Bhutan Facts At Glance

Full Country Name: Kingdom of Bhutan (Locally known as Druk or Drukyul, and its people are called Drukpa). Bhutan or Bhutanese is a Western term adopted more recently.

Area: 47,000 sq. km (18,200 sq. mi.)

Population: As of September 2021, estimated at 779,898.

Capital City: Thimphu (population estimated around 115,000). Altitude – 2200m.

Languages: Dzongkha is the official language, with many dialects spoken across the country. English is widely spoken and is the medium of instruction in schools. Sharchopkha, an Indo–Mongoloid language, is dominant in eastern Bhutan. Nepali is spoken in the south.

Religion: Predominately Himalayan Buddhists with 20% Hindus and few Christians.

Government: Constitutional Monarchy.

King: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck – He ascended the throne in December 09, 2006 as the 5th King

Time: Only one time zone. Local time is 6 hours ahead of GMT (London UK time).

Telephone: Country code is 975. To dial out of Bhutan: 00 + country code + number.

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Where is Bhutan?

Bhutan lies in the eastern Himalayas, sandwiched between China and India.

Gross National Happiness | Land of Happiness

Gross National Happiness, or GNH, is a holistic and sustainable approach to development, which balances material and non-material values with the conviction that humans want to search for happiness. The objective of GNH is to achieve a balanced development in all the facts of life that are essential; for our happiness.
We are in the age of the Anthropogenic when the fate of the planet and all life is within the power of mankind. Boundless consumerism, widening socio-economic inequality and instability is causing rapid nature resource depletion and degradation. Climate change, species extinction, multiple crises, growing insecurity, instability and conflicts are not only diminishing our well-being but are also threatening our very survival.
Today, it is inconceivable for modern society to function without the business of commerce, finance, industry or trade. These very factors are altering human destiny by the day in extraordinary ways, both positive and negative. GNH directly addresses such global, national and individual challenges by pointing to the non-material roots of well- being and offering ways to balance and satisfy the dual needs of the human being within the limits of what nature can provide on a sustainable basis.

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GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS

Since 1971, the country has rejected GDP as the only way to measure progress. In its place, it has championed a new approach to development, which measures prosperity through formal principles of (GNH).

1. Sustainable development
2. Preservation and promotion of cultural values
3. Conservation of the natural environment, and
4. Establishment of good governance.

The phrase “Gross National Happiness” GNH” was coined by Bhutan’s fourth Dragon King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. The phrase was coined as a signal of commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan’s culture based on Buddhist spiritual values instead of the western material development that was represented by gross domestic product.