Districts of Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts (Dzongkha: dzongkhags). Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia.[1]
Dzongkhags are the primary
As of the 2017 census, Thimphu is the most populous dzongkhag, with 138,736 residents; Gasa is the least populous, with 3,952 residents. Thimphu is the most densely populated, with 67.1 people per square kilometre (174/sq mi), whereas Gasa is the least densely populated, with 1.3 people per square kilometre (3.4/sq mi). The largest dzongkhag by land area is Wangdue Phodrang, encompassing 4,308 km2 (1,663 sq mi), while the smallest is Tsirang, encompassing 639 km2 (247 sq mi).[6]
History
Medieval Bhutan
At the direction of the fourth
Four dzongdeys (zones) were established in 1988 and 1989: Zone I, including four western districts, seated at
Under the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim (District Development Council Act) of 2002, a dzongdag (administrator), assisted by a dzongrab (deputy district collector), carry out administrative activities, while the DYT coordinates all developmental activities within the dzongkhag. Each DYT includes representatives of the municipalities and the towns within the dzongkhag, who elect a chairperson from among themselves. The DYTs also had non-voting members, which included the dzongdag, the dungpa (dungkhag (sub-district) head) (where a dungkhag exists) and the dzongkhag officials from various sectors such as the chief engineer, and the planning, finance, education, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and health officers.[14][non-primary source needed]
The Constitution of 2008 laid basic provisions for an elected dzongkhag tshogdu and dzongkhag courts in each dzongkhag.[3][non-primary source needed] The Local Government Act of 2009 further codified the election process of dzongkhag tshogdu, the appointment process of dzongkdag, and the role of dzongkhag courts within the judicial system of Bhutan. It also repealed all previous acts and laws regarding local governments, including the Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim of 2002.[2][non-primary source needed]
Political structure
Under the
Dzongkhags
Name | Population (2017)[A][6] |
Population (2005)[15][6] |
Change | Land area (km2)[6] | Population density[6] | Number of National Assembly representatives[B][16] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bumthang | 17,820 | 16,116 | +10.6% | 2,717 | 6.6/km2 | 2 |
Chukha[C] | 68,966 | 74,387 | −7.3% | 1,880 | 36.7/km2 | 2 |
Dagana | 24,965 | 18,222 | +37.0% | 1,723 | 14.5/km2 | 2 |
Gasa | 3,952 | 3,116 | +26.8% | 3,118 | 1.3/km2 | 2 |
Haa | 13,655 | 11,648 | +17.2% | 1,905 | 7.2/km2 | 2 |
Lhuntse[D] | 14,437 | 15,395 | −6.2% | 1,944 | 7.4/km2 | 2 |
Mongar[E] | 37,150 | 37,069 | +0.2% | 2,859 | 13.0/km2 | 3 |
Paro | 46,316 | 36,433 | +27.1% | 1,293 | 35.8/km2 | 2 |
Pemagatshel[F] | 23,632 | 13,864 | +70.5% | 1,030 | 22.9/km2 | 3 |
Punakha | 28,740 | 17,715 | +62.2% | 1,110 | 25.9/km2 | 2 |
Samdrup Jongkhar[G] | 35,079 | 39,961 | −12.2% | 1,878 | 18.7/km2 | 2 |
Samtse | 62,590 | 60,100 | +4.1% | 1,305 | 48.0/km2 | 4 |
Sarpang | 46,004 | 41,549 | +10.7% | 1,946 | 23.6/km2 | 2 |
Thimphu | 138,736 | 98,676 | +40.6% | 2,067 | 67.1/km2 | 2 |
Trashigang | 45,518 | 51,134 | −11.0% | 3,066 | 14.8/km2 | 5 |
Trashiyangtse[H] | 17,300 | 17,740 | −2.5% | 1,438 | 12.0/km2 | 2 |
Trongsa | 19,960 | 13,419 | +48.7% | 1,807 | 11.0/km2 | 2 |
Tsirang | 22,376 | 18,667 | +19.9% | 639 | 35.0/km2 | 2 |
Wangdue Phodrang[I] | 42,186 | 31,135 | +35.5% | 4,308 | 9.8/km2 | 2 |
Zhemgang | 17,763 | 18,636 | −4.7% | 2,421 | 7.3/km2 | 2 |
Bhutan | 727,145 | 634,982 | +14.5% | 38,394 | 18.9/km2 | 47 |
See also
Notes
Footnotes
- ^ All data is taken from the 2017 Population and Housing Census of Bhutan.
- ^ Each dzongkhag is entitled to at least two, but no more than seven National Assembly constituencies. Currently, the number of National Assembly constituencies is 47. Each dzongkhag is also entitled to one National Council constituency.[5]
- ^ Also spelled as "Chhukha"[17]
- ^ Also spelled as "Lhuentse"[18]
- ^ Also spelled as "Monggar".[6]
- ^ Also spelled as "Pema Gatshel"[19]
- ^ Also spelled as "Samdrupjongkhar"[20]
- ^ Also spelled as "Trashi Yangtse"[21]
- ^ Also spelled as "Wangduephodrang"[22]
References
- ^ "Geography of Bhutan". Government of Bhutan. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26.
- ^ Government of Bhutan. 2009-09-11. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ a b c "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2008. pp. 39–46. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
- ^ "Justices of Bhutan". Royal Court of Justice, Bhutan. Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
- ^ a b "Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2008" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ a b c d e f "Population and Housing Census of 2017 (National Report)" (PDF). National Statistics Bureau. 2018-06-26. p. 102. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- OCLC 477284586.
- ^ Ardussi, John; Ura, Karma (Winter 2000). "Population and Governance in the mid-18th Century Bhutan, as Revealed in the Enthronement Record of Thugs-sprul 'Jigs med grags pa I (1725-1761)" (PDF). Journal of Bhutan Studies. 2 (2): 39–84. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
- ^ ISBN 978-8184003116.
- LCCN 2016948217. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2019-06-09.
- ISBN 9789351502593.
- (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
- ISBN 9781857430387.
- ^ "Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim 2002" (PDF). Government of Bhutan. 2002-07-23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
- ^ "Results of the 2005 Population and Housing Census of Bhutan" (PDF). National Statistics Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
- ^ "Constituency List". National Assembly of Bhutan. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
- ^ Dorji, Tshering (2018-02-05). "Chukha export tariff revised by 30 Cheltrum a unit". Kuensel. Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
- ^ Tshomo, Dechen (2018-10-08). "Number of home stays increasing". Kuensel. Archived from the original on 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ Wangchuk, Kelzang (2018-10-22). "Election results from Pemagatshel". Kuensel. Archived from the original on 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ "Samdrupjongkhar police arrests three for alleged murder". Kuensel. 2019-06-13. Archived from the original on 2019-06-14. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ Tshedup, Younten (2019-02-05). "A tough year for Trashigang and Trashiyangtse". Kuensel. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
- ^ Dema, Tashi (2019-02-27). "Windstorm damages structures in three dzongkhags". Kuensel. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-06-18.
External links
- Dzongkhag of Bhutan Archived 2016-11-26 at the Wayback Machine