Bhutan Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Bhutan vs World

Table

Year	Median age
	Bhutan	World
1960	18.8	22.5
1961	18.9	22.5
1962	18.9	22.4
1963	19	22.2
1964	19.1	22
1965	19.1	21.8
1966	19.2	21.7
1967	19.3	21.6
1968	19.3	21.5
1969	19.3	21.5
1970	19.3	21.4
1971	19.3	21.4
1972	19.3	21.5
1973	19.2	21.5
1974	19.2	21.6
1975	19.1	21.7
1976	19.1	21.9
1977	19	22
1978	19	22.2
1979	18.9	22.3
1980	18.9	22.5
1981	18.8	22.6
1982	18.7	22.7
1983	18.7	22.9
1984	18.6	23
1985	18.6	23.2
1986	18.5	23.3
1987	18.5	23.4
1988	18.5	23.6
1989	18.5	23.8
1990	18.6	23.9
1991	18.6	24.1
1992	18.6	24.3
1993	18.7	24.5
1994	18.8	24.7
1995	18.9	25
1996	19.1	25.2
1997	19.3	25.4
1998	19.5	25.7
1999	19.8	25.9
2000	20	26.1
2001	20.4	26.3
2002	20.8	26.5
2003	21.3	26.7
2004	21.8	27
2005	22.2	27.2
2006	22.6	27.4
2007	22.9	27.6
2008	23.3	27.8
2009	23.7	28
2010	24	28.2
2011	24.4	28.4
2012	24.7	28.6
2013	25.1	28.9
2014	25.6	29.1
2015	26	29.3
2016	26.4	29.5
2017	26.9	29.8
2018	27.5	30
2019	28	30.3
2020	28.6	30.6
2021	29.2	30.8
2022	29.8	31
2023	30.4	31.3
2024	30.9	31.6
2025	31.5	31.9
2026	32	32.1
2027	32.5	32.3
2028	33	32.6
2029	33.5	32.8
2030	34	33
2031	34.5	33.2
2032	35	33.4
2033	35.4	33.6
2034	35.9	33.8
2035	36.3	34
2036	36.8	34.2
2037	37.2	34.4
2038	37.7	34.6
2039	38.1	34.8
2040	38.6	35
2041	39.1	35.2
2042	39.5	35.4
2043	40	35.6
2044	40.5	35.8
2045	40.9	36
2046	41.4	36.2
2047	41.8	36.4
2048	42.3	36.6
2049	42.8	36.8
2050	43.2	37.1

In 1960, the median age in Bhutan was 18.8 years compared to the world's average of 22.5 years. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 30.9 years compared to the world's average of 31.6 years. Ranked 123rd for median age 64 years ago (old to young), Bhutan ranks 95th currently.

According to the United Nations projections, the median age in Bhutan is expected to increase to around 43.2 years by 2050. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Bhutan demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Bhutan
	Male	Female
0-4	3.14%	3%
5-9	3.46%	3.22%
10-14	4.24%	3.85%
15-19	4.45%	4.11%
20-24	4.78%	4.44%
25-29	5.14%	4.26%
30-34	5.84%	4.56%
35-39	5.22%	4.17%
40-44	4.25%	3.44%
45-49	3.38%	2.75%
50-54	2.58%	2.13%
55-59	2.14%	1.86%
60-64	1.61%	1.48%
65-69	1.28%	1.25%
70-74	0.89%	0.88%
75-79	0.55%	0.57%
80+	0.49%	0.57%

The chart above is a variation of the population pyramid and represents the age and gender structure. Bhutan has average demographic potential with 58.5% of people in the 0-34 age group (ranked 91/196).

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Bhutan			World
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	80.8%	76.4%	4.39%	73.5%	64.9%	8.62%
1961	80.3%	75.9%	4.37%	73.8%	65.1%	8.67%
1962	79.7%	75.3%	4.34%	74.1%	65.4%	8.73%
1963	79.3%	75%	4.32%	74.9%	66.1%	8.79%
1964	79.1%	74.8%	4.3%	75.5%	66.6%	8.85%
1965	78.9%	74.6%	4.28%	75.8%	66.8%	8.93%
1966	78.9%	74.6%	4.28%	75.9%	66.9%	9%
1967	78.9%	74.7%	4.27%	75.9%	66.8%	9.07%
1968	79%	74.7%	4.27%	75.8%	66.6%	9.14%
1969	79.1%	74.9%	4.27%	75.7%	66.5%	9.2%
1970	79.3%	75%	4.28%	75.5%	66.2%	9.26%
1971	79.5%	75.2%	4.29%	75.2%	65.9%	9.33%
1972	79.8%	75.5%	4.31%	74.9%	65.6%	9.39%
1973	80.1%	75.8%	4.32%	74.6%	65.1%	9.46%
1974	80.5%	76.1%	4.35%	74.4%	64.9%	9.54%
1975	80.8%	76.5%	4.38%	74.2%	64.6%	9.64%
1976	81.2%	76.8%	4.41%	74%	64.3%	9.72%
1977	81.7%	77.2%	4.44%	73.5%	63.7%	9.79%
1978	82.1%	77.6%	4.48%	72.4%	62.5%	9.84%
1979	82.5%	77.9%	4.53%	71.3%	61.4%	9.88%
1980	82.9%	78.3%	4.58%	70.4%	60.5%	9.89%
1981	83.3%	78.6%	4.63%	69.5%	59.6%	9.85%
1982	83.6%	79%	4.68%	68.7%	58.9%	9.79%
1983	83.9%	79.2%	4.74%	67.9%	58.1%	9.72%
1984	84.2%	79.4%	4.8%	67%	57.3%	9.68%
1985	84.4%	79.5%	4.87%	66.3%	56.6%	9.68%
1986	84.5%	79.5%	4.94%	65.7%	55.9%	9.71%
1987	84.5%	79.5%	5.01%	65.2%	55.4%	9.75%
1988	84.5%	79.4%	5.09%	64.8%	54.9%	9.81%
1989	84.4%	79.2%	5.16%	64.4%	54.5%	9.89%
1990	84.3%	79%	5.25%	64.2%	54.3%	9.97%
1991	84.1%	78.8%	5.35%	64%	53.9%	10.1%
1992	83.8%	78.3%	5.45%	63.7%	53.6%	10.2%
1993	83.2%	77.6%	5.56%	63.5%	53.2%	10.3%
1994	82.4%	76.8%	5.66%	63.1%	52.7%	10.4%
1995	81.4%	75.7%	5.76%	62.7%	52.2%	10.5%
1996	80.2%	74.4%	5.86%	62.1%	51.5%	10.6%
1997	78.8%	72.9%	5.97%	61.5%	50.8%	10.7%
1998	77.2%	71.1%	6.06%	60.7%	50%	10.7%
1999	75.4%	69.2%	6.25%	60%	49.2%	10.8%
2000	73.5%	67%	6.53%	59.3%	48.4%	10.9%
2001	71.3%	64.5%	6.78%	58.5%	47.6%	11%
2002	68.9%	61.9%	7.02%	57.8%	46.7%	11.1%
2003	66.3%	59.1%	7.24%	57%	45.9%	11.1%
2004	63.6%	56.1%	7.43%	56.3%	45.1%	11.2%
2005	61.1%	53.5%	7.56%	55.6%	44.3%	11.3%
2006	59.1%	51.5%	7.61%	55%	43.6%	11.4%
2007	57.3%	49.7%	7.64%	54.5%	43.1%	11.4%
2008	55.6%	48%	7.68%	54.1%	42.6%	11.5%
2009	54.1%	46.4%	7.74%	53.8%	42.2%	11.6%
2010	52.8%	44.9%	7.81%	53.5%	41.9%	11.6%
2011	51.6%	43.7%	7.9%	53.4%	41.6%	11.8%
2012	50.6%	42.6%	8%	53.3%	41.4%	11.9%
2013	49.8%	41.7%	8.11%	53.4%	41.2%	12.1%
2014	49.1%	40.9%	8.23%	53.5%	41.1%	12.4%
2015	48.3%	40%	8.36%	53.6%	40.9%	12.7%
2016	47.5%	39%	8.5%	53.7%	40.7%	13%
2017	46.3%	37.8%	8.54%	53.9%	40.6%	13.3%
2018	44.7%	36.2%	8.49%	54.1%	40.4%	13.7%
2019	43%	34.6%	8.48%	54.2%	40.1%	14%
2020	41.6%	33.1%	8.52%	54.2%	39.8%	14.4%
2021	40.4%	31.8%	8.6%	54.2%	39.5%	14.7%
2022	39.4%	30.7%	8.71%	54%	39%	15%
2023	38.6%	29.7%	8.82%	53.9%	38.5%	15.4%
2024	37.7%	28.8%	8.95%	53.7%	38%	15.7%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64. Age dependency in Bhutan decreased from 63.6% to 37.7% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of children and an increased proportion of people aged 65+

Bhutan working age demographic chart

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Bhutan	World
1960	55.3%	57.6%
1961	55.5%	57.5%
1962	55.7%	57.4%
1963	55.8%	57.2%
1964	55.8%	57%
1965	55.9%	56.9%
1966	55.9%	56.8%
1967	55.9%	56.9%
1968	55.9%	56.9%
1969	55.8%	56.9%
1970	55.8%	57%
1971	55.7%	57.1%
1972	55.6%	57.2%
1973	55.5%	57.3%
1974	55.4%	57.3%
1975	55.3%	57.4%
1976	55.2%	57.5%
1977	55%	57.7%
1978	54.9%	58%
1979	54.8%	58.4%
1980	54.7%	58.7%
1981	54.6%	59%
1982	54.5%	59.3%
1983	54.4%	59.6%
1984	54.3%	59.9%
1985	54.2%	60.1%
1986	54.2%	60.4%
1987	54.2%	60.5%
1988	54.2%	60.7%
1989	54.2%	60.8%
1990	54.3%	60.9%
1991	54.3%	61%
1992	54.4%	61.1%
1993	54.6%	61.2%
1994	54.8%	61.3%
1995	55.1%	61.5%
1996	55.5%	61.7%
1997	55.9%	61.9%
1998	56.4%	62.2%
1999	57%	62.5%
2000	57.6%	62.8%
2001	58.4%	63.1%
2002	59.2%	63.4%
2003	60.1%	63.7%
2004	61.1%	64%
2005	62.1%	64.3%
2006	62.9%	64.5%
2007	63.6%	64.7%
2008	64.3%	64.9%
2009	64.9%	65%
2010	65.5%	65.1%
2011	66%	65.2%
2012	66.4%	65.2%
2013	66.7%	65.2%
2014	67.1%	65.2%
2015	67.4%	65.1%
2016	67.8%	65.1%
2017	68.3%	65%
2018	69.1%	64.9%
2019	69.9%	64.9%
2020	70.6%	64.8%
2021	71.2%	64.9%
2022	71.7%	64.9%
2023	72.2%	65%
2024	72.6%	65.1%
2025	73%	65.2%
2026	73.4%	65.3%
2027	73.8%	65.4%
2028	74.2%	65.4%
2029	74.4%	65.4%
2030	74.6%	65.4%
2031	74.7%	65.4%
2032	74.7%	65.4%
2033	74.5%	65.4%
2034	74.4%	65.3%
2035	74.2%	65.2%
2036	74%	65%
2037	73.9%	64.9%
2038	73.7%	64.7%
2039	73.5%	64.6%
2040	73.3%	64.5%
2041	73.1%	64.4%
2042	72.8%	64.3%
2043	72.4%	64.2%
2044	72.1%	64.1%
2045	71.6%	63.9%
2046	71.2%	63.8%
2047	70.8%	63.7%
2048	70.4%	63.6%
2049	69.9%	63.4%
2050	69.4%	63.3%

The share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 in Bhutan changed from 61.1% to 72.6% between 2004 and 2024.

Share of young population (0-14 years)

Table

Year	Share of population 0-14 years old
	Bhutan	World
1960	42.3%	37.4%
1961	42.1%	37.5%
1962	41.9%	37.6%
1963	41.8%	37.8%
1964	41.8%	38%
1965	41.7%	38%
1966	41.7%	38%
1967	41.7%	38%
1968	41.8%	37.9%
1969	41.8%	37.8%
1970	41.8%	37.7%
1971	41.9%	37.6%
1972	42%	37.5%
1973	42.1%	37.3%
1974	42.2%	37.2%
1975	42.3%	37.1%
1976	42.4%	36.9%
1977	42.5%	36.7%
1978	42.6%	36.3%
1979	42.7%	35.9%
1980	42.8%	35.5%
1981	42.9%	35.2%
1982	43%	34.9%
1983	43.1%	34.6%
1984	43.1%	34.3%
1985	43.1%	34%
1986	43.1%	33.8%
1987	43.1%	33.6%
1988	43%	33.4%
1989	43%	33.2%
1990	42.9%	33%
1991	42.8%	32.9%
1992	42.6%	32.7%
1993	42.4%	32.5%
1994	42.1%	32.3%
1995	41.7%	32.1%
1996	41.3%	31.8%
1997	40.7%	31.5%
1998	40.1%	31.1%
1999	39.4%	30.8%
2000	38.6%	30.4%
2001	37.7%	30%
2002	36.6%	29.6%
2003	35.5%	29.2%
2004	34.3%	28.8%
2005	33.2%	28.5%
2006	32.4%	28.1%
2007	31.6%	27.9%
2008	30.8%	27.6%
2009	30.1%	27.5%
2010	29.4%	27.3%
2011	28.8%	27.1%
2012	28.3%	27%
2013	27.8%	26.9%
2014	27.4%	26.8%
2015	27%	26.6%
2016	26.5%	26.5%
2017	25.8%	26.4%
2018	25%	26.2%
2019	24.2%	26%
2020	23.4%	25.8%
2021	22.7%	25.6%
2022	22%	25.3%
2023	21.5%	25%
2024	20.9%	24.7%
2025	20.4%	24.4%
2026	19.8%	24.1%
2027	19.3%	23.8%
2028	18.7%	23.4%
2029	18.3%	23.1%
2030	17.9%	22.8%
2031	17.6%	22.6%
2032	17.4%	22.3%
2033	17.2%	22.1%
2034	17.1%	21.9%
2035	17%	21.7%
2036	16.9%	21.6%
2037	16.8%	21.5%
2038	16.6%	21.4%
2039	16.5%	21.3%
2040	16.3%	21.2%
2041	16.2%	21.1%
2042	16%	21%
2043	15.9%	21%
2044	15.7%	20.9%
2045	15.6%	20.8%
2046	15.4%	20.7%
2047	15.2%	20.7%
2048	15%	20.6%
2049	14.8%	20.5%
2050	14.6%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Bhutan decreased from 34.3% to 20.9% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in birth rates.

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Bhutan	World
1960	2.43%	4.97%
1961	2.42%	4.99%
1962	2.41%	5.01%
1963	2.41%	5.02%
1964	2.4%	5.04%
1965	2.39%	5.08%
1966	2.39%	5.12%
1967	2.39%	5.16%
1968	2.39%	5.2%
1969	2.38%	5.24%
1970	2.39%	5.28%
1971	2.39%	5.32%
1972	2.4%	5.37%
1973	2.4%	5.42%
1974	2.41%	5.47%
1975	2.42%	5.53%
1976	2.43%	5.59%
1977	2.45%	5.65%
1978	2.46%	5.71%
1979	2.48%	5.77%
1980	2.5%	5.81%
1981	2.53%	5.81%
1982	2.55%	5.8%
1983	2.58%	5.79%
1984	2.61%	5.8%
1985	2.64%	5.82%
1986	2.68%	5.86%
1987	2.72%	5.91%
1988	2.76%	5.95%
1989	2.8%	6.01%
1990	2.85%	6.07%
1991	2.9%	6.14%
1992	2.97%	6.21%
1993	3.03%	6.29%
1994	3.1%	6.37%
1995	3.17%	6.45%
1996	3.25%	6.53%
1997	3.34%	6.61%
1998	3.42%	6.68%
1999	3.56%	6.76%
2000	3.76%	6.84%
2001	3.96%	6.92%
2002	4.16%	7.01%
2003	4.36%	7.1%
2004	4.54%	7.18%
2005	4.69%	7.26%
2006	4.78%	7.34%
2007	4.85%	7.41%
2008	4.93%	7.47%
2009	5.02%	7.52%
2010	5.11%	7.58%
2011	5.21%	7.66%
2012	5.31%	7.78%
2013	5.41%	7.92%
2014	5.52%	8.08%
2015	5.63%	8.26%
2016	5.76%	8.45%
2017	5.84%	8.65%
2018	5.87%	8.88%
2019	5.93%	9.1%
2020	6.02%	9.33%
2021	6.13%	9.53%
2022	6.25%	9.74%
2023	6.37%	9.98%
2024	6.49%	10.2%
2025	6.63%	10.4%
2026	6.77%	10.6%
2027	6.93%	10.8%
2028	7.09%	11.1%
2029	7.28%	11.5%
2030	7.48%	11.7%
2031	7.71%	12%
2032	7.97%	12.3%
2033	8.24%	12.6%
2034	8.52%	12.8%
2035	8.8%	13.1%
2036	9.09%	13.4%
2037	9.37%	13.7%
2038	9.67%	13.9%
2039	9.99%	14.1%
2040	10.3%	14.3%
2041	10.7%	14.5%
2042	11.2%	14.7%
2043	11.7%	14.9%
2044	12.2%	15%
2045	12.8%	15.2%
2046	13.4%	15.4%
2047	14%	15.7%
2048	14.6%	15.9%
2049	15.2%	16.1%
2050	15.9%	16.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over in Bhutan increased from 4.54% to 6.49% between 2004 and 2024 due to changes in life expectancy.