Brunei and Bhutan Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Brunei	Bhutan
Leader
Head of state: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah	Head of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
Population
408,786	716,896
Life Expectancy
76.370 years	67.880 years
Capital City
Bandar Seri Begawan	Thimphu
Largest city
Bandar Seri Begawan (population: 64,409)	Thimphu (population: 98,676)
Human Development Index
0.919	0.613
GDP per capita
$50,000 US	$6,200 US
Literacy Rate
92.7%	47%
Corruption Perception Index
NA	5.2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
0%	13.9%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
2.700%	4.000%
Death Penalty
Abolished in practice	Abolished

Political System
constitutional sultanate	in transition to constitutional monarchy; special treaty relationship with India
Independence date
1 January 1984 (from UK)	1907 (became a unified kingdom under its first hereditary king)
Religions
Muslim (official) 67%, Buddhist 13%, Christian 10%, other (includes indigenous beliefs) 10%	Lamaistic Buddhist 75%, Indian- and Nepalese-influenced Hinduism 25%
Languages
Malay (official), English, Chinese	Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects
Exports
crude oil, natural gas, garments	electricity (to India), cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones, spices
External Debt
$0 $	$1,275,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Bruneian dollars (BND) per US dollar - NA (2007), 1.5886 (2006), 1.6644 (2005), 1.6902 (2004), 1.7422 (2003)	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
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.500%	1.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count

Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and Malaysia	Southern Asia, between China and India
Area
5,765 km sq	38,394 km sq
Coastline
161 km	0 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid, rainy	varies; tropical in southern plains; cool winters and hot summers in central valleys; severe winters and cool summers in Himalayas

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Brunei vs Bhutan