BHUTAN. – A small Himalayan state of 50,000 sq km, enclosed between Tibet, Sikkim, and Assam; nominally independent, but in fact under British control. It is entirely mountainous. The population, consisting of Tefū and Tibetans (250,000 souls), herders and farmers, is entirely Buddhist. Access to B. is forbidden to Catholic missionaries; it depends on the diocese of Shillong.
BIBL.: C. J. Morris, A Journey in B., in Geogr. Journal, 86 (1935), pp. 201–17; GM., 129.