ther: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: violent storms coming down 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, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

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

People

Population: 1,951,965 (July 1999 est.)
note: other estimates range as low as 600,000

Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 405,745; female 376,738)
15-64 years: 56% (male 561,754; female 530,420)
65 years and over: 4% (male 39,251; female 38,057) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.25% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 36.76 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 14.26 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 109.33 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 52.75 years
male: 53.19 years
female: 52.29 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.16 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bhutanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Bhutanese

Ethnic groups: Bhote 50%, ethnic Nepalese 35%, indigenous or
migrant tribes 15%

Religions: Lamaistic Buddhism 75%, Indian- and
Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%

Languages: Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan
dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.2%
male: 56.2%
female: 28.1% (1995 est.)

People--note: refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of
approximately 91,000 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
camps

Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Bhutan
conventional short form: Bhutan

Data code: BT

Government type: monarchy; special treaty re