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 population pyramid in 2020

The Royal Government of Bhutan listed the country's population as 752,700 in 2003.[1]

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,[2] 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".[1] 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
Population pyramid 2016

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

Ethnic groups[1]
Main article: Ethnic groups in Bhutan
Ngalop people (also known as Bhote) and indigenous Sharchop people 63%
Lhotsampas (also known as Nepalis) 22%
Indigenous or migrant ethnic groups 15%

Religions[1]
Main article: Religion in Bhutan
Lama Buddhism 75.3%
Hinduism 22.1%
Other 2.6%

Languages[1]
Main article: Languages of Bhutan
Tshangla (sometimes referred to as Sharchopkha) 28%
Dzongkha (official) 24%
Nepali (locally referred as Lhotshamkha) 22%
Other 26%

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 64.9%
Male: 73.1%
Female: 55% (2015 est.[3])

Population
708,427 (July 2011 est.)
716,896 (July 2012 est.)
750,125 (July 2016 est.)[4]

Age structure

0-14 years: 26.27% (male 100,672/female 96,368)
15-24 years: 19.21% (male 73,398/female 70,704)
25-54 years: 42.39% (male 169,079/female 148,873)
55-64 years: 5.94% (male 23,869/female 20,656)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 24,301/female 22,205) (2016 est.[5])

Median age

Total: 27.2 years
Male: 27.7 years
Female: 26.6 years (2016 est.[6])

Population growth rate

1.09% (2016 est.[7])

Birth rate

17.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.[8])

Death rate

6.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.[9])

Net migration rate

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

Total fertility rate

1.93 children born/woman (2016 est.[10])

Urbanization[11]

urban population: 38.6% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 3.69% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.14 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2016 est.[12])

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.2 years
Male: 68.8 years
Female: 71.7 years (2017[4] est.)

Life expectancy at birth is 70.2 years, which is an increase from 66.3 years in 2005. Women with 71.7 years lived longer than men (68.8).

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay said that the good news is life expectancy has crossed 70 years.[13]

Vital statistics

Below is a table of Bhutan vital statistics since 1950 published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.[14]

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

Births and deaths

[15]

Year Population Live births Deaths Natural increase Crude birth rate Crude death rate Rate of natural increase TFR
2005 635,000 12,538 4,498 8,040 19.7 7.1 12.6 2.50
2017 736,000 11,239 4,894 6,345 15.5 6.7 8.8 1.70

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)):[16]

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 0.03% of the population.[17] 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.[18]

Through July 2010, there had been a total of 40 deaths due to HIV/AIDS-related causes, and one suicide.[18]

Education

As of 2017, Bhutan has a literacy rate of 71.4 percent (up from 59.5 percent in 2005). The highest literacy rate is observed in Thimpu at 83.9 percent, followed by Trongsa (77.2 percent) and Chukha (75.1 percent), while Gasa has the lowest rate with 59.8 percent of its population being literate.[13]

References
  1. "South Asia ::BHUTAN". CIA The World Factbook.
  2. "http://www.dop.gov.bt/rep/index.htm". Archived from the original on 2005-09-06. Retrieved 2005-08-19. External link in |title= (help)
  3. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Archived from the original on 11 December 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  6. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  7. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  8. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2054.html#bt Archived 2007-12-11 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  10. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  11. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  12. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  13. KuenselOnline
  14. "Bhutan: Demographic Profile, Medium Variant 1950–2100". World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, Population Projections and Estimates Section. Retrieved 2011-10-30. (entry: Bhutan)
  15. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/vitstats/serATab3.pdf
  16. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
  17. "The Ministry of Health has Detected…". Bhutan Observer online. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  18. "An Update on Human Immuno Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)" (PDF). Bhutan Ministry of Health. 2010-07-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
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