allowed Britain to direct its foreign affairs. This role 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
water: 0 sq km
land: 47,000 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 carbide
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:
2,185,569
note: other estimates range as low as 810,000 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.3% (male 445,548; female 414,338)
15-64 years: 56.6% (male 637,637; female 600,253)
65 years and over: 4% (male 44,298; female 43,495) (2004 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.2 years
male: 20 years
female: 20.3 years (2004 est.)
Populatio
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