Bhutan at a Glance

Bhutan - at A Glance

Total Area : 38,394 square kilometers
Geography : Landlocked between China (Tibet) and India
Altitude : 100m above sea level in the South to over 7,500 m. above sea leve in the North.
Population : 742,737
Language : Bhutan’s official language is Dzongkha while English is widely spoken
Religion: Mahayana Buddhism in its Tantric form
Capital : Thimphu
Political System: Democratic Constitutional Monarchy
Time : 6 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time
Currency : Ngultrum (at par with Indian rupee) 1US$ = Nu.38.75 (Jan, 2008)
Terrain : It can be divided into three major parts:
Geographic regions from North to South; the high Himalayas of North, the hills and valleys of the central and the foothills and plains of the South.
Forest coverage : 72.5% of the land area
Cultivated area : 7.8% of total land
Altitude : 100 m above sea level in the south to over 7,500 m above sea level in the north
Longitude : 88 45’ - 92 10’ East
Latitude : 26 45’ - 28 15’ North
Life expectancy: 66 yrs
Local time : 6 hrs ahead of GMT and half an hour ahead of Indian Standard Time