Bhutan National Day

People all across BHUTAN recently celebrated their country's National Day on Thursday, December 17th. Bhutan annually commemorates the occasion in 1907 when Ugyen Wangchuck became the first hereditary king. Happy belated National Day!

A government leader thought Bhutan and Nepal are part of India

The author of GeoFact of the Day would like to thank government leaders and personnel around the world for at least trying to learn more about the world around them. However, one such head of state allegedly mispronounced the names of BHUTAN and NEPAL in an intelligence briefing — but also said something that leaves geography nerds (like me) and international-relations wonks pulling their hair out! According to Politico (↗) based on two sources "with knowledge of the meeting," the U.S. President mispronounced Bhutan as something like "button," while Nepal was pronounced something like "nipple." Unfortunately, no recording of the incident is publicly available as far as I know. This leader also mispronounced NAMIBIA as "Nambia." I get it, sometimes countries have interesting names. When speaking, there is probably at least one countries' name that I am mispronouncing. However, the mispronunciation of Bhutan and Nepal as mentioned above is a far stretch in my opinion, and especially for a leader!

...But there's more (dun dun dun...)! According to John Wolcott's Time report (↗), the U.S. President thought that Bhutan and Nepal were entities within INDIA, rather than the separate and sovereign countries that they really are. OH THE HORROR!!! I have much respect for India, but as a proud geography whiz, hearing that a "world leader" thought Bhutan and Nepal were a part of another country rather than as their own is absolutely heart-wrenching! Nowadays, geographic information is thankfully at the fingertips for everyone with Internet and library access.

We make mistakes, so hopefully he can learn from these geographic mistakes and try better at learning more about other countries. Maybe GeoFact of the Day would be a great place for him to start (hint hint, wink wink), so at least he can sound smarter at his intelligence briefings! It feels strange knowing something that a world leader did not at the time, so maybe I will run for President one day!

Bhutan post (↗) ● Nepal post (↗) ● India post (↗) ● Namibia post (↗)

Bhutan Exports

The following produce and materials are major exports of BHUTAN: calcium carbide, cement, copper and copper wire, electricity to India, ferrosilicon, manganese, processed fruit, rice, root crops, and vegetable oil. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports in 2016 include India (top importer), Bangladesh, Nepal, the Netherlands, the United States, Japan, Germany, China, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, Italy, Zambia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Cabo Verde, and Colombia.

Bhutan Endangered Species

As of October 26th, 2014, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ lists eight critically endangered species and seventeen endangered species in BHUTAN, a small, mountainous Himalayan kingdom in South Asia. The eight critically endangered species of the IUCN Red List for Bhutan are the Baer's Pochard duck, Chinese Pangolin (a scaly mammal), Gharial crocodile, Red-headed Vulture, Sumatran Rhinoceros, White-bellied Heron, White-rumped Vulture, and Bazzania bhutanica liverwort. Being endemic to Bhutan, the Bazzanica bhutanica liverwort occupies less than 10 square kilometers of land. There are also thirteen species of which data collected about them is deficient.

Discover more about Bhutan! (link to my blog post)

Bhutan's Dzongkhags (Districts)

The tiny, Himalayan kingdom of BHUTAN in South-Central Asia has twenty districts, which are locally called dzongkhags. These are labeled on the map I made below with their names and the thicker blue borders. The districts are further divided into gewogs.  These gewogs are shown on the map by the thin light blue lines. For the map below, the shapefiles source comes from the website Global Admin. Areas.

GeoFact of the Day | Highest Point in Bhutan

The highest point in BHUTAN, a small, isolated, and landlocked Central Asian nation, is Kula Kangri. It stands 24,783 feet (7554 meters) tall on the northern border with China. Visit my Bhutan post to learn more about Bhutan!

Royal Wedding in Bhutan, 2011

In the News - PUNAKHA, Bhutan
Did you hear about the Bhutanese Royal Wedding that occurred last week — Thursday, Oct. 13th to be exact — in the town of Punakha? If you haven't, Bhutan's King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk, married Jetsun Pema. Pema is sometimes considered to be a "commoner". Compared to past Bhutanese weddings, this one was one wedding all Bhutanese people can celebrate regardless of socioeconomic status. Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15298438 (opens in new window)

A quick GeoFact of the Day: the capital of BHUTAN is Thimphu!

Currency of Bhutan

The currency of BHUTAN, a small, mountainous, and isolated nation in Southern Asia, is the Ngultrum. The ISO 4217 currency code is BTN. To learn more about Bhutan, visit my Bhutan post!

Bhutan

BHUTAN is a relatively small, landlocked country located in the Himalayan Mountains of Southern Asia. The mountain kingdom's total surface area is 47,700 square kilometers and 18,417 square miles. Bhutan is south of China and northeast of India. The capital and most-populated city of Bhutan is Thimphu, with a GeoFact of the Day Blog-estimated population of 92,000 (2016). Other communities include Chhukha, Damphu, Dzongsa, Gasa, Geylegphug, Ha, Jakar, Lingshi, Louri, Lhuntsi Dzong, Mongar, Paro, Pemagatsel, Phuntsholing, Punakha, Sakteng, Samchi, Samdrup Jongkhar, Sarbhang, Thunkar, Trashigang, Trongja, Wangdiphodrang (Wangdue Phodrang), and Zhemgang. The official language is Dzongkha, the main religion is Buddhism, the life expectancy is around 53 years, and the literacy rate is 42% (source: The Children's World Atlas. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004.). Bhutan's currency is the Ngultrum, and its ISO 4217 currency code is BTN.