Bhutan People - 2024

Population

876,181 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)

adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic groups

Ngalop (also known as Bhote) 50%, ethnic Nepali 35% (predominantly Lhotshampas), indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

Languages

Sharchopkha 28%, Dzongkha (official) 24%, Lhotshamkha 22%, other 26% (includes foreign languages) (2005 est.)

Religions

Lamaistic Buddhist 75.3%, Indian- and Nepali-influenced Hinduism 22.1%, other 2.6% (2005 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 23.49% (male 105,317/female 100,526)

15-64 years: 69.97% (male 318,732/female 294,292)

65 years and over: 6.54% (2023 est.) (male 29,582/female 27,732)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 40.7

youth dependency ratio: 32.1

elderly dependency ratio: 8.6

potential support ratio: 11.1 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 30.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 30.6 years

female: 29.8 years

Population growth rate

0.96% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

15.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 44.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.52% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

203,000 THIMPHU (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female

total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

60 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 25.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 25.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 25.3 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73 years (2023 est.)

male: 71.8 years

female: 74.3 years

Total fertility rate

1.77 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.86 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

N/A

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 99.5% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 99.8% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.5% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

4.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.5 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

1.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 90.8% of population

rural: 83.1% of population

total: 86.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 9.2% of population

rural: 16.9% of population

total: 13.6% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

6.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

N/A

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

62.8% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

7% of GDP (2021 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 70.9%

male: 77.9%

female: 62.8% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years

male: 13 years

female: 13 years (2018)