Elevation extremes: lowest point: Dangme Chu 97 m highest point: Khula Kangri I 7,553 m

Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbide

Land use: arable land: 2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures : 6% forests and woodland: 66% other: 26% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 340 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season

Environment - current issues: soil erosion; limited access to potable water

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified : Law of the Sea

Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location between China and
India; controls several key Himalayan mountain passes

@Bhutan:People

Population: 1,865,191 (July 1997 est.) note: other estimates range as low as 600,000