# Bhutan and China compared

Bhutan and China side by side: 40 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 1 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/btn-vs-chn
Updated: 2026-08-11 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Bhutan: 1616 — Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal establishes his base in western Bhutan
- China: 221 BCE — Qin Shi Huang completes the unification of China

## Economy

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $3.0 B | 2023 | $18.74 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $3,831 | 2023 | $13,303 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 4.6% | 2023 | 5.0% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.8% | 2024 | 0.2% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 81.7% | 2023 | 37.2% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 792,000 | 2024 | 1.41 bn | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 73.3 yrs | 2024 | 78.0 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 42.6% | 2024 | 65.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.0 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 63.9 | 2024 | 27.9 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 89.0 | 2024 | 63.3 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 62.6 | 2024 | 68.8 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 53.4 | 2024 | 53.7 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 70.6 | 2024 | 47.0 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 77.7 | 2024 | 49.6 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.4% | 2023 | 5.9% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.55 | 2022 | 3.11 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 17.2 | 2024 | 5.7 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 95.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 65.6% | 2024 | — | — |

## Education

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 64.9% | 2022 | 96.7% | 2020 |
| Education spending | 5.8% | 2023 | 3.9% | 2023 |
| Primary enrolment | 114.9% | 2024 | 99.6% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 86.2% | 2024 | 92.3% | 2012 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 13.0% | 2024 | 76.9% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 236 | 2024 | 2,107 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 91.3% | 2024 | 91.6% | 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 100 | 2024 | 132 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 0.0% | 2023 | 26.3% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 38,140 km² | 2023 | 9,388,210 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 71.6% | 2023 | 24.0% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 13.8% | 2023 | 55.4% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.0 | 2024 | 9.3 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 82.5% | 2022 | 15.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 2.7% | 2021 | 1.7% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.5% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 2.7% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 1.8 Mt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 290 Mt | 2025 |
| Gold (mined) | — | — | 380 t | 2025 |
| Lithium (mined) | — | — | 62.0 kt | 2025 |
| Cobalt (mined) | — | — | 2,000 t | 2025 |
| Nickel (mined) | — | — | 120 kt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 270 kt | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 87 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 4.1 Mt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 110 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | China | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed forces | 6,000 | 2000 | 2.5 m | 2020 |
| Military burden | — | — | 1.7% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | — | — | $314 B | 2024 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/BTN.md and https://terralore.co/country/CHN.md.

## Entangled histories (1 event)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 1720: **A Chinese imperial army enters Bhutan** — Qing forces invade and briefly establish control — the first of three outside powers to reach into the valleys within two centuries. (from the Bhutan chronicle; sources: Bhutan country profile)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/BTN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/CHN/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Bhutan and China compared", terralore.co/compare/btn-vs-chn, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.