Kingdom of Bhutan

Estimated population 700 thousand

Population density (people per square mile) 119

Population doubling time 34 years

GDP per capita US$ 2,360

Population doubling time in years:

USA 79. Canada 81. Germany declining. UK 248. Russia declining. China 110. Philippines 41.

Population density (people per square mile)

USA 85. Canada 9. Germany 593. UK 660. Russia 21. China 368. Philippines 795.

GDP per capita in US$:

RECENT HISTORY

Bhutan's rugged mountains and dense forests long rendered it almost inaccessible to the outside world, and the country's rulers reinforced this isolation by banning foreigners until well into the 20th century. Then, under pressure from neighbouring countries with strategic interests in Bhutan, a slow change began.

Britain had twice intervened in Bhutan to foil Chinese imperial invasions.

In committing to policies of social and administrative reform coupled with economic development, Bhutan began to cultivate its international contacts.

In 1910 the Bhutanese government agreed in a treaty to continue to be guided by Great Britain in external affairs in return for an increased annual subsidy and the promise of non-interference in Bhutan's internal affairs. In subsequent decades, Bhutan gradually became oriented toward British-ruled India, though much of its trade was still with Tibet.

In August 1949 Bhutan concluded a treaty with newly independent India, whereby India assumed Britain's former role toward Bhutan. India also refrained from interfering in the country's internal administration.

When the People's Republic of China took control of Tibet in 1950, Bhutan was prompted to strengthen its ties with India. China's suppression of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet and its vague assertions of sovereignty over some Bhutanese territory lent urgency to the Chinese threat, and in the 1950s India took measures to strengthen its defensive garrisons along Bhutan's northern border with Tibet.

Beginning in the early 1960s, King Jigme Dorji Wangchuk embarked on a program to reform the country's economy and its quasi-feudal social system. New roads and hospitals were built, and a system of secular schools was established as an alternative to education in Buddhist monasteries.

In 1972, 16-year-old Jigme Singye Wangchuk succeeded his father as king. The new king agreed to abide by the treaty with India and also sought to improve ties with China.

In 1988 Bhutan launched a national policy demanding that everyone adhere completely to Buddhist traditions. Bhutanese of Nepalese origin, who constituted between one-third and one-half of Bhutan's residents and who were primarily Hindu, viewed the policy as an attempt to suppress Nepalese culture. Violent protests and ethnic antagonism broke out, and thousands of Bhutan's Nepalese residents fled to Nepal.

By the early 1990s it was estimated that some 100,000 Nepalese from Bhutan were housed in refugee camps in Nepal. Both governments held regular meetings to resolve the refugee issue but still had not reached a final agreement by the early 21st century.

By the turn of the 21st century, Bhutan had moved to embrace democracy as well as to eliminate vestiges of its historical isolation from all angles—geographic, political, economic, social, and technological.

Elections in March 2008 for the National Assembly, the lower house of the new parliament, marked the completion of the change to a democratic system. Development policies showed success, as Bhutan's economy experienced significant growth, but is still classed as an underdeveloped agrarian economy.

EDUCATION

Until the early 1960s, no formal schools existed in Bhutan except those for religious instruction. Since then considerable progress has been made in education, and primary and secondary schools have been established throughout the country. By the end of the 20th century, a policy had been adopted whereby a major portion of the annual government budget was directed toward educational programs.

Education is not compulsory in Bhutan, and many of the country's children between the ages of 6 and 11 years are not enrolled in primary school. Similarly, only a fraction of Bhutan's older children are enrolled in secondary school. Nevertheless, enrolment rates rose substantially since the late 20th century, and the rate of adult literacy also increased dramatically.

Growing numbers of students attend the country's various colleges, including Sherubtse Degree College—established at Kanglung in eastern Bhutan in 1983 and affiliated with the University of Delhi—as well as several teacher-training colleges and technical-vocational institutes.

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