Bhutan is a Buddhist country in south east Asia. The official language is Dzongkha with Nepali and English also spoken. The religion is predomiantly Buddhist with a Hindu minority.
Bhutan was ruled by Tibet from the 16th century and then by China from 1720, coming under British influence during the later part of the 18th century and in 1907 a hereditary monarchy was established, and in 1910 Bhutan was granted internal autonomy by Britain, becoming independent in 1947. Bhutan is ruled by a coalition of a council of Buddhist ministers and a semi-democratically elected national assembly.
The terrain consists of rugged and loffy mountains, abounding in sublime and picturesque scenery. Although mountainous and in many parts extremely cold, much of the country is productive and well cultivated, the mountain slopes being cut into terraces for this purpose. Streams are numerous and rain abundant, and there are extensive forests of fine timber, among the trees being beech, ash, oak, birch, maple, with pines and firs on the higher elevations. Wheat, barley, millet, and various kinds of vegetables are grown, including even potatoes.
Irrigation is commonly employed. Wild animals were very numerous, including elephants, tigers, leopards, deer, wild hogs, etc. The chief domestic animal is a kind of pony peculiar to this region, strong and active, as well as handsome. The traditional manufactures were confined to some common articles of home consumption: woollens, cottons, wooden ware, weapons, and implements of iron, etc. Research Bhutan
The Kingdom of Nepal is a country in the Himalayas, in southern Asia. It has a total area of 140,800 km2. The climate is varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winter in south The terrain is Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north Natural resources are quartz, water, timber, hydroelectric potential, scenic beauty; small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore. The religion is Hindu, although there is no sharp distinction between the many Hindu (about 88% of population) and Buddhist groups. There are also small groups of Muslims and Christians. The official language is Nepali and about 20 other languages divided into numerous dialects. The Kingdom of Nepal was formed in 1768 by Prithvi Narayan when he united a number of small Gurkha principalities. In 1816, Nepal became a British dependency and in 1923 independent. In 1951 a revolution occurred, overthrowing the hereditary Prime Minister and reinstalling the absolute monarchy, and in 1991 multi-party elections were held for the first time. Research Nepal
Nepali (Nepalese, Gorkhali, Gurkhali, Khaskura, Parbatiya, Eastern Pahari) is the official language of Nepal, forming the language of the Paharia people, and is also spoken in Sikkim and parts of India. It forms the eastern group of Pahari and belongs to the Indic branch of Indo-European languages. Nepali is also spoken by the Paharia people of Bhutan and of India. Research Nepali
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Abbreviations
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