China 470 km, India 605 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none; landlocked
International disputes:
none
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
Natural resources:
timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide
Land use:
arable land:
2%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
5%
forest and woodland:
70%
other:
23%
Irrigated land:
340 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
soil erosion; limited access to safe drinking water
natural hazards:
violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the
country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon
international agreements:
party to - Nuclear Test Ban; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls
several key Himalayan mountain passes

@Bhutan, People

Population:
716,380 (July 1994 est.)
note:
other estimates range as high as 1.7 million (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.34% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
39.31 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
15.93 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
121 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
50.6 years
male:
51.15 years
female:
50.03 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.42 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Bhutanese (singular and plural)
adjective:
Bhutanese
Ethnic divisions:
Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15%
Religions:
Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Languages:
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects; Nepalese
speak various Nepalese dialects
Literacy:
total population:
NA%
male:
NA%
female:
NA%
Labor force:
NA
by occupation:
agriculture 93%, services 5%, industry and commerce 2%
note:
massive lack of skilled labor

@Bhutan, Government

Names:
conventional long form:
Kingdom of Bhutan
conventional short form:
Bhutan
Digraph:
BT
Type:
monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
Capital:
Thimphu
Administrative divisions: