Bhutan’s population has increased by 16 per cent in the last 12 years. According to the 2017 report on Population and Housing Census of Bhutan (PHCB), the country’s population was 735,553 as of May 30 last year.
Prime Minster Dasho Tshering Tobgay released the PHCB 2017 reports yesterday.
Of the total population, 681,720 are Bhutanese, while 53,833 are non-Bhutanese. The report says 62.2 per cent Bhutanese live in the rural areas and 37.8 in the urban areas.
Among the dzongkhags, Thimphu has the highest population with 138,736 while Gasa, with 3952, is the least populated.
The report also reveals other significant findings like literary rate, which has soared from 59.5 per cent in 2005 to 71.4 per cent last year.
Life expectancy at birth has risen to 70.2 years in 2017 from 66.3 years in 2005.
“There are lots of improvement in terms of social service facilities, such as access to drinking water and sanitation,” Chhimi Tshering, the Director of National Statistics Bureau (NSB), said.
“Significant improvements have also been seen in terms of maternal health as well as access to health facilities,” he added.
The PHCB Report 2017 will prove useful in assessing the achievements of the 11th Five-Year Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
It will also provide a robust and accurate statistical data for the formulation of the 12th FYP plans and policies.
More than 9,500 enumerators conducted the country’s second population and housing census last year.
The National Census Secretariat, instituted under the National Statistics Bureau, conducts the Population and Housing Census of Bhutan every ten years.
With the first PHCB conducted in 2005, the second was due in 2015, but lack of budget delayed the second census.
