Information on the Kingdom of Bhutan

Bhutan is a small landlocked country located between the People’s Republic of China to the north and India to the south. The country has one of the most rugged mountainous terrains facilitating its fast rivers for mega hydropower generation and over 70% of the land is under natural forest cover. 

Bhutan’s monarchy was established in 1907 when the country and the people declared their allegiance to the first king, Sir Ugyen Wangchuck. Since then, the nation has had five monarchs. Recent years has seen the country undergoing a steady process of changes in its political arena, ushering in an era of democracy and decentralization once the Nation adopts its first written Constitution in 2008. In order to ensure a smooth transition, three constitutional organizations namely the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and the Office of the Attorney General have been established.

The political system was initiated in 1953 by His Majesty, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the third king. The King established the National Assembly and later a Royal Advisory Council and a Council of Ministers. Later, the fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, gave the process more momentum by encouraging decentralization in 1981. By 1998, he transferred full executive powers to the Cabinet of Ministers. Then early 2005, His Majesty took another decisive step when he presented a new Constitution that would lead to the establishment of parliamentary democracy.

Bhutan is divided into 20 dzongkhags or districts, each headed by the dzongda, an adminitrative officer. Each district is then broken into smaller blocks known as geog (village), led by a gup who is a locally elected leader. In 2002, the National Assembly created a new structure for local governance at the geog level. Each local area is responsible for creating and implementing its own development plan, in coordination with the district authority

There are 19 dialects spoken and three major ethnic groups, namely the Ngalops, Sharchops and the Lhotshampas and the official language is Dzongkha.

Bhutan has one of the world’s smallest and least developed economies highly dependent on trade. Around two-third of its workforce make their living from agriculture, many being subsistence farmers. The Royal Government plays an important role in the development of its economy using the guiding philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) in all its development efforts. This philosophy was articulated by the fourth King, soon after ascending the throne in 1972 and it encompasses the four platforms which include economic development, environmental preservation, cultural promotion and good governance.

General Information