8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Asia / Southern Asia

Born in Bhutan

About 1 in 13,211 people born in 2023 started life in Bhutan. A boy can expect to live 71 years and a girl 75, up from 34 and 36 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 13,211
odds of being born here
10,000 births · Ranked 169th of 230
71 / 75
years of life, boys / girls
Was 34 / 36 in 1950
$7,108
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 95th of 203 · extrapolated
42%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 38 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 326 in every 1,000 births to 23.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth71.3 years for boys, 75.0 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 522.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year5,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.6World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles99%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.2%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year179 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.8 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.5, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.46UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 37 and the poorest fifth 9.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2022
9%Poorest fifth
13%Second
18%Middle
23%Fourth
37%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $7,108 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth37% / 9% (2022)World Bank PIP
Unemployment3.1% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises4.2% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.9% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming44% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed70% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment87% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Thimphu, with 98,676 people.

42%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
99%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Thimphu98,676
Phuntsholing27,658
Tsirang22,376
Punākha21,500
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Dzongkha47%
Nepali17%
English11%
Dzongkha is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Thimphu District98,676
Chukha27,658
Tsirang District22,376
Punakha21,500

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

People on the move

About 8.4% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Nepal, Australia, India.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Nepal26,552
Australia25,363
India6,555
Residents born abroad7.0% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 8.4% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostNepal (26,552), Australia (25,363), India (6,555)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $109.6 million a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

19% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

19%
of older people receive a pension (2019)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 202421Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501; the deadliest, in 2009, killed about 11 people (magnitude 6.1)NOAA NCEI

Now live it.

Born in Bhutan, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Bhutan

Elsewhere in Asia

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences