le was assumed
by independent India after 1947. Two years later, a formal
Indo-Bhutanese accord returned the areas of Bhutan annexed by the
British, formalized the annual subsidies the country received, and
defined India's responsibilities in defense and foreign relations. A
refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved;
90% of the refugees are housed in seven United Nations Office of the
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps.

Geography Bhutan

Location:
Southern Asia, between China and India

Geographic coordinates:
27 30 N, 90 30 E

Map references:
Asia

Area:
total: 47,000 sq km
land: 47,000 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:
about half the size of Indiana

Land boundaries:
total: 1,075 km
border countries: China 470 km, India 605 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers
in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

Terrain:
mostly mountainous with some fertile valleys and savanna

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Drangme Chhu 97 m
highest point: Kula Kangri 7,553 m

Natural resources:
timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate

Land use:
arable land: 3.09%
permanent crops: 0.43%
other: 96.48% (2001)

Irrigated land:
400 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's
name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent
landslides during the rainy season

Environment - current issues:
soil erosion; limited access to potable water

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Geography - note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls
several key Himalayan mountain passes

People Bhutan

Population:
2,232,291
note: other estimates range as low as 810,000 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.1% (male 452,213/female 420,675)
15-64 years: 56.9% (male 654,109/female 615,431)
65 years and over: 4% (male 45,281/female 44,582) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 20.27 years
male: 20.11 years
female: 20.44 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:
2.11% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: