Population 1,908,307 (July 1998 est.)
note: other estimates range as low as 600,000

Age structure
0-14 years: 40% (male 396,839; female 368,391)
15-64 years: 56% (male 549,050; female 518,780)
65 years and over: 4% (male 38,235; female 37,012) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 2.27% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 37.33 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 14.6 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 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 (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 111.66 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 52.31 years
male: 52.77 years
female: 51.83 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 5.22 children born/woman (1998 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

NOTE: The information regarding Bhutan on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bhutan People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bhutan People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.