Bhutan

History

The origin of Bhutan and its old story are unknown. The Indian guru Padmasambhava accomplishes his legendary voyage of the Tibet in Bhutan at the 8th century and brings the Bouddhisme there.

The country must undergo many invasions of the XIe at the 16th century, in particular on behalf of the Tibetans and of the Mongols.

A Buddhist Théocratie is established in Bhutan at the beginning of the 17th century. The surface, historically near to the Tibet in north, is placed under the influence Britannique of the India during the 19th century and a protectorate is established in 1910. The British deal with the foreign relations but restrict themselves to interfere in the internal businesses.

The current monarchy, established in 1907, adopted a behavior aiming at making emigrate the not-natives. It followed an exodus of approximately 100.000 Nepal board and Indiens towards the countries bordering.

Policy

One of the characteristics of Bhutan east its continuation of the Happiness through the improvement of its BNB, for national Happiness gross. Where the majority of the governments base on the value of the rough National product (GNP) to measure the level of richness of the citizens, Bhutan substituted the BNB for it to measure the level of happiness of its inhabitants. This index is based on four factors:

growth and economic development;
conservation and the promotion of the Bhutanese culture;
safeguard of the environment and the promotion of the Sustainable development;
responsible good governance.

Founded in 1972, the BNB gradually made its way in the international community. Thus, an international meeting on the definition of the Prospérité took place with the Université Saint-François-Xavier, with the Canada. On the 400 people coming of more than ten different countries, more than one about thirty were Bhutanese, cash among them teachers, monks and political officials.

Among the most spectacular decisions, one can quote prohibition to market Tabac.

The December 17th 2005, the king of Bhutan announced that the kingdom would transform into a parliamentary democracy in 2008 and that he would abdicate on this date in favor of the crown prince Dasho Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, his/her twenty-five years old oldest son in 2005. The project of Constitution, in preparation since 2001, envisages the creation of a bicameral Parliament , composed of a National Assembly of 75 members and of a National council of 25 members. The Head of the State would be the king, but it could be relieved by a vote joining together the voices of the two-thirds of the members of the Parliament.

Subdivisions

Bhutan is divided into 20 dzongkhag :

Geography

Land borders: 1.075 km (India 605 km; China 470 km)
Littoral: 0 km
Altitude: minimum +97 m; maximum +7 553 m

Economy

Its economy one of is developed world, it is founded on agriculture, the forestry development, and on the sale in India of hydrodynamic electricity of origin.

In the Years 1970 and 1980, the royal government of Bhutan emitted postal stamps with the forms and in original matters in order to obtain new incomes. Certain stamps are of round form and out of paperboard, others are in steel sheet and there exists even a series (very rare) of round stamps, out of plastic, which are true discs with microgrooves on which the anthem of Bhutan is recorded. There exist also stamps in 3D representing of the masks, the animals or the old cars (a roof in a country where there are practically no roads…), of the stamps scented with the pink and even a series of plastic stamps in relief representing of the great men of the 20th century: Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Gandhi, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Dwight David Eisenhower, etc most beautiful is surely the series of stamps in genuine Soie representing local religious paintings. These stamps are very required today by the philatelists.

Demography

According to an estimate of the CIA World Factbook, the population in 2006 would be of 2 279 723 people. But the government counts only 810 000 Bhutaneses. This comes owing to the fact that 40% of the population living in Bhutan consist of refugees Nepal board fleeing their country for mainly political reasons (Dictature and guerilla Maoist).

Here some demographic statistics:

Population by age bracket: 0-14 years: 39,99%; 15-64 years: 56,05%; + 65 years: 3,96%.
Life expectancy of the men: 53 years (in 2001)
Life expectancy of the women: 52 years (in 2001)
Growth rate the pop one: 2,17% (in 2001)
Birth rate: 35,73 ‰ (in 2001)
Death rate: 14,03 ‰ (in 2001)
infantile Death rate: 108,89 ‰ (in 2001)
Fertility rate: 5,1 children/woman (in 2001)
Rate of migration: 0 ‰ (in 2001)

Religion

The principal religion of the country is Buddhism Mahayana in its tantric form, also called Lamaïsme, practiced by 75% of the population, Bhutan is the only kingdom in the world where Buddhism tantric is religion of State. The remainder of the population has for religion the Indian Hindouisme (and with Nepalese influence) 25%.

The Christians are very rare there because they undergo discriminations and violences in this kingdom.

Culture

Bhutan is the last country of the world to have received the Télévision, it was in 1999, 48 chains.

Reference

See too

alphabetical Index of the Indian world
Theme index of the Indian world

External bonds

; Sources

Much of information on Bhutan, the site House of Himalayas
people of Bhutan
Bhutan, on the Encyclopedia of the Agora

Beats-smg: Butans Be-X-old: Бутан Simple: Bhutan Zh-min-nan: Bhutan

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