Bhutan People 2024, CIA World Factbook
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)
NOTE: The information regarding Bhutan on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bhutan 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bhutan 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.