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.
Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 54 of 193 member states of the United Nations and the European Union. Bhutan's limited number of such relations,including the absence of formal relations with any of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council,is part of a deliberate isolationist policy of limiting foreign influence in the state. This stance has been safeguarded by close relations with India,of which Bhutan has previously been considered a protected state.
Bhutan,officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,is a landlocked country in South Asia situated in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the north and India in the south. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of 38,394 square kilometres (14,824 sq mi),Bhutan ranks 133rd in land area and 160th in population. Bhutan is a constitutional monarchy with a king as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. Vajrayana Buddhism is the state religion and the Je Khenpo is the head of the state religion.
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the Druk Gyalpo,the monarch of the Kingdom of Bhutan. After his father Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne,he became the monarch on 9 December 2006. A public coronation ceremony was held on 6 November 2008,a year that marked 100 years of monarchy in Bhutan.
The Catholic Church in Bhutan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church,under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. The Kingdom of Bhutan falls under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Darjeeling (India).
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"),a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens who fled or were deported from Bhutan during the protest against the Bhutanese government by some of the Lhotshampas demanding human rights and democracy in Bhutan. As Nepal and Bhutan have yet to implement an agreement on repatriation,most Bhutanese refugees have since resettled to North America,Oceania and Europe under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Many Lhotshampa also migrated to areas of West Bengal and Assam in India independently of the UNHCR.
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. Bhutan was ranked 13th most electoral democratic country in Asia according to V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 with a score of 0.535 out of 1.
The National Council is the upper house of Bhutan's bicameral Parliament,which also comprises the Druk Gyalpo and the National Assembly.
The National Assembly is the elected lower house of Bhutan's bicameral Parliament which also comprises the Druk Gyalpo and the National Council.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bhutan:
The law of Bhutan derives mainly from legislation and treaties. Prior to the enactment of the Constitution,laws were enacted by fiat of the King of Bhutan. The law of Bhutan originates in the semi-theocratic Tsa Yig legal code,and was heavily influenced through the twentieth century by English common law. As Bhutan democratizes,its government has examined many countries' legal systems and modeled its reforms after their laws.
The Druk Gyalpo is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language,Bhutan is known as Drukyul which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus,while kings of Bhutan are known as Druk Gyalpo,the Bhutanese people call themselves the Drukpa,meaning "people of Druk (Bhutan)".
The Constitution of Bhutan was enacted 18 July 2008 by the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Constitution was thoroughly planned by several government officers and agencies over a period of almost seven years amid increasing democratic reforms in Bhutan. The current Constitution is based on Buddhist philosophy,international Conventions on Human Rights,comparative analysis of 20 other modern constitutions,public opinion,and existing laws,authorities,and precedents. According to Princess Sonam Wangchuck,the constitutional committee was particularly influenced by the Constitution of South Africa because of its strong protection of human rights.
The Bhutan–China border is the international boundary between Bhutan and Tibet,China,running for 477 km (296 mi) through the Himalayas between the two tripoints with India.
Dasho Tshering Wangchuk is a Bhutanese jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bhutan from 2014 to 2019. In 2018,Wanghuck served as the interim Head of Government of Bhutan,when serving as the Chief Advisor of the Interim Government,following the dissolution of the Bhutanese National Assembly in preparation of elections.
Lotay Tshering is a Bhutanese politician and surgeon who was the prime minister of Bhutan,in office from 7 November 2018 to 1 November 2023. He has also been the president of Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa since 14 May 2018.
Wangchuk Namgyel is a Bhutanese educationist and politician who is the current speaker of the National Assembly of Bhutan,in office since November 2018. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan,since October 2018.
Kuenga Loday is a Bhutanese politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan from October 2018 to November 2021.
