# Bhutan and India compared

Bhutan and India side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/btn-vs-ind
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
- India: c. 320 BCE — Chandragupta Maurya founds the Maurya Empire

## Economy

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $3.0 B | 2023 | $3.91 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $3,831 | 2023 | $2,695 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 4.6% | 2023 | 6.5% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 2.8% | 2024 | 5.0% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 81.7% | 2023 | 44.6% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 792,000 | 2024 | 1.45 bn | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 73.3 yrs | 2024 | 72.2 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 42.6% | 2024 | 35.4% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 2.0 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 63.9 | 2024 | 55.5 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 89.0 | 2024 | 52.5 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 62.6 | 2024 | 59.2 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 53.4 | 2024 | 53.3 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 70.6 | 2024 | 56.3 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 77.7 | 2024 | 41.9 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 4.4% | 2023 | 3.3% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 0.55 | 2022 | 0.72 | 2020 |
| Under-5 mortality | 17.2 | 2024 | 26.6 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 65.6% | 2024 | 76.4% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 64.9% | 2022 | 78.2% | 2024 |
| Education spending | 5.8% | 2023 | 4.1% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 114.9% | 2024 | 111.0% | 2025 |
| Secondary enrolment | 86.2% | 2024 | 79.6% | 2025 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 13.0% | 2024 | 34.4% | 2025 |

## Technology

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.1% | 2024 | 0.6% | 2020 |
| Researchers (per million) | 236 | 2024 | 259 | 2020 |
| Internet users | 91.3% | 2024 | 70.0% | 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 100 | 2024 | 79 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 0.0% | 2023 | 18.6% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 38,140 km² | 2023 | 2,973,190 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 71.6% | 2023 | 24.5% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 13.8% | 2023 | 60.1% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 2.0 | 2024 | 2.2 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 82.5% | 2022 | 34.9% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 2.7% | 2021 | 3.2% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 1.3% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 2.7% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 99.5% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | — | — | 23.0 kt | 2025 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 310 Mt | 2025 |
| Rare earths | — | — | 2,900 t | 2025 |
| Bauxite | — | — | 25 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 870 kt | 2025 |
| Phosphate rock | — | — | 1.5 Mt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Bhutan | Observed | India | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed forces | 6,000 | 2000 | 3.1 m | 2020 |
| Military burden | — | — | 2.3% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | — | — | $86 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/IND.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

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.

- 1864–1865: **The Duar War with British India** — After a failed British mission and disputes over the southern duars, Britain and Bhutan fight a five-month war that ends in Bhutanese defeat. (from the Bhutan chronicle; sources: Bhutan — History; Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies)
- 11 Nov 1865: **Treaty of Sinchula** — Bhutan cedes the Bengal and Assam duars to British India in exchange for an annual subsidy, fixing its modern southern border and binding it to the Raj. (from the Bhutan chronicle; sources: Bhutan — History; Nepal and Bhutan: Country Studies)
- 1949: **The treaty with independent India** — Delhi guarantees non-interference in Bhutan's internal affairs while retaining influence over its foreign relations — the terms of British Punakha, inherited by a new republic. (from the Bhutan chronicle; sources: Bhutan country profile)
- 2007: **The treaty with India revised** — A new agreement gives Bhutan more say over its own foreign and defence policy, loosening a constraint carried from 1910 through 1949. (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/IND/chronicle.md.

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