Demographics of Bhutan

Demographics of Bhutan
Population pyramid of Bhutan in 2020
Population	867,775 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	0.97% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	15.94 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	72.31 years
• male	71.19 years
• female	73.49 years
Fertility rate	1.79 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate	27.04 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	24.44%
15–64 years	69.23%
65 and over	6.33%
Sex ratio
Total	1.08 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.97 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Bhutanese

This is a demography of the population of Bhutan including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The Royal Government of Bhutan listed the country's population as 752,700 in 2003.^[1]

The Bhutanese numbers can be reconstructed from their 9th Five Year Plan documents,^[2] which lists the exact number of households in each gewog. If the Bhutanese refugee advocate groups are correct, a spot check of a southern gewog should show a massive under-reporting of population.^{[citation needed]}

The CIA World Fact book number has since been adjusted with a note of former inconsistencies, and attributes the difference to the government not including the "first modern census of Bhutan, conducted in 2005".^[1] In the 1970s Bhutan was one of the most isolated countries in the world and nobody knew how many people lived there since no census had ever been taken.

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

708,427 (July 2011 est.)

716,896 (July 2012 est.)

750,125 (July 2016 est.)^[3]

Median age

Total: 27.2 years

Male: 27.7 years

Female: 26.6 years (2016 est.^[6])

Urbanization^[7]

urban population: 38.6% of total population (2015)

rate of urbanization: 3.69% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Below is a table of Bhutan vital statistics since 1950 published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.^[8]

^[9][10] (Government estimates) ^[11]

Total population: 70.2 years

Male: 68.8 years

Female: 71.7 years (2017^[3] est.)

Life expectancy at birth is 70.2 years, which is an increase from 66.3 years in 2005. Women (71.7 years) live longer than men (68.8).

In 2018, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay announced that the average life expectancy at birth has surpassed 70.^[12]

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2007 edition.)