Elevation extremes: lowest point: Drangme Chhu 97 m highest point: Kula Kangri 7,553 m
Natural resources: timber, hydropower, gypsum, calcium carbonate
Land use: arable land: 2.3% permanent crops: 0.43% other: 97.27% (2005)
Irrigated land:
400 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
violent storms 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, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
landlocked; strategic location between China and India; controls
several key Himalayan mountain passes
People Bhutan
Population: 2,279,723 note: other estimates range as low as 810,000 (July 2006 est.)