Bhutan: crime and justice

How much crime is there in Bhutan?

The Royal Bhutan Police recorded 2,843 criminal incidents involving 2,990 offences in 2025, up from 2,476 incidents in 2024, according to the Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2025 from the National Statistics Bureau. Offences against the person numbered 1,389 incidents, most of them battery (1,180), and offences against property 538.

One incident can involve several offences, which is why the two totals differ. The figures count crimes reported to police; the yearbook itself notes that not all crime is reported. Its crime chapter also covers drug trafficking cases, arrests by age group and road accidents.

Official sources: NSB: Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2025 (PDF)

How many murders are there in Bhutan?

The Royal Bhutan Police recorded one murder incident in 2025, compared with four in both 2023 and 2024, according to the crime table in the Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2025. There were also two cases of negligent homicide and one attempted murder in 2025.

Bhutan's penal code also has separate offences of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, which the table lists apart from murder, so murder alone does not cover all killings. With very small numbers, counts can change sharply from year to year.

Official sources: NSB: Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan 2025 (PDF)

What is the homicide rate in Bhutan?

2.5 per 100,000: that is the intentional homicide rate in Bhutan for 2020, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Since 2005 it has ranged from 1.0 per 100,000 (2019) to 4.6 per 100,000 (2012). Of 121 countries with 2020 data, 65th highest.

What is the female homicide rate in Bhutan?

The latest figure from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, for 2020, is 1.4 per 100,000. That is the highest since at least 2015. World rank, highest first: 52nd of 107.

What is the male homicide rate in Bhutan?

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime puts the homicide rate for men in Bhutan at 3.4 per 100,000 in 2020. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2015. World rank, highest first: 55th of 106.