Demographics of Bhutan

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Bhutan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Bhutanese people in national dress at the Wangdi Phodrang festival

Bhutan's bimodal population estimates

The Royal Government of Bhutan listed the country's population as 752,700 in 2003. The CIA Factbook in 2003 estimated the population at 2,327,849.

One explanation for this discrepancy is that the higher CIA numbers ultimately trace back to an inflated population number the Bhutanese government supplied to the United Nations in the early 1970s in order to gain entry into that body (the UN reportedly had a cutoff population of one million at that time). According to this theory the CIA population experts have retained this original inflated number year after year while adjusting it each year for normal population growth.

An alternative theory is that the western and central districts of the country wish to underestimate the populations of the southern and eastern districts in order to maintain their historical dominance over those districts. This is the claim made by some Bhutanese refugee groups. Certainly the government numbers do not include people, that were living in the refugee camps in Nepal and other persons forced out of Bhutan, which total approximately 125,000, majority of whom have now resettled in the USA.

The Bhutanese numbers can be reconstructed from their 9th Five Year Plan documents, which lists the exact number of households in each gewog. If the Bhutanese refugee advocate groups are correct, a spot check of a southern gewog should show a massive under-reporting of population.

The CIA World Fact book number has since been adjusted with a note of former inconstencies, and attributes the difference to the government not including the "first modern census of Bhutan, conducted in 2005". It should also be noted that in the 1970s Bhutan was one of the most isolated countries in the world and nobody knew how many people lived there since no census had ever been taken.

Demographic statistics

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

Nationality

Noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)

Adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic groups

Main article: Ethnic groups in Bhutan

Ngalop (northern Bhutan, some ethnically Tibetan), Sharchokpas (eastern Bhutan) Lhotshampa (southern Bhutan, ethnically Nepalese), indigenous or migrant tribes

Religions

Main article: Religion in Bhutan

Approximately two-thirds to three-quarters of the population practice Drukpa Kagyupa or Ningmapa Buddhism, both of which are disciplines of Mahayana Buddhism. Approximately one-quarter of the population is ethnic Nepalese and practice Hinduism. They live mainly in the south and follow the Shaivite, Vaishnavite, Shakta, Ghanapathi, Puranic, and Vedic schools. Christians both Roman Catholic and Protestant and nonreligious groups comprised less than 1 percent of the population. Bön, the country's animist and shamanistic belief system, revolves around the worship of nature and predates Buddhism. Very few citizens adhere exclusively to this religious group.

Languages

Main article: Languages of Bhutan

Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects. Ethnologue lists 25 languages for Bhutan.

• Dzongkha
• Tshangla
• Nepali
• Other dialects

Literacy

Definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 47%

Male: 60%

Female: 34% (2003 est.)

Population

708,427 (July 2011 est.)

716,896 (July 2012 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 28.9% (male 104,622/female 100,383)

15-64 years: 65.3% (male 245,054/female 217,864)

65 years and over: 5.7% (male 21,347/female 19,157) (2011 est.)

Median age

Total: 24.8 years

Male: 25.4 years

Female: 24.2 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

1.201% (2011 est.)

Birth rate

18.75 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Death rate

6.99 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.13 children born/woman (2012 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 35% of total population (2010)

rate of urbanization: 3.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.13 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female

Total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total population: 67.3 years

Male: 66.46 years

Female: 68.19 years (2011 est.)

Vital statistics

Below is a table of Bhutan vital statistics since 1950 published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	9 000	5 000	4 000	47.9	27.1	20.8	6.67	184.8
1955-1960	10 000	6 000	5 000	49.0	26.8	22.3	6.67	181.4
1960-1965	12 000	6 000	6 000	48.5	25.7	22.8	6.67	174.1
1965-1970	13 000	7 000	7 000	47.8	24.1	23.8	6.67	163.1
1970-1975	16 000	7 000	8 000	47.0	22.0	25.1	6.67	149.3
1975-1980	18 000	8 000	10 000	45.8	19.6	26.2	6.67	133.2
1980-1985	20 000	8 000	12 000	42.7	17.1	25.6	6.39	117.1
1985-1990	21 000	8 000	13 000	40.4	15.0	25.3	6.11	104.0
1990-1995	19 000	7 000	12 000	35.2	12.5	22.7	5.27	87.5
1995-2000	16 000	5 000	11 000	29.2	9.9	19.3	4.13	69.7
2000-2005	15 000	5 000	11 000	25.2	7.9	17.2	3.30	52.8
2005-2010	15 000	5 000	10 000	21.5	7.2	14.4	2.61	44.4
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

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (01.07.2013) (Estimates) (Data refer to projected figures based on the Population and Housing Census 2005 (district projection)):

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	381 582	351 421	733 004	100
0-4	42 725	41 999	84 724	11,56
5-9	38 396	37 725	76 121	10,38
10-14	32 169	31 593	63 762	8,70
15-19	35 432	34 403	69 835	9,53
20-24	36 526	34 745	71 271	9,72
25-29	35 433	32 065	67 498	9,21
30-34	33 279	28 491	61 770	8,43
35-39	28 766	24 060	52 827	7,21
40-44	23 774	19 545	43 319	5,91
45-49	19 391	16 213	35 604	4,86
50-54	15 245	13 209	28 455	3,88
55-59	12 257	10 806	23 063	3,15
60-64	9 602	8 645	18 247	2,49
65-69	7 268	6 741	14 009	1,91
70-74	5 169	4 956	10 124	1,38
75-79	3 338	3 313	6 651	0,91
80+	2 812	2 912	5 724	0,78

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	113 290	111 317	224 607	30,64
15-64	249 705	222 182	471 887	64,38
65+	18 587	17 922	36 509	4,98

HIV/AIDS

Main article: HIV/AIDS in Bhutan

In 2011, there were 246 reported cases of HIV in Bhutan, representing just over 0.3% of the population. In July 2010, there were a total of 217 cases detected, however Health Ministry sources indicated actual numbers were estimated at more than 500 by UNAIDS.

Through July 2010, there had been a total of 40 deaths due to HIV/AIDS-related causes, and one suicide.

External links

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2007 edition".