Bhutan
Bhutan
The National Statistics Bureau of the Royal Government of Bhutan is responsible for compiling and publishing national accounts statistics for the Royal Government of Bhutan. The official estimates were published by the Royal Government of Bhutan in the National Accounts Statistics publication (available at http://www.nsb.gov.bt).
Executive summary
Bhutan is in the midst of a historic transition from monarchy to a full-fledged democracy after having established peace stability and impressive gains in human development. High expectations to successfully manage the transition make it even more important for Bhutan’s development partners—national and international—to reflect upon future support in order to further accelerate and sustain progress in the coming years. This is an opportune moment for UNDP to assess and if needed reposition and restructure its assistance to Bhutan in order to enhance development effectiveness. The Assessment of Development Results (ADR) exercise is timely in that it is an independent evaluation of UNDP’s contribution to Bhutan’s development the results of which will be used as an input to UNDP’s next country programme (2008-2012) in Bhutan.
Development context
In 1961 Bhutan ended its self-imposed isolation when the late King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck the third monarch launched the country on a path to modern development. Until then Bhutan was a self-contained traditional rural society. People cultivated as much as they needed and had a sustainable relationship with nature. They bred animals wove their own clothes and made pottery. There were practically no motorable roads; yaks mules and horses were the principal modes of transport.
Terms of reference
The Evaluation Office (EO) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a series of country evaluations called Assessments of Development Results (ADRs) in order to capture and demonstrate evaluative evidence of UNDP’s contributions to development results at the country level. Undertaken in selected countries the ADRs focus on outcomes and critically examine achievements and constraints in the UNDP thematic areas of focus draw lessons learned and provide recommendations for the future. The ADRs also provide strategic analysis for enhancing performance and strategically positioning UNDP support within national development priorities and UNDP corporate policy directions.
Introduction
Bhutan is a small country of 672425 people. It is located in South Asia at the foot of the Himalayas and is landlocked between two of the world’s most populous nations: India and China. With a per capita gross national income of USD 1005 in 2005—40 percent higher than India and more than 70 percent higher than the average income of low income countries—Bhutan has recorded impressive gains in human development after ending its selfimposed isolation in 1961. Life expectancy at birth has increased from 42 years during 1970-1975 to 66 years in 2004 and the infant mortality rate has been more than halved from 156 deaths per 1000 live births in 1970 to 40 deaths per 1000 live births in 2005. The country’s human development index (HDI) has grown steadily from 0.325 in 1984 to 0.583 in 2003 placing Bhutan in the category of medium human development countries. Policymaking and programming in Bhutan are uniquely guided by the concept of gross national happiness (GNH) which emphasizes sustainable and equitable socioeconomic development conservation of environment preservation and promotion of culture and promotion of good governance.
UNDP’s contributions to development results
Starting with an initial allocation of USD 2.5 million for the first country programme (1973-1976) UNDP has since provided approximately USD 115 million in assistance to Bhutan across a number of fields from telecommunications and civil aviation to horticulture and promotion of cultural heritage.