Bhutan

AsiaCapital city: ThimphuCapital metro: ThimphuMonarch: πŸ‘‘ Jigme Khesar Namgyel WangchuckPrime Minister: Tshering Tobgay
2026 population
784K
Rank #170 globally
Area
38k kmΒ² (15k sq mi)
Metros tracked
1
18% of population in metros
Composite score
3.9
Rank #148 globally

population: Natl annual projection (2025) Β· indicators as of 2026-09-05 Β· 1 metros tracked

πŸ—ΊοΈ Geography1 metro

Bhutan metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.

Loading map…
1 polygons

Hover for rank, click to open the metro page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.

πŸ™οΈ 1 tracked metro
1 metros
#585Thimphuβ˜… Capitalβ–² Largest
3.9
πŸ—‚οΈ Districts

20 entries listed under Bhutan. Click any to see its metros and footprint.

20 total
πŸ“‹ At a glance
Official language
Dzongkha
Government
Constitutional monarchy
Legislature
Parliament of Bhutan
Demonym
Bhutanese
Time zone
UTC+06:00
Driving side
Left
Calling code
+975
Internet TLD
.bt
ISO 3166
BT
Established
1949
Highest point
Gangkhar Puensum (7,570 m (24,836 ft))
National anthem
Druk Tsenden

Facts via Wikidata.

πŸ’Ή Economy and developmentLower middle income
Human Dev. Index
#123 / 191
0.698
UNDP Β· 2023
GDP
#165 / 193
$3.6B
World Bank Β· 2025
GDP per capita
#124 / 193
$4.5k
World Bank Β· 2025
GDP/capita (PPP)
#97 / 190
$19.6k
World Bank Β· 2025
GNI/capita (Atlas)
#126 / 192
$4.3k
World Bank Β· 2025
Life expectancy
#103 / 194
73.3 yrs
World Bank Β· 2024
Median age
29.4 yrs
UN WPP Β· 2023
Urban population
#145 / 194
43%
World Bank Β· 2025
Pop. growth
0.6%
World Bank Β· 2025
Pop. density
#163 / 193
21/kmΒ²
World Bank Β· 2023
Foreign-born
#77 / 193
7.0%
World Bank Β· 2024
Rule of law
#39 / 175
0.87
V-Dem Β· 2025
Gini index
#22 / 166
28.5
World Bank Β· 2022
Internet users
#48 / 193
91%
World Bank Β· 2024
Inflation
#107 / 185
3.6%
World Bank Β· 2025
COβ‚‚ per capita
#81 / 192
2.1 t
Global Carbon Budget Β· 2024
Renewable electricity
β˜… #8 / 186
100%
Ember Β· 2024

Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; β˜… marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.

Alliances & Organisations3 full memberships

Political & Economic

Subregional

Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer

πŸ›οΈ Leadership History6 leaders Β· click to expand

marks a leader associated with atrocities or defiance of law, systemic subversion of democratic institutions, or a criminal conviction. Convictions arising from political persecution, and annulled convictions, are excluded. denotes a monarch. These are editorial designations, applied per entry rather than derived automatically.

Other

Tshering Tobgay✦ Current

2024–Present

Prime Minister

Tenure: 2y 5m 5d

πŸ‘‘ Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck✦ Current

2008–Present

Monarch

Tenure: 17y 7m 27d

πŸ‘‘ Jigme Singye Wangchuck

1972–2008

Monarch

Tenure: 36y 4m 5d

Kingdom of Bhutan

πŸ‘‘ Jigme Dorji Wangchuck

1952–1972

Monarch

Tenure: 20y 3m 24d

πŸ‘‘ Jigme Wangchuck

1926–1952

Monarch

Tenure: 25y 7m 9d

πŸ‘‘ Ugyen Wangchuck

1907–1926

Monarch

Tenure: 18y 8m 4d
πŸ“ˆ Power over timeThe Power Atlas β†’
Today
Minor#142 Β· 0.0%
3%5%8%10%2000
Power (headline share)Latent (material mass)Recognised (standing)
Bhutan Β· share of world power, 1971–2026

The powerline is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.

πŸ‘₯ Population over time
Population 2023
786k
#167 in the world
Since 1800
2.00Γ—
from 392k
Peak
2023
at its largest now
Share of world
0.01%
0.04% in 1800
201k401k602k802k18001850190019502000
Bhutan Β· people, 1800–2023 Β· dashed to 2026 is projected

Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.

πŸ‘₯ To 2100

The UN’s probabilistic projection for Bhutan: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.

Peak on the median
2052
884k on the UN median
2050
882k
95% band 632k to 1.2m
2100
690k
95% band 306k to 1.5m
2100 against 2025
0.87Γ—
median falling from 2053
Deaths outnumber births
from 2052
on the UN medium path; migration decides the rest
405k811k1.2m1.6m1950197520002025205020752100

Tap or drag across the chart to read any year: the estimate to 2023, then the UN median, its bands and the scenarios.

estimateUN median80% and 95% bandshigh and low fertilityzero migration

What drives it

Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.

1950
8k born Β· 5k died Β· +976 net migration
TFR 6.85 Β· life expectancy 35.3 Β· median age 17.0
1960
11k born Β· 6k died Β· +1k net migration
TFR 6.70 Β· life expectancy 36.4 Β· median age 17.7
1970
15k born Β· 7k died Β· +3k net migration
TFR 6.65 Β· life expectancy 41.2 Β· median age 18.3
1980
19k born Β· 7k died Β· +2k net migration
TFR 6.51 Β· life expectancy 48.2 Β· median age 17.8
1990
23k born Β· 7k died Β· -1k net migration
TFR 5.60 Β· life expectancy 55.8 Β· median age 17.5
2000
15k born Β· 5k died Β· +4k net migration
TFR 3.38 Β· life expectancy 61.8 Β· median age 19.0
2010
13k born Β· 5k died Β· -922 net migration
TFR 2.25 Β· life expectancy 68.8 Β· median age 23.0
2020
10k born Β· 5k died Β· +287 net migration
TFR 1.50 Β· life expectancy 72.3 Β· median age 27.6
Show all 16 decades
2030
10k born Β· 5k died Β· -4 net migration
TFR 1.42 Β· life expectancy 74.8 Β· median age 33.0
2040
9k born Β· 6k died Β· +67 net migration
TFR 1.43 Β· life expectancy 77.1 Β· median age 37.6
2050
8k born Β· 7k died Β· +566 net migration
TFR 1.46 Β· life expectancy 79.1 Β· median age 42.2
2060
7k born Β· 9k died Β· -124 net migration
TFR 1.48 Β· life expectancy 81.0 Β· median age 46.1
2070
7k born Β· 11k died Β· +344 net migration
TFR 1.49 Β· life expectancy 82.7 Β· median age 48.1
2080
6k born Β· 12k died Β· -13 net migration
TFR 1.51 Β· life expectancy 84.3 Β· median age 48.8
2090
6k born Β· 11k died Β· -192 net migration
TFR 1.52 Β· life expectancy 85.7 Β· median age 49.5
2100
5k born Β· 10k died Β· -163 net migration
TFR 1.53 Β· life expectancy 86.9 Β· median age 49.7

Every country to 2100 β†’

Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.

πŸ† National Teams

Bhutan on the international stage. Click a card for the full record.