style="font-size:15px;"> valleys; severe winters and cool summers in HimalayasTerrain:
mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna
Natural resources:
timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide, tourism potential
Land use:
arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 5%; forest and
woodland 70%; other 23%
Environment:
violent storms coming down from the Himalayas were the source of the country
name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon
Note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls several key
Himalayan mountain passes
:Bhutan People
Population:
1,660,167 (July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
40 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
17 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
126 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
50 years male, 49 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
5.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Bhutanese (singular and plural); adjective - Bhutanese
Ethnic divisions:
Bhote 60%, ethnic Nepalese 25%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
Religions:
Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Languages:
Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects - most widely spoken dialect is
Dzongkha (official); Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Literacy:
NA% (male NA%, female NA%)
Labor force:
NA; agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2%; massive lack of
skilled labor
Organized labor:
not permitted
:Bhutan Government
Long-form name:
Kingdom of Bhutan
Type:
monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
Capital:
Thimphu
Administrative divisions:
18 districts (dzongkhag, singular and plural); Bumthang, Chhukha, Chirang,
Daga, Geylegphug, Ha, Lhuntshi, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Punakha, Samchi,
Samdrup Jongkhar, Shemgang, Tashigang, Thimphu, Tongsa, Wangdi Phodrang
Independence:
8 August 1949 (from India)
Constitution:
no written constitution or bill of rights
Legal system:
based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
National holiday:
National Day (Ugyen Wangchuck became first hereditary king), 17 December
(1907)
Executive branch:
monarch, chairman of the Royal Advisory Council, Royal Advisory Council
(Lodoi Tsokde), chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers
(Lhengye Shungtsog)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Tshogdu)
Judicial branch:
High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
King Jigme Singye WANGCHUCK (since 24 July 1972)
Political parties and leaders:
no legal parties
Suffrage:
each family has one vote in village-level elections
Elections:
no national elections
Communists:
no overt Communist presence
Other political or pressure groups:
Buddhist clergy, Indian merchant community; ethnic Nepalese organizations
leading militant antigovernment campaign
Member of:
AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IMF, IOC, ITU, NAM,
SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO
Diplomatic representation:
no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained
between the Bhutanese and US Embassies in New Delhi (India); the Bhutanese
mission to the UN in New York has consular jurisdiction in the US
Flag:
divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper triangle is
orange and the lower triangle is red; centered along the dividing line is a
