7708,43
35-3928 76624 06052 8277,21
40-4423 77419 54543 3195,91
45-4919 39116 21335 6044,86
50-5415 24513 20928 4553,88
55-5912 25710 80623 0633,15
60-649 6028 64518 2472,49
65-697 2686 74114 0091,91
70-745 1694 95610 1241,38
75-793 3383 3136 6510,91
80+2 8122 9125 7240,78
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0-14113 290111 317224 60730,64
15-64249 705222 182471 88764,38
65+18 58717 92236 5094,98
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total380 453346 692727 145100
0–429 17628 29857 4747.90
5–932 03530 95662 9918.66
10–1434 65634 29668 9529.48
15–1934 67933 60768 2869.39
20–2441 07534 34075 41510.37
25–2942 80236 47879 28010.90
30–3435 05930 12165 1808.96
35–3929 68925 86055 5497.64
40–4422 27419 22141 4955.71
45–4918 86516 66835 5334.89
50–5415 45613 86129 3174.03
55–5912 37911 51923 8983.29
60–6410 49810 21320 7112.85
65-697 5857 06914 6542.02
70-745 8765 59211 4681.58
75-793 9653 9067 8711.08
80-842 6512 7465 3970.74
85-891 2621 3382 6000.36
90-943384397770.11
95-991201432630.04
100+132134
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–1495 86793 550189 41726.05
15–64262 776231 888494 66468.03
65+21 81021 25443 0645.92
Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total390 877358 054748 931100
0–429 20828 55757 7657.71
5–930 49529 23559 7307.98
10–1433 15932 38865 5478.75
15–1934 34334 20068 5439.15
20–2436 65533 42870 0839.36
25–2942 54735 45678 00310.42
30–3439 91334 31174 2249.91
35–3932 29428 04760 3418.06
40–4426 25922 90449 1636.56
45–4920 17117 59737 7685.04
50–5417 11515 28932 4044.33
55–5913 70912 41926 1283.49
60–6411 13210 66721 7992.91
65-698 8498 58317 4322.33
70-746 1715 79211 9631.60
75-794 3994 3468 7451.17
80-842 5872 7345 3210.71
85+1 8712 1013 9720.53
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–1492 86290 180183 04224.44
15–64274 138244 318518 45669.23
65+23 87723 55647 4336.33

Vital statistics

Life expectancy in Bhutan has improved over the years. In 2017, the average person could expect to live about 70 years. Women tend to live a bit longer than men, with an average of 71.7 years compared to men’s 68.8 years. This is better than it was in 2005, when life expectancy was around 66 years. In 2018, the country’s leader shared that this number had gone past 70 years.

PeriodLive births per yearDeaths per yearNatural change per yearCBR1CDR1NC1TFR1IMR1
1950–19559,0005,0004,00047.927.120.86.67184.8
1955–196010,0006,0005,00049.026.822.36.67181.4
1960–196512,0006,0006,00048.525.722.86.67174.1
1965–197013,0007,0007,00047.824.123.86.67163.1
1970–197516,0007,0008,00047.022.025.16.67149.3
1975–198018,0008,00010,00045.819.626.26.67133.2
1980–198520,0008,00012,00042.717.125.66.39117.1
1985–199021,0008,00013,00040.415.025.36.11104.0
1990–199519,0007,00012,00035.212.522.75.2787.5
1995–200016,0005,00011,00029.29.919.34.1369.7
2000–200515,0005,00011,00025.27.917.23.3052.8
2005–201015,0005,00010,00021.57.214.42.6144.4
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Bhutan

Bhutan has three main groups of people. The Ngalop and Sharchop people make up about 63% of the population. The Lhotsampas, also known as Nepalis, are about 22%. The remaining 15% are from other indigenous or migrant ethnic groups.

Religions

Main article: Religion in Bhutan

Bhutan is a Buddhist country by law, and most people practice Buddhism. In 2010, about 75% of the people in Bhutan followed Buddhism. Another 23% practiced Hinduism, with small groups following other religions such as Bon, Christianity, and Islam.

The king of Bhutan makes sure that people are free to practice their own religion.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Bhutan

Bhutan has several languages spoken by its people. The main ones are:

  1. Tshangla (sometimes called Sharchopkha) – spoken by 28% of people
  2. Dzongkha – the official language, spoken by 24% of people
  3. Nepali – locally called Lhotshamkha, spoken by 22% of people
  4. Other languages – spoken by the remaining 26% of people

These languages show the rich cultural mix in Bhutan.

Pictures

A chart showing how many people of each age live in Bhutan, from 2020.

Keep exploring

Bhutan
Buddhism
Hinduism
Christianity
Islam
Nepali language

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Demographics of Bhutan, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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