Bhutan
Updated: Oct 3, 2022
Country Name
Bhutan, and officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Location
Bhutan is a landlocked country located in South Asia, Bhutan is located in the Eastern Himalayas.
Bhutan is bordered by India to the east and south and China to the north.
Capital
Thimphu.
Reason Of Naming
The meaning of Bhutan is unknown, although it is likely to derive from the Tibetan endonym "Böd" for Tibet. Traditionally, it is taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bhoṭa-anta "end of Tibet", a reference to Bhutan's position as the southern extremity of the Tibetan plateau and culture.
Flag
The flag of Bhutan was adopted in 1969. The flag of Bhutan reflects the country´s name in the local language (Druk Yul), which means "country of the thunder dragon".
This name is linked to the Buddhist monastery Druk, which was reportedly founded in the country in the 13th century. The diagonal divides the flag into two parts yellow and orange.
The yellow color represents the authority of the king, the orange indicates the strength of the Buddhist religion in the country and the Drukpa monasteries. The white dragon stands for purity and loyalty, and the jewelry in his paws refers to the great wealth of the country.
The placement of the dragon in an equal proportion of yellow and orange shows the equal importance given to these traditions in the Bhutanese culture.
Language
The Dzongkha language is the country’s national language. Most languages spoken in the country belong to the Tibeto-Burman language family.
The Sino-Tibetan language of Dzongkha serves as the mother tongue of the Bhutanese people, The language is used in government administration and as the medium of instruction in Bhutan’s schools.
There are 24 languages currently spoken in Bhutan, all of them in the Tibeto-Burman family, except Nepali, an Indo-Aryan language.
Closely related to Dzongkha, the Chocangaca language is spoken in eastern Bhutan’s Mongar and Lhuntse Districts.
The larger minority languages are Dzala, Limbu, Kheng, and Rai.
Religion
Vajrayana Buddhism is the nation's state religion. About 75% of the population comprises Buddhists.
Hindus account for most of the remaining 25% of the country’s population.
A small percentage of the population practices animism or combines Buddhism with some indigenous beliefs.
Currency
Ngultrum (BTN).
Time Zone
+06:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy.
Climate
In Bhutan, the climate is subtropical in the lowlands and becomes colder as you climb the mountain hills. Winter is very mild, but sometimes it can get cold at night. Spring, from March to May, is hot, especially in April and May, when the temperature can reach as high as 40 °C (104 °F); in addition, afternoon thunderstorms become more frequent. From June to mid-October, it's the monsoon season, with sufficient rainfall. The best times to visit the mountainous part of Bhutan are spring and autumn, particularly the two periods of March-April and mid-October to mid-November.