Bhutan: A country of peaceful dragon and land of thunderstorm

Location of Bhutan

Kingdom of Bhutan• Location:

Southern Asia, between China and India • Geographic coordinates:

27 30 N, 90 30 E • Map references:

Asia • Area:

total: 47,000 sq km land: 47,000 sq km water: 0 sq km

• Area - comparative: about half the size of Indiana

• Land boundaries: total: 1,075 km border countries: China 470 km, India 605 km

• Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Geographical factors of Bhutan• Climate:

varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

• Terrain: mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

• Elevation extremes: lowest point: Drangme Chhu 97 m highest point: Kula Kangri 7,553 m

• Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate

• Land use: arable land: 2.3% permanent crops: 0.43% other: 97.27% (2005)

• Irrigated land: 400 sq km (2003)

Visualizing on Bhutan by UN

• Natural hazards: violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name, which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season

• Environment - current issues: soil erosion; limited access to potable water

• Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

People of Bhutan• Population:

2,279,723 note: other estimates range as low as 810,000 (July 2006 est.)

• Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.9% (male 458,801/female 426,947) 15-64 years: 57.1% (male 671,057/female 631,078) 65 years and over: 4% (male 46,217/female 45,623) (2006 est.)

• Median age: total: 20.4 years male: 20.2 years female: 20.6 years (2006 est.)

• Population growth rate: 2.1% (2006 est.)

• Birth rate: 33.65 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

• Death rate: 12.7 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

People of Bhutan• Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

• Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

• Infant mortality rate: total: 98.41 deaths/1,000 live births male: 96.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 100.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

• Life expectancy at birth: total population: 54.78 years male: 55.02 years female: 54.53 years (2006 est.)

• Total fertility rate: 4.74 children born/woman (2006 est

Kingdom of Bhutan• Nationality:

noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural) adjective: Bhutanese

• Ethnic groups: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35% (includes Lhotsampas - one of several Nepalese ethnic groups), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

• Religions: Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%

• Languages: Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

• Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 47% male: 60% female: 34% (2003 est.)

Bhutan People-Food/Clothing/Shelter

• Food: Spicy chilies (ema) and cheese (datse) blended with a wide variety of vegetables, meats, poultry and fish are found on many Bhutanese menus. Bhutan's professional chefs temper their natural tendency to over spice dishes by preparing food more suitable to western taste ranging from Continental to Chinese and Bhutanese to Indian.

• Currency: Bhutanese currency is the ngultrum (Nu). The approximate exchange rate is Nu.40 for one US dollar. The ngultrum is on par with the Indian rupee (both the Nu and Indian Rupee can be used in Bhutan). US Dollars and dollar traveler's cheques can be exchanged at banks (hours 10:00 am to 1:00 pm Mon to Fri) and the larger hotels. Ngultrum or rupees will be what you will need for your purchases while in the Kingdom.

• Dress:The national dress of Bhutan is called the gho for men and kira for women. It was introduced during the 17th century by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel to give the Bhutanese a unique identity. In an effort to preserve and promote its cultural heritage, all Bhutanese are required to wear the national dress in government offices, schools and on formal occasions. The gho is a long robe hoisted to the knee and held in place with a kera, a woven cloth belt, wound tightly around the waist. This forms a large pouch above that may be used to contain particular items, traditionally a bowl and betel nut.  The kira is a floor-length rectangular piece of cloth wrapped around the body over a blouse called wonju. The kira is held from the shoulders by broach-like hooks called koma and is fastened at the waist with a kera. The dress is complete with a short, open jacket-like garment called toego

Environment of Bhutan• The environment in Bhutan is still relatively intact. This is partly due to the recent start of

the development process, and partly to the high priority given to environmental sustainability and conservation by the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Government has declared its firm intention to maintain a 60% forest cover and 26% in the form of protected areas, even at the cost of economic opportunities foregone. Moreover, the Buddhist philosophy of love and respect to nature has greatly influenced people's attitude to the environment.

• People in Bhutan live in harmony with nature in a symbiotic relationship that goes back to untold centuries. The rural community's relationship with environment is reflected in the abundant use of various kinds of plants for medicine, essential and vegetable oil, traditional paper, natural vegetable dyes, etc. Domesticated ornamental plants are widely known to Bhutan's rural folk. For the various ethnic groups livelihood strategies in the mountains depend largely on their knowledge and management of its diverse genetic resources. Women provide much of the labour for natural resource management which sustains the family (Ehsan, 1993; Shrestha, 1997; Thapa, 1997). Seed management is one particular area of women's work which is of great significance to biodiversity. Women have traditionally been the custodians of crop germplasm and their diversity for generations. As women play a leading role in the fields as well as in communities they are in position to gather new varieties through farmer-to-farmer exchanges (Gurung, 1997).

• Even so, emerging environmental problems like degradation of forests close to settlements cause longer working hours for the rural people, as they have to walk longer distances to collect fuelwood. These emerging problems may not be gender-biased, though

Overall Literacy Rate of Overall Literacy Rate of BhutanBhutan

47%47%

Literacy rate of male Literacy rate of male

60%60%

Literacy rate of female Literacy rate of female

34%34%

The people of Bhutan can be divided into four main ethnic groups – Bhutia, Sharchops, Nepali and a cluster of indigenous groups.

These groups can be distinguished by language, religion, and socioeconomic characteristics.

The main population is made up of Bhutia, who are direct descendants of Tibetans.

They mainly live in northern and central Bhutan.

They, like most Bhutanese, speak languages from the Tibeto-Burman language and practice Buddhism, which is closely related to Tibetan Buddhism.

People of Bhutan

Bhutan has successfully preserved many aspects of a culture which dates directly back to the mid-17th century.

Bhutanese culture derives from ancient Tibetan culture

Bhutanese names do not include a family name. Instead two traditional auspicious names are chosen at birth by the local lama or by the parents or grandparents of the child. First names generally give no indication if the person is male or female; in some cases the second name may be helpful in that regard.

The marriage ceremony consists of an exchange of white scarves and the sharing of a cup. Marriages can be officially registered when the couple has lived together for more than six months. Traditionally the groom moves to the bride's family home, but newlyweds may decide to live with either family depending on which household is most in need of labour

Dzongkha (རྫོ� ང་ཁ) is the national language of the

Kingdom of Bhutan

• Dzongkha and Sharchop, the principal Bhutanese languages, are closely related to Tibetan, and Bhutanese monks read and write the ancient variant of the Tibetan language known as chhokey.

• National dress code• All Bhutanese citizens are required to observe

the national dress code, known as Driglam Namzha, while in public during daylight hours.

• Men wear a heavy knee-length robe tied with a belt, called a gho, folded in such a way to form a pocket in front of the stomach. Woman wear colorful blouses over which they fold and clasp a large rectangular cloth called a kira, thereby creating an ankle-length dress

One of the reasons that Bhutan has preserved its culture is because is has not been conquered by a foreign power

Bhutanese society is centered around the practice of Tantric Buddhism. Religious beliefs are evidenced in all aspects of life. Prayer flags flutter on hillsides

offering up prayers to benefit all nearby sentient beings. Houses each fly a small white flag on the roof indicating the owner has made his offering

payments to appease the local god. Each valley or district is dominated by a huge dzong, or high-

walled fortresses, which serves the religious and administrative center of the district.

Bhutan-Health Department• Health policies and strategies  • The 7th plan, which was devoted to the goals of consolidating,

strengthening, and expanding the coverage of services to ensure accessibility, ended in mid-1997. The 8th plan came into effect thereafter and mainly strives to intensify population activities; consolidate and strengthen existing health infrastructure; promote self-reliance and sustainability of the health sector by studying cost sharing practices, instituting trust funds and involving the private sector in a controlled manner in chosen areas; strengthen human resource development according to a master plan and upgrade training institutes; enhance the quality of health services; extend health care services to those in unreached areas; and strengthen the health management information system.