Bhutan

In the early 20th century, Bhutan was a Protectorate of Great Britain, who took responsibility for directing Bhutan's foreign affairs, theoretically leaving internal affairs to the Bhutanese government. They ceded that role to India in 1947, with the relationship formally defined in 1949. Bhutan has one of the smallest and least-developed economies in the world. Some 93 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture, chiefly in subsistence farming and animal husbandry, and there is a substantial lack of modern technology. Only 8.5 percent of Bhutanese are urbanized.

One-fourth of the workforce is engaged in industries, and employers are faced with a massive labor shortage. The economy is highly dependent on regular subsidies from India. With a per capita income of $1,400, Bhutan is ranked 197th of 232 nations in world incomes. A current and ongoing political crisis revolves around the issue of 100,000 Bhutanese refugees of Nepali ethnicity, expelled by Bhutan in the early 1990s, who remain in camps under the administration of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees.

Population estimates for Bhutan vary from 810,000 to 2,200,00. Life is harsh in Bhutan, and life expectancy is low at only 54.39 years. On the [Page 114]other hand, infant mortality is high (100.44 deaths per 1,000 live births). Partly for this reason, the fertility rate is also abnormally high at 4.81 children per female. Low literacy rates contribute to the labor shortage. Less than half of the adult population can read and write, and the literacy rate for females is abysmally low (28.1 percent). About 38 percent of Bhutanese lack access to safe drinking water, and 30 percent have no access to improved sanitation. The United Nations Development Project (UNDP) Human Development Reports rank Bhutan 134th in the world in overall quality-of-life issues.

Nestled between China and India, Bhutan controls some of the major passes through the Himalayas. The country is landlocked and has no freshwater resources. The climate is diverse, ranging from tropical in the southern plains to cool winters and hot summers in the central valleys to severe winters and cool summers in the Himalayas. The Kingdom of Bhutan received its name, the “Land of the Thunder Dragon,” from the frequent thunderstorms that occur during the rainy season. Bhutan is also subject to landslides. The terrain is mostly mountainous, interspersed with fertile valleys and savanna. Due to a lack of roads, transportation is difficult.