Country or area · Southern Asia · Asia · UN WPP 2024

Bhutan population

Bhutan population now

803,584

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 745,113–861,445.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 786,385

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 802,207; 95% range, 31 Dec: 745,113–861,445
Median age: 32.0
Aged 65+: 6.8%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2052

male female projection · one cell = 200 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

BTN · 1950–2100 · in brief

Bhutan in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 786,385 people in Bhutan: the 167th-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and less than 0.01% of the world's people. That is 4.6 times its 1950 population of 170 thousand.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2052 at 884 thousand, then falling to 690 thousand by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 306 thousand to 1.5 million.

The medium projection has deaths passing births in 2052 and staying above them from then on.

The median age was 18.0 in 1950 and 30.4 in 2023; the projection has 50.7 in 2100. 6.4% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 32.3% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2041 at 632 thousand.

Its place in the world by population: 167th in 2023, 167th in 2050, 172nd in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Mauritius in 2078. It is overtaken by Western Sahara in 2075, Luxembourg in 2085 and Suriname in 2093.

Population, mid-2023: 786,385
Rank by population, 2023: 167 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: less than 0.01%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +0.70% · +5,471 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 21
Land area, 2023: 38,140 km²
Births, 2023: 9,958
Deaths, 2023: 4,805
Net migration, 2023: +291
Children per woman, 2023: 1.46
Median age, 2023: 30.4 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 73.0 years
In a city, 2025: 18 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 169,982
Projected, mid-2050: 882,340
Projected, mid-2100: 690,432

BTN · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2052estimates | projections0500 k1 m1.5 m2 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. One column is one year's population, read on 1 January; the paper rules divide it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Bhutan, 1950–2100

Bhutan: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	167,725		8,355	4,819	6.85	35.3
1951	estimate	172,239		8,571	4,918	6.82	35.3
1952	estimate	176,961		8,803	5,038	6.80	35.4
1953	estimate	181,799		9,045	5,164	6.79	35.4
1954	estimate	186,866		9,299	5,296	6.78	35.4
1955	estimate	192,040		9,554	5,426	6.76	35.5
1956	estimate	197,456		9,821	5,557	6.75	35.6
1957	estimate	203,015		10,084	5,684	6.74	35.8
1958	estimate	208,787		10,351	5,807	6.72	35.9
1959	estimate	214,728		10,627	5,924	6.71	36.1
1960	estimate	220,902		10,927	6,039	6.70	36.4
1961	estimate	227,266		11,230	6,148	6.70	36.6
1962	estimate	233,939		11,549	6,251	6.69	37.0
1963	estimate	241,332		11,914	6,363	6.69	37.4
1964	estimate	248,980		12,285	6,466	6.68	37.8
1965	estimate	256,994		12,675	6,565	6.68	38.3
1966	estimate	265,407		13,071	6,653	6.67	38.8
1967	estimate	274,233		13,475	6,732	6.67	39.4
1968	estimate	283,471		13,888	6,803	6.66	40.0
1969	estimate	293,151		14,308	6,873	6.66	40.6
1970	estimate	303,277		14,730	6,940	6.65	41.2
1971	estimate	313,779		15,160	6,998	6.64	41.8
1972	estimate	324,642		15,602	7,052	6.64	42.5
1973	estimate	335,886		16,046	7,106	6.63	43.1
1974	estimate	347,524		16,476	7,152	6.62	43.8
1975	estimate	359,551		16,961	7,186	6.62	44.5
1976	estimate	372,030		17,445	7,218	6.62	45.2
1977	estimate	384,951		17,926	7,246	6.61	46.0
1978	estimate	398,328		18,396	7,264	6.58	46.7
1979	estimate	412,158		18,854	7,271	6.55	47.5
1980	estimate	426,241		19,285	7,269	6.51	48.2
1981	estimate	440,567		19,695	7,251	6.46	49.0
1982	estimate	455,104		20,086	7,215	6.40	49.8
1983	estimate	469,866		20,461	7,177	6.34	50.5
1984	estimate	485,054		20,829	7,141	6.26	51.3
1985	estimate	500,515		21,171	7,109	6.18	52.0
1986	estimate	516,270		21,572	7,056	6.10	52.8
1987	estimate	532,379		21,881	6,995	6.00	53.6
1988	estimate	548,734		22,145	6,933	5.88	54.4
1989	estimate	565,237		22,390	6,874	5.76	55.1
1990	estimate	581,935		22,522	6,817	5.60	55.8
1991	estimate	596,639		22,547	6,747	5.45	56.5
1992	estimate	602,928		22,131	6,537	5.27	57.2
1993	estimate	552,620		19,674	5,759	5.07	57.9
1994	estimate	556,725		19,170	5,634	4.87	58.4
1995	estimate	552,270		18,249	5,311	4.62	59.3
1996	estimate	543,708		17,165	5,012	4.37	60.0
1997	estimate	553,859		16,568	4,901	4.09	60.6
1998	estimate	563,534		16,109	4,790	3.85	61.3
1999	estimate	575,336		15,632	4,692	3.61	62.0
2000	estimate	589,822		15,029	4,887	3.38	61.8
2001	estimate	603,904		14,577	4,673	3.19	63.3
2002	estimate	617,685		14,147	4,683	3.01	64.0
2003	estimate	631,132		13,841	4,710	2.87	64.7
2004	estimate	644,195		13,831	4,775	2.78	65.3
2005	estimate	656,894		13,975	4,873	2.73	65.9
2006	estimate	666,837		14,067	4,870	2.66	66.5
2007	estimate	674,762		14,112	4,790	2.59	67.2
2008	estimate	682,520		13,928	4,729	2.48	67.7
2009	estimate	690,183		13,631	4,717	2.36	68.2
2010	estimate	697,793		13,262	4,663	2.25	68.8
2011	estimate	705,471		12,928	4,646	2.15	69.3
2012	estimate	713,283		12,616	4,649	2.07	69.8
2013	estimate	721,276		12,376	4,687	2.00	70.2
2014	estimate	729,270		12,040	4,750	1.92	70.5
2015	estimate	737,009		11,595	4,834	1.83	70.8
2016	estimate	744,227		11,076	4,912	1.74	71.1
2017	estimate	751,505		10,379	5,011	1.62	71.4
2018	estimate	757,164		9,832	4,923	1.52	71.7
2019	estimate	762,354		9,500	4,856	1.45	72.0
2020	estimate	767,294		9,973	4,832	1.50	72.3
2021	estimate	772,718		9,997	4,834	1.49	72.5
2022	estimate	778,165		10,001	4,797	1.48	72.8
2023	estimate	783,664		9,958	4,805	1.46	73.0
2024	estimate	789,106		9,914	4,800	1.45	73.3
2025	projection	793,943	769,472–815,364	9,836	4,809	1.44	73.5
2026	projection	799,420	757,056–838,961	9,783	4,827	1.43	73.8
2027	projection	805,008	745,113–861,445	9,747	4,860	1.42	74.0
2028	projection	809,522	739,029–882,138	9,698	4,897	1.42	74.3
2029	projection	814,161	729,412–900,549	9,668	4,946	1.42	74.6
2030	projection	818,381	718,729–918,753	9,625	5,000	1.42	74.8
2031	projection	823,007	715,175–941,209	9,598	5,067	1.42	75.0
2032	projection	827,936	708,459–963,245	9,573	5,137	1.42	75.3
2033	projection	832,757	705,040–982,114	9,548	5,221	1.42	75.5
2034	projection	837,215	0.7–1.0 million	9,509	5,304	1.42	75.7
2035	projection	840,871	0.7–1.0 million	9,449	5,393	1.42	76.0
2036	projection	845,532	0.7–1.0 million	9,405	5,488	1.43	76.2
2037	projection	849,871	0.7–1.1 million	9,332	5,586	1.43	76.4
2038	projection	853,813	0.7–1.1 million	9,239	5,693	1.43	76.6
2039	projection	857,300	0.7–1.1 million	9,146	5,808	1.43	76.8
2040	projection	860,537	0.7–1.1 million	9,039	5,919	1.43	77.1
2041	projection	863,720	0.7–1.1 million	8,924	6,040	1.44	77.3
2042	projection	866,593	0.7–1.1 million	8,793	6,154	1.44	77.5
2043	projection	869,718	0.7–1.1 million	8,669	6,280	1.44	77.7
2044	projection	872,482	0.7–1.2 million	8,526	6,408	1.44	77.9
2045	projection	874,996	0.7–1.2 million	8,380	6,544	1.45	78.1
2046	projection	877,349	0.6–1.2 million	8,250	6,679	1.45	78.3
2047	projection	878,967	0.6–1.2 million	8,101	6,820	1.45	78.5
2048	projection	879,944	0.6–1.2 million	7,951	6,962	1.45	78.7
2049	projection	881,037	0.6–1.2 million	7,828	7,112	1.46	78.9
2050	projection	881,833	0.6–1.2 million	7,713	7,266	1.46	79.1
2051	projection	882,846	0.6–1.2 million	7,617	7,422	1.46	79.3
2052	projection	883,932	0.6–1.2 million	7,539	7,585	1.46	79.5
2053	projection	883,812	0.6–1.2 million	7,466	7,748	1.47	79.7
2054	projection	883,197	0.6–1.3 million	7,405	7,922	1.47	79.8
2055	projection	883,696	0.6–1.3 million	7,379	8,098	1.47	80.0
2056	projection	883,116	0.6–1.3 million	7,345	8,273	1.48	80.2
2057	projection	881,910	0.6–1.3 million	7,306	8,454	1.48	80.4
2058	projection	881,813	0.6–1.3 million	7,296	8,644	1.48	80.6
2059	projection	880,493	0.6–1.3 million	7,282	8,832	1.48	80.8
2060	projection	879,219	0.6–1.3 million	7,251	9,016	1.48	81.0
2061	projection	877,335	0.6–1.3 million	7,220	9,202	1.48	81.2
2062	projection	875,257	0.6–1.3 million	7,194	9,402	1.48	81.3
2063	projection	872,999	0.6–1.3 million	7,171	9,597	1.48	81.5
2064	projection	871,066	0.6–1.3 million	7,151	9,784	1.49	81.7
2065	projection	868,855	0.6–1.3 million	7,119	9,977	1.49	81.9
2066	projection	865,608	0.5–1.4 million	7,078	10,178	1.49	82.0
2067	projection	862,112	0.5–1.4 million	7,026	10,359	1.49	82.2
2068	projection	858,696	0.5–1.4 million	6,986	10,547	1.49	82.4
2069	projection	855,188	0.5–1.4 million	6,934	10,719	1.49	82.5
2070	projection	851,322	0.5–1.4 million	6,882	10,881	1.49	82.7
2071	projection	847,665	0.5–1.4 million	6,825	11,055	1.49	82.9
2072	projection	843,278	0.5–1.4 million	6,751	11,205	1.49	83.0
2073	projection	838,639	0.5–1.4 million	6,674	11,339	1.49	83.2
2074	projection	833,464	0.5–1.4 million	6,599	11,470	1.50	83.4
2075	projection	828,270	0.5–1.4 million	6,522	11,582	1.50	83.5
2076	projection	823,455	0.5–1.4 million	6,450	11,673	1.50	83.7
2077	projection	818,739	0.5–1.4 million	6,377	11,761	1.50	83.8
2078	projection	814,036	0.4–1.5 million	6,309	11,821	1.50	84.0
2079	projection	808,583	0.4–1.5 million	6,239	11,861	1.50	84.1
2080	projection	802,815	0.4–1.5 million	6,171	11,886	1.51	84.3
2081	projection	797,088	0.4–1.4 million	6,110	11,890	1.51	84.4
2082	projection	791,119	0.4–1.5 million	6,038	11,879	1.51	84.6
2083	projection	785,522	0.4–1.5 million	5,980	11,850	1.51	84.7
2084	projection	779,504	0.4–1.5 million	5,922	11,800	1.51	84.8
2085	projection	774,064	0.4–1.5 million	5,881	11,755	1.51	85.0
2086	projection	768,529	0.4–1.5 million	5,850	11,688	1.52	85.1
2087	projection	762,898	0.4–1.5 million	5,810	11,612	1.52	85.3
2088	projection	756,619	0.4–1.5 million	5,777	11,529	1.52	85.4
2089	projection	750,710	0.4–1.5 million	5,743	11,438	1.52	85.5
2090	projection	744,656	0.4–1.5 million	5,703	11,357	1.52	85.7
2091	projection	738,811	0.4–1.5 million	5,677	11,269	1.52	85.8
2092	projection	732,830	0.3–1.5 million	5,643	11,173	1.52	85.9
2093	projection	727,272	0.3–1.5 million	5,611	11,080	1.52	86.1
2094	projection	722,189	0.3–1.5 million	5,601	10,984	1.53	86.2
2095	projection	716,956	0.3–1.5 million	5,586	10,900	1.53	86.3
2096	projection	711,750	0.3–1.5 million	5,558	10,809	1.53	86.4
2097	projection	707,064	0.3–1.5 million	5,539	10,711	1.53	86.6
2098	projection	702,303	0.3–1.5 million	5,512	10,605	1.53	86.7
2099	projection	697,845	0.3–1.5 million	5,485	10,507	1.53	86.8
2100	projection	692,983	0.3–1.5 million	5,456	10,399	1.53	86.9

Show the numbers: Bhutan, mid-2026, by single year of age

Bhutan: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	4,945	4,727
1	4,964	4,744
2	4,985	4,762
3	4,999	4,778
4	5,003	4,783
5	4,990	4,772
6	4,860	4,649
7	4,818	4,610
8	5,029	4,815
9	5,566	5,125
10	5,932	5,336
11	6,086	5,562
12	6,434	5,900
13	6,687	6,104
14	6,802	6,166
15	6,822	6,158
16	6,810	6,150
17	6,820	6,183
18	6,922	6,312
19	7,142	6,550
20	7,416	6,838
21	7,628	7,073
22	7,724	7,195
23	7,717	7,196
24	7,652	7,116
25	7,594	7,004
26	7,582	6,870
27	7,623	6,724
28	7,742	6,616
29	7,982	6,602
30	8,316	6,691
31	8,664	6,827
32	8,976	6,962
33	9,192	7,099
34	9,283	7,222
35	9,258	7,290
36	9,107	7,268
37	8,875	7,131
38	8,582	6,870
39	8,236	6,556
40	7,870	6,264
41	7,462	5,982
42	7,108	5,725
43	6,859	5,536
44	6,657	5,391
45	6,501	5,271
46	6,284	5,136
47	5,982	4,930
48	5,653	4,640
49	5,296	4,306
50	4,947	3,998
51	4,605	3,732
52	4,334	3,533
53	4,156	3,411
54	4,004	3,316
55	3,886	3,248
56	3,766	3,197
57	3,627	3,138
58	3,498	3,057
59	3,338	2,926
60	3,140	2,762
61	2,922	2,590
62	2,724	2,452
63	2,568	2,360
64	2,434	2,280
65	2,316	2,195
66	2,204	2,105
67	2,104	2,032
68	2,018	1,984
69	1,924	1,926
70	1,812	1,838
71	1,672	1,708
72	1,524	1,558
73	1,393	1,417
74	1,269	1,286
75	1,146	1,164
76	1,022	1,050
77	910	948
78	812	861
79	726	784
80	651	716
81	577	648
82	504	578
83	436	508
84	368	432
85	303	362
86	248	299
87	202	248
88	164	206
89	128	167
90	98	132
91	74	104
92	55	80
93	40	60
94	29	44
95	19	31
96	12	20
97	8	13
98	5	8
99	3	5
100+	4	7

BTN · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Bhutan, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

BTN · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Bhutan

On the UN's projection, Bhutan will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2041: 632,284 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 567,532.

100 aged 15–64

30 children

9 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 42 years: 2013–2054.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: 1950 on the left, 2100 on the right; coloured in the years with fewer than 50 dependants per 100 working-age people, grey in the rest, hatched where that is a projection.

How every country compares

BTN · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Bhutan, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Bhutan gains 194 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 234 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 50 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

In the years that were counted, 1950–2023, the most it gained in one year was 3,996 (2002) and the most it lost was 65,900 (1992).

In 2024, 55,705 people living in Bhutan had been born in another country, 7 of every 100 people there, against 4 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

BTN · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Bhutan

Of every 100 babies born in Bhutan in 2023, 3 had a mother under 20, 79 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 18 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 12 under 20 and 13 aged 35 or older.

1950
12 · 75 · 13

2023
3 · 79 · 18

2050 · projected
1 · 73 · 26

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 9,958
Average age when women have a baby: 29.9 years; 28.5 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 9; 118 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Bhutan by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	17	33	65	1	0	0
15–19	991	1,890	1,879	312	60	31
20–24	2,693	5,235	4,977	1,989	781	461
25–29	2,278	4,704	4,035	3,071	2,216	1,579
30–34	1,333	2,845	2,291	2,780	2,630	2,077
35–39	709	1,534	1,202	1,356	1,565	1,050
40–44	253	550	437	392	409	236
45–49	76	161	135	55	50	21
50–54	5	9	8	2	2	1
All babies	8,355	16,961	15,029	9,958	7,713	5,456

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

BTN · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Bhutan

In Bhutan, WHO puts the healthy years a newborn could expect in 2021 at 64.8 (95% range 64.0–65.6), out of 74.9 in all. The years in less than full health come to 10.1, above the world's 9.5.

Women

64.6 in full health, 11.3 not: 75.9 years

Men

65.0 in full health, 8.9 not: 73.9 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 64.6 healthy years of 75.9. Men: 65.0 of 73.9.

BTN · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Bhutan

UNHCR publishes no refugees, asylum-seekers or displaced people in or from Bhutan at the end of 2025.

That is an absence from the record rather than a measurement. This count covers the people one agency works with, and a country it does not work in is simply not in it.

In 2025, 66 people from Bhutan asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

BTN · of every 100 people

How people live in Bhutan

Of every 100 people in Bhutan in 2025, 18 lived in a city, 15 in a town or suburb and 67 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 8.7 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every 100th person, coloured by where they live, as the key says. The same rule is used in every country.

How the world's people live

BTN · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Bhutan went in school

Of every 100 adults in Bhutan in 2020, 46 never went to school and 16 finished upper secondary or went further.

46 never went to school 16 some primary 1 finished primary 21 finished lower secondary 5 finished upper secondary 11 studied after school

The young went further: 23.6 of every 100 women aged 25–29 never went to school, against 91.4 of every 100 aged 60–64 (men: 19.6 against 61.7).

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2040; those among them who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2065.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

BTN · cities · 2025

Cities in Bhutan

Bhutan had 2 cities in 2025, home to 142,777 people.

Phuntsholing77,299
Thimphu65,478

How to read this: the 2 biggest cities here in 2025, drawn on a single scale so the bars can be compared. Each is a built-up area on the UN's rule rather than a city government's patch.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Bhutan are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.