May 25, 2017Updated March 23, 2020
The Kingdom of Bhutan
Background
The Kingdom of Bhutan, also known as the Land of the
Thunder Dragon, is a small, landlocked Himalayan
country country
situated between India and China. The mountainous
kingdom is about half the size of Indiana, with an estimated
population of 792782,000, approximately a quarter of which is
in115,000 of them in
and around the capital city, Thimphu. Bhutan’s economy
has grown
primarily as a result of hydropower, agriculture, and
and forestry development. The United States has no significant
significant trade relations with Bhutan, and its foreign aid
mission and
bilateral consular affairs are handled by the
U.S. Embassy
in New Delhi, India. Bhutan Deputy Secretary of
State John Sullivan visited Bhutan in August, 2019. Bhutan
has participated in a U.S.
Agency for International
Development (USAID) regional
program for South Asia
directed at developing power
infrastructure, and it has
implemented programs intended to
help mitigate some of the effects of climate change.
Bhutan in Brief
Form of Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Head of State: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Area: 18,146 square miles, or about half the size of Indiana
Geography: Mountainous country with 2.6% arable land located
between China and India
Population: 792,000 with 1.05% annual growth
Religion: 75.3% Buddhist, 22.1% Hindu, and 2.6% other
Life Expectancy: 70.1 years (2016 est.)
Literacy: 64.9% (2016 est.)
Poverty: 13% live below the poverty line (2012 est.)
Unemployment: 2.5% (est. December 2016)
GDP Growth/Per Capita (PPP): 6.5% (2015)/$2,532 (2016)
Origins of GDP: Agric. 16.4%, Industry 42.1%, Services 41.5%
Principal Exports: Electricity, ferrosilicon, cement, calcium
carbide, copper wire, manganese, and vegetable oil
Sources: CIA World Handbook, World Bank 2016.
The Constitution, Recent Elections, and
the Wangchuck Dynasty
the effects of climate change. With 70% forest cover and
extensive hydropower, Bhutan is a carbon negative country.
The Constitution, Elections, and the King
The constitution of Bhutan establishes three branches of
government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The
bicameral legislature, or Chi Tshog, includes the National
Assembly (Tshogdu), with 47 elected representatives, and
the National Council (Gyelyong Tshongde), with 25
members, 5 of which are selected by the king. Legislators
serve five-year terms. The executive branch includes the
“Dragon King” (Druk Gyalpo), currently King Jigme
Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, as Head of State, and the
prime minister, presently Tshering TobgayLotay Tshering, as Head of
Government. The king is hereditary and appoints the
majority leader in the parliament as prime minister. There is
also a Council of Ministers (Lhengye Zhungtshog), whose
members are nominated by the king, in consultation with
the prime minister, and approved by the National
Assembly. Ministers serve five-year terms. The judiciary
consists of the Supreme Court, the High Court, District
Courts (Dzongkhag), and Sub-District Courts (Dungkhag).
The Supreme Court has five members. The Chief Justice,
appointed by the king, serves up to two five-year terms, and
the four Associate Justices (Drangpons) serve up to two 10year terms.
Bhutan’s path to democracy was not spurred by a popular
movement but rather was initiated and encouraged by the fourth
king
fourth and fifth kingkings of the Wangchuck dynasty. According
According to Bhutan’s first prime minister, Jigme Y.
Thinley, who
came to power in the country’s first election
of 2008, the
Bhutanese people were apprehensive about the
new system
because “in many of the countries, democracy
had failed or
was in the process of failing, and leading to tremendous
tremendous upheavals, strife among the people.” The king,
however,
insisted that the long-term interests of the people
were best
served by elected leaders. The first election went smoothly
smoothly in 2008, and the second election, in 2013, brought a
, in 2013, brought a
Figure 1.Bhutan in Brief
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economist Intelligence Unit, Media
peaceful transition of power in which the opposition
People’s Democratic Party won 32 of the 42 elected
National Assembly seats. Lotay Tshering’s Bhutan United
Party won the 2018 National Assembly elections with 30 of
47 seats.
The birth of the hereditary Wangchuck dynasty in 1907 has
shaped Bhutan’s democracy. The first ruler, King Ugyen
(1907-1926), introduced reforms and Western education.
The second ruler, King Jigme (1926-1952), continued his
father’s moderation and centralization efforts by building
more schools and roads and bringing public institutions
under government control. Two generations later, the third
ruler, King Jigme Dorji (1952-1972), established a high
court, introduced a bicameral legislative branch, set up a
planning commission, and created the Council of Ministers.
The sudden death of the third king brought his son, King
Jigme Singye (1972-2006), to power, and, like his
forefathers, King Jigme Singye continued his father’s
legacy. In 2006, the fourth King abdicated in favor of his
son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel, who started a top-down
democratic process. In July 2008, Bhutan’s political system
changed from an absolute monarchy to constitutional
monarchy with a parliamentary form of government.
Ethnic, Religious, and Refugee Issues
Bhutan has four ethnic groups: the Ngalops (westerners),
the Sharchop (easterners), aboriginal groupspeople, and the
Lhotshampa (southerners). The Ngalops migrated from
Tibet to Bhutan around the ninth century CE. They
introduced . They introduced
Tibetan culture and Mahayana Buddhism to
Bhutan. The
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The Kingdom of Bhutan
Ngalops are the majority in central, western,
and northern
Bhutan, and they dominate cultural, religious,
and political
elements in modern Bhutan. The Sharchops,
an Indo-Mongoloid origin, are thought to
have originated
from Assam, in present-day India, or
perhaps Burma, and
they also practice Mahayana
Buddhism. Several aboriginal
groups (Drokpa, Lepcha,
Doya) live and practice Hinduism
throughout Bhutan.
Hindu Nepali settlers, the fourth group,
are the majority in
the south. These southerners, or
Lhotshampa, arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
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The Kingdom of Bhutan
in search of arable land Lhotshampa, arrived from
Nepal. Many of the Lhotshampa settlers
are not legal
residents of Bhutan.
InDuring the late 1980s and early 1990s, the government of
BhutanThimphu
government viewed the Lhotshampa, which made up about
28%
of the population, as a threat to the country’s cultural
identity. Many Lhotshampa were expelled or voluntarily
emigrated to India and Nepal, escapingevading government
attempts attempts
to forcibly integrate them into mainstream
Bhutanese culture. Such forceful assimilation attempts have
been viewed as a threat to their Nepali Bhutanese
culture. This tension
led to unrest in the south of Bhutan in
the early 1990s and
resulted in an estimated 107,000 Hindu
Nepali settlers
returning to Nepal as refugees.
Economic Development and “Gross
National Happiness (GNH)”
The World Bank projects the acceleration of Bhutan’s
economic growth in 2018, citing hydropower projects,
robust economic policy, and India’s positive economic
outlook as drivers
In recent years, Bhutan has experienced consistent
economic growth. New hydropower plants are expected to
come online in the next eight years;while past hydropower profits
have been
invested by the government in public health care,
contributing to an increase in Bhutanese life expectancy.
Bhutan’s financial policy has controlled exchange rates and
inflation, as evidenced by “single-digit inflation, a relative
stable exchange rate, and accumulating international
reserves,” according to the World Bank. Because Bhutan’s
economy is inextricably linked to India’s, a projected
positive economic outlook in India would benefit Bhutan.
With an average 8% GDP growth from 1996 until 2015,
Bhutan fits the low middle-income group profile.
In fits the low middle-income group profile. In
contrast to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross
the concept of
measuring Gross National Happiness (GNH) has a deep-rooteddeeprooted history in
Bhutanese culture. In 1987, the fourth king
stated, “We are
convinced that we must aim for
contentment and
happiness.” The king’s vision of happiness
has since been
enshrined in Article 9 of the 2008
Constitution of Bhutan,
which reads, “The State shall strive
to promote those
conditions that will enable the pursuit of
Gross National
Happiness.” Established by the Royal
Government of
Bhutan, the Centre for Bhutan Studies &
Gross National
Happiness Research (CBS & GNH), which
describes itself
as “an autonomous research institute” based
in the capital
Thimphu, is mandated by the government to
study the GNH
concept and develop indicators for the
Royal Government
of Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Commission
Commission (GNHC), which is responsible for integrating
“GNH into
national planning process.” The GNHC chair
and vice chair
are the prime minister and finance minister,
respectively.
GNHC ensures all government policies “are
formulated and
implemented in line with the principles of
GNH including:
(a) developing a dynamic economy as the
foundation for a
vibrant democracy, (b) living in harmony
with tradition and
nature, (c) effective and good
governance, and (d) investing
in our people, the nation’s
greatest asset.”
Foreign Relations
Despite the focus on GNH, income
inequality is a growing issue in Bhutan’s domestic politics.
Foreign Relations
Bhutan’s external relations have been influenced by the
United Kingdom, and more recently India, for much of the
past century. The 1910 Treaty of Punakha and 1949 Treaty
of Friendship
allowed the British and Indian governments,
respectively,
to direct Bhutan’s external affairs. Both
treaties promised
the policy of “no interference in the
internal administration
of Bhutan” and provided protection
from external
encroachment. India is Bhutan’s key strategic
and economic partner. India and Bhutan signed another treaty of
friendship in 2007 that grants Bhutan more
Treaty of Friendship in 2007 granting Bhutan more
independence in
its foreign and defense relations. Bhutan
has joined a number of
international organizations and
entered into several
international agreements. It was a co-foundingcofounding member of
the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) in 1985 and joined the
South Asian Free Trade
Agreement in 2004, the same year it also joined the
Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand
Agreement in 2004. Bhutan is also
a member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) forum. Bhutan also has
has representation at the United Nations, which it joined in
1971. Bhutan also joined 174 other countries to sign the
Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2016.
Bilateral Bilateral
relations with the United States are limited, with
no formal
diplomatic relations. According to the U.S.
Department of
State, however, “the two countries maintain
warm informal
relations.” The United States has helped
resettle Lhotshampa refugees residing in Nepal, and since
2006, the United States has admitted 92,462 of these
refugees, including 650 in 2017 to date.
China also does not maintain formal diplomatic relations
with Bhutan, but some progress in developing relations has
been reported. In 2016, China and Bhutan held their 24th
round of border talks in Beijing. China is currently building
rail links across the Tibetan plateau and has plans to extend
the railway toward the Bhutanese border.
Security Concerns
Bhutan had experienced external and internal security
challenges in recent years. In the 1990s, Indian separatist
militants (the United Liberation Front of Assam and others)
left India to establish bases in southern Bhutan. The king,
concerned about sovereignty, warned India not to cross into
Bhutan. Meanwhile, the National Assembly discussed
peaceful and military options to drive out the groups. After
five rounds of talks with the militants failed, the National
Assembly approved “Operation All Clear” in 2003 to
remove the groups forcefully. The operation captured or
killed 650 militants, including top ULFA leaders.
New security threats emerged prior to the March 2008
election. Before the election, several bombs exploded in
Thimphu and other districts. A new group, the United
Revolutionary Front of Bhutan (URFB), claimed
responsibility for the bombings to highlight the rights of
Lhotshampa. There were no URFB-related bomb threats in
the March 2013 elections. There was, however, a case of a
URFB bombing claim in Phuentsholing, 100 miles south of
Thimphu, in 2012.
Bruce Vaughn, Specialist in Asian Affairs
Bhutan’s external relations have been influenced by the
United Kingdom and India for much of the past century.
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IF10660
The Kingdom of Bhutan resettle
Lhotshampa refugees residing in Nepal. China and Bhutan
do not have formal diplomatic relations.
Doklam
With a population of less than 1 million, Bhutan is dwarfed
by India (1.3 billion) and China (1.4 billion), and since the
1962 border war between China and India periodic tensions
between the two powers have complicated Bhutan’s
external situation. Border tensions between China and India
escalated in mid-June 2017, while Indian Prime Minister
Modi was in Washington, DC, to meet with President
Trump. Possibly intending to signal displeasure over
developing ties between India and the United States, China
extended an unpaved road near Doklam on the disputed
border between China and Bhutan, high in the Himalayas.
China’s road-building activity was first revealed by a Royal
Bhutan Army Patrol that sought to dissuade the Chinese
from continuing. Indian military personnel subsequently
moved to the border area and a standoff ensued until a deescalation of tensions in August, 2017. Doklam is located in
territory disputed by Bhutan and China to the north of the
Siliguri Corridor. The corridor, also known as the
“chicken’s neck” and 20 miles wide at its narrowest, links
central India with its seven northeastern states. Chinese
control of the corridor would isolate 45 million Indians in
an area the size of the United Kingdom.
Other Security Concerns
Bhutan has also experienced other security challenges. In
the 1990s, Indian separatist militants (the United Liberation
Front of Assam and others) established bases in southern
Bhutan. The National Assembly discussed peaceful and
military options to drive out the groups. After five rounds
of talks with the militants failed, the National Assembly
approved “Operation All Clear” in 2003 to remove the
groups forcefully. The operation captured or killed 650
militants, including top ULFA leaders. Other security
threats emerged prior to the March 2008 election, as several
bombs exploded in Thimphu and other districts. The United
Revolutionary Front of Bhutan (URFB), claimed
responsibility for the bombings to highlight the rights of
Lhotshampa.
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The Kingdom of Bhutan
IF10660
Bruce Vaughn, Specialist in Asian Affairs
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