Thimphu is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's dzongkhags, the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city of Punakha was replaced by Thimphu as capital in 1955, and in 1961 Thimphu was declared as the capital of the Kingdom of Bhutan by the 3rd Druk Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
Haa District is one of the 20 dzongkhag or districts comprising Bhutan. An alternative name for the district is "Hidden-Land Rice Valley." It the second least-populated dzongkhag in the country after Gasa.
The music of Bhutan is an integral part of its culture and plays a leading role in transmitting social values. Traditional Bhutanese music includes a spectrum of subgenres, ranging from folk to religious song and music. Some genres of traditional Bhutanese music intertwine vocals, instrumentation, and theatre and dance, while others are mainly vocal or instrumental. The much older traditional genres are distinguished from modern popular music such as rigsar.
The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts. Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia.
Gross National Happiness, sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. Gross National Happiness Index is instituted as the goal of the government of Bhutan in the Constitution of Bhutan, enacted on 18 July 2008.
Drukair Corporation Limited, operating as Drukair — Royal Bhutan Airlines, is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bhutan, headquartered in the western dzongkhag of Paro.
The various mass media in Bhutan have historically been government-controlled, although this has changed in recent years. The country has its own newspapers, television and radio broadcasters and Internet Service Providers.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Bhutan face legal challenges that are not faced by non-LGBT people. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in Bhutan on 17 February 2021.
The development of Bhutanese democracy has been marked by the active encouragement and participation of reigning Bhutanese monarchs since the 1950s, beginning with legal reforms such as the abolition of slavery, and culminating in the enactment of Bhutan's Constitution. The first democratic elections in Bhutan began in 2007, and all levels of government had been democratically elected by 2011. These elections included Bhutan's first ever partisan National Assembly election. Democratization in Bhutan has been marred somewhat by the intervening large-scale expulsion and flight of Bhutanese refugees during the 1990s; the subject remains somewhat taboo in Bhutanese politics.
Kunzang Choden is a Bhutanese writer. She is the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English.
The Tobacco Control Act of Bhutan was enacted by the Parliament of Bhutan on 6 June 2010 and came into force on 16 June. It regulates tobacco and tobacco products, banning the cultivation, harvesting, production, and sale of tobacco and tobacco products in Bhutan. The act also mandates that the government of Bhutan provide counselling and treatment to facilitate tobacco cessation. Premised on the physical health and well being of the Bhutanese people – important elements of Gross National Happiness – the Tobacco Control Act recognizes the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke on both spiritual and social health.
Football is a sport with a comparatively brief history in Bhutan, having had an initial period of favour in the mid-twentieth century, when it was first introduced to the country by visiting teachers from India and Europe. It has only achieved significantly renewed popularity in the early 2000s, following the advent of satellite television broadcasting, with historically national sport being archery. Consequently, the domestic game was underdeveloped. After the establishment of an initial league in the late 1980s, little in the way of recorded competition took place until the mid-1990s when a formal championship, the A-Division, was created. Football became the most popular sport in Bhutan.
Prostitution is illegal in Bhutan but in many of Bhutan's border towns there are people openly practising in the sex trade. Prostitution mainly occurs in bars, clubs and hotels. Some of the sex workers are employed by bar and hotel owners to attract customers. Prostitution also occurs in the capital, Thimphu.
Archery in Bhutan is the national sport of the Kingdom. Archery was declared the national sport in 1971, when Bhutan became a member of the United Nations. Since then, the popularity of Bhutanese archery has increased both inside and outside Bhutan, with a measure of government promotion. Bhutan also maintains an Olympic archery team. Previously, competitions were held only at dzongkhag and gewog levels, however modernly, archery tournaments and competitions are held throughout the country. Archery is played during religious and secular public holidays in Bhutan, local festivals (tsechu), between public ministries and departments, and between the dzonkhag and the regional teams. Archery tournaments and performances have also become a significant point of interest for tourism in Bhutan.
Sports in Bhutan comprise both traditional Bhutanese and modern international games. Archery is the national sport in Bhutan. Competitions are held regularly in most villages. Other traditional Bhutanese sports include khuru, soksom, pundo and digor.
The cinema of Bhutan is a small but emerging industry, having started in the mid-1990s. It has since been supported by government officials and different businesses.
Bhutanese animation is a relatively new industry in Bhutan. Local animations have been primarily used for public awareness campaigns about relevant social, economical, and political issues or as a means to promote local culture. Bhutanese animators and clients view the use of animation in public awareness as more effective than brochures and pamphlets. Ap Naka is an example of a Bhutanese animated public awareness video which seeks to educate people on earthquake preparedness.
Dorji is a Tibetan and Bhutanese given name and surname.
The Bhutan Centre for Media and Democracy (BCMD) is the first Civil Society Organisation in Bhutan. It was launched in 2008 coinciding with the country's first government elections, which heralded a new era of self-governance following the abdication of the fourth king of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. At the same time, the media landscape saw the arrival of new private newspapers and radio stations, as well as social media via mobile telephones and the Internet. The stated mission of BCMD is to "nurture democracy in Bhutan through civic engagement, public discourse and media literate citizens".
The Bhutan Media Foundation is a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) established under Royal Charter and with seed funding from His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in Thimphu on 21 February 2010. The charter was collectively written by media professionals. An editorial in Bhutan Today, described the CSO as "a beacon of hope" in developing a professional media industry.
