Although Bhutan has undergone major transformation and there has been remarkable improvement in all aspects of the lives of Bhutanese people with GDP per capita being one of the highest in south Asia after the implementation of First Five Year Development Plan in 1961, yet poverty in Bhutan remains a social and economic issue- with 25 % of
the population is poor. World Happy Planet Index shows that Bhutan ranks 8th in the world in terms of happiness whereas its poverty rate is still as high as 25 % of the total population. This is because the above research study did not include abject poverty, which is not prevalent in Bhutan. Different studies show that Bhutan’s poverty rate was as high as 36 % in early 2000. However, none of these studies have explicitly covered the real causes of poverty in Bhutan. This paper focuses on the different magnitude and dimensions of poverty in Bhutan, which is based on the analysis of various data available. The salient features of the
findings is that most of the factors responsible for causing poverty in Bhutan is the same as it is prevalent in other countries except the difference in terms of degree and its impact. For instance, one of the main causes of poverty in Bhutan is rugged mountain terrain landscape accompanied by absence of road and health facilities and absence of other productive assets like land, educational institutions etc. This paper focuses on the different magnitude and dimensions of poverty in Bhutan,
which is based on the analysis of various data available. The salient features of the
findings is that most of the factors responsible for causing poverty in Bhutan is the same
as it is prevalent in other countries except the difference in terms of degree and its
impact. For instance, one of the main causes of poverty in Bhutan is rugged mountain terrain landscape accompanied by absence of road and health facilities and absence of other productive assets like land, educational institutions etc. summarized and possible suggestions based on the international standard to exit from or bring it under manageable limit by the government have been recommended.