What is the highest unclimbed mountain in Bhutan?
Gangkhar Puensum, standing at 7,570 metres, is Bhutan's highest peak and the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. No climbing expedition has ever reached its summit.
Questions about Bhutan
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Why was Bhutan's official name changed from Druk yul to Bhutan?
It was not changed. Since the 17th century, Bhutan's official name in its own language has remained Druk yul, meaning "the Land of the Thunder Dragon." The name Bhutan appears only in English-language official correspondence.
What happened to the Lhotshampa people expelled from Bhutan?
Between 80,000 and 100,000 Lhotshampas were forcibly deported from Bhutan in the early 1990s following a 1988 census that stripped citizenship from those who could not prove residency under strict 1958 criteria. Approximately 107,000 refugees were documented in seven camps in eastern Nepal. Between 2007 and 2012, the United States admitted 60,773 of these refugees, and Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Australia also accepted resettlement.
When did Bhutan introduce television?
Bhutan lifted its ban on television and the internet in 1999, making it one of the last countries in the world to introduce television. King Jigme Singye Wangchuck described television as a critical step to modernisation but warned it could erode traditional Bhutanese values.
How did Bhutan become one of the world's largest state holders of bitcoin?
Bhutan began mining bitcoin in 2019 using green hydroelectric power from its Himalayan rivers. As of the 15th of November 2024, the country held around 12,206 BTC worth over US$1 billion, ranking it fifth among state holders of bitcoin behind the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine.
What was the Gross National Happiness framework and why was it abandoned?
Gross National Happiness was a Bhutanese policy framework that measured national progress through wellbeing, culture, and environmental conservation alongside economic growth. It was abandoned in 2022 when the Gross National Happiness Commission was dissolved after businesses and industry found its criteria too constraining and lobbied for GDP to be reinstated as the national measure of success.