Head of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
716,896
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
67.880 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Thimphu
Port Moresby
Largest city
Thimphu (population: 98,676)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.613
0.516
GDP per capita
$6,200 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
47%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
5.2
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.9%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
4.000%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
in transition to constitutional monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
ngultrum (BTN) per US dollar - 41.487 (2007), 45.279 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003) note: the ngultrum is pegged to the Indian rupee
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.000%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Southern Asia, between China and India
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
38,394 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
0 km
5,152 km
Climate
varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
