General Info

• Official Name: Kingdom of Bhutan
• Official Languages: Bhutanese (Dzongkha)
• One of two dozen languages spoken in Bhutan
• All languages are members of the Tibeto-Burman language family except for Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language, and Bhutanese Sign Language
• Population: 727,145
• Currency: Ngultrum (Nu)
• The Kingdom of Bhutan is located in the southern foothills of the Eastern Himalayas.
• Capital: Thimphu; Financial Center: Phuntsholing
• Government: Constitutional Monarchy
• The Kingdom of Bhutan has never been colonized. 
• Bhutan was one of the last countries to introduce television -- the government lifted a ban on television and the Internet in 1999.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan

• The Bhutan government introduced Gross National Happiness (GNH) as the goal of the government in the Constitution of Bhutan, enacted on July 18, 2008.  
• The philosophy uses an index to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. 
• The king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, coined the term in a 1972 interview with the Financial Times: “Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product.”
• Critics describe GNH as a propaganda tool used by the Bhutanese government to distract from ethic cleansing and human rights abuses.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_National_Happiness

• According to Human Rights Watch, “Over 100,000 or 1/6 of the population of Bhutan of Nepalese origin and Hindu faith were expelled from the country because they would not integrate with Bhutan’s Buddhist culture.”

Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2008/02/01/bhutans-ethnic-cleansing

Religion

• An estimated two-thirds to three-quarters of the population follow Vajrayana Buddhism, the official religion of the Kingdom of Bhutan. 
• Approximately one-quarter to one-third of the Bhutanese population are followers of Hinduism.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan 

Demographics

• Ngalop 50%, ethnic Nepali 35%, indigenous or migrant tribes 15%

Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bt.html

Societal Values

• Hunting and fishing, except for catch and release, are banned in Bhutan.
• It is forbidden to climb high peaks, where it is believed that spirits dwell.
• Employees must wear the traditional clothing -- gho robe, for men and kira dress for women -- during work hours.
• To deter low cost tourism, Bhutan requires visitors to spend hundreds of dollars a day.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tmullen/2018/02/27/why-bhutan-is-still-out-of-this-world/#3af9b0e344be

Business Communication & Relationships

• Bhutan’s nationwide system of etiquette, called the “driglam namzha,” governs how to send and receive gifts, how to speak to authority figures, and how to dress.
• Men and women converse and mix freely, without the restrictions present among other South Asian cultures. 

Source: https://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Bhutan.html

• The business community is young and friendly, yet traditional and formal. Many businessmen and women wear traditional attire. Formal wear is acceptable.
• For many years, more than 90 percent of Bhutanese trade has been with India.

Source:http://www.asiabiznews.net/project-contracts-tenders-rfp-rfq-resources/how-to-do-business-in/Bhutan.html

• In 2018, India accounted for 84% of Bhutan’s total imports, and 78% of its total exports.

Source: https://www.indembthimphu.gov.in/pages.php?id=42

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