Bhutan

Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a sovereign state in South Asia. A landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan borders the People's Republic of China to the north and India to the south, east and west. To the west, it is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim; and further south it is separated from Bangladesh by the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. Bhutan's capital and largest city is Thimphu.

Along with Mongolia, Bhutan is one of two countries where the Vajrayana sect of Buddhism is dominant. The King of Bhutan is known as the Druk Gyalpo, meaning the "Thunder Dragon King". The country's landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan mountains in the north, where there are peaks in excess of 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). The highest mountain in Bhutan is the Gangkhar Puensum.

Bhutan enjoyed strong cultural links with Tibet and was located on the Silk Road between China and the Indian subcontinent. Its territory was composed of minor warring fiefs until the early 17th century. At the time the lama and military leader Ngawang Namgyal, the first Zhabdrung Rinpoche, unified the area and cultivated a distinct Bhutanese identity. In the early 20th century, Bhutan established relations with the British Empire. During the rise of Chinese communism and its spread to Tibet, Bhutan signed a friendship treaty with newly independent India in 1949. The country departed from its historic isolation under the fourth Druk Gyalpo. In 2008, Bhutan transitioned from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and held its first general election. During the same year, the throne passed to the fifth Druk Gyalpo. Bhutanese democracy has evolved with a bicameral parliament.

A member of the United Nations, Bhutan has diplomatic relations with 52 countries and the European Union. It has a close strategic partnership with neighboring India and is a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is also a member of BIMSTEC and the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal Initiative. The economy of Bhutan depends greatly on hydropower exports. Tourism, mining and fruit production are other key sectors of the economy. Bhutan's per capita income is the second-highest in SAARC after the Maldives.