Asian Development Bank and Bhutan: Fact Sheet
Asian Development Bank | July 2006
Abstract
Updated yearly, this ADB Fact Sheet provides social and economic indicators on Bhutan as well as concise information on ADB's operations in the country and contact information. Although Bhutan ended its self-imposed isolation in the 1960s, fundamental development activities date back only about 20 years. Nonetheless, it has embarked on a far-reaching development strategy aimed at boosting what it calls Gross National Happiness—a holistic concept combining material wellbeing
with an individual’s spiritual, emotional, and cultural well-being. Despite steady progress, Bhutan remains a poor country with a national poverty rate of 25.3%. Inequality is high with the top quintile consuming eight times more than the lowest quintile. At the same time, the economic base remains narrow, with hydropower accounting for some 12% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 45% of national revenues. Hydropower and its related industries have low employment elasticity, leaving the labor market unlikely to be able to absorb the 50,000 youth and 20,000 rural migrants expected to enter the labor market by 2007. The Government aims to diversify the economic base by enabling greater private sector participation in development—a central part of its growth—employment generation, and poverty reduction strategy.
Citation
Asian Development Bank. 2006. Asian Development Bank and Bhutan: Fact Sheet. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/5901.Keywords
Work Environment
Regulatory Environments
Institutional Environment Assessment
Global Environment
Environmentally Sustainable Development
Environmentally Damaging Subsidies
Environmental Strategy
Environmental Sustainability
Environment and Pollution Prevention
Environmental Action Plans
Environmental Assessment
Environmental Cleanup
Environmental Compliance
Environmental Effects
Environmental Guidelines
Environmental Health Hazards
Municipal government
Alternative energy development
Geothermal Energy
Renewable Energy
Pollution Indexes
Green Revolution
Polluter Pays Principle
Decontamination
Environmental Statistics
Ecosystems
Ecology
Pollution Control
Coastal pollution
Coasts
Lakes
Rivers
Inland Water transport
International rivers
international lakes
Sewage management
Waste Disposal
Water pollutants
Public Law
Fishery Law
Marine Pollution
River Pollution
Industrial Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Thermal Pollution
Hydroelectric power
Energy technology
Alternative energy program
Alternative energy technology
Energy Sources
Air quality indexes
Environmental indexes
Sanitation
Green technology
Oil spills prevention
Water quality
Prevention of pollution
Water resources development
Water quality trading
Pollution
Experimental watershed areas
Lakes monitoring
Floodplains monitoring
Pollution measurement
Liability for water pollution damages
Tide pool ecology
Reef ecology
Ocean bottom ecology
Marine riparian ecology
Marine radioecology
Marine productivity
Marine microbial ecology
Marine habitats
Marine chemical ecology
Aquatic ecology
Water pollution
Renewable energy source
Natural resource
Hybrid power
Renewable energy resource
Conservation of natural resources
Green technology
Air pollution potential
Pollution control industry
Energy conservation
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