Government and power in Bhutan

Who leads Bhutan, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary constitutional monarchy (parliamentary democracy since 2008).

Who leads Bhutan?

• Head of state: King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (King of Bhutan)
• Head of government: Tshering Tobgay (Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan)
• Foreign minister: Dina Nath Dhungyel (Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Kingdom of Bhutan)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Bhutan

Government

• Cabinet Secretariat
  Publishes cabinet decisions, executive orders and government news.

Parliament

• National Council of Bhutan
  Publishes debates, reviews of legislation and membership of the upper chamber.

Elections

• Election Commission of Bhutan
  Publishes electoral rolls, candidate lists and official results of parliamentary and local elections.

Courts

• Judiciary of Bhutan
  Publishes Supreme Court and High Court judgments and the laws of Bhutan.

Public audit

• Royal Audit Authority
  Publishes the annual audit report and audit reports on public agencies.

Public contracts

• Electronic Government Procurement System (e-GP)
  Publishes government tenders, bid submissions and contract awards.

Government below the national level

• Districts (20): dzongkhag tshogdu (district council): Council of the elected gup and mangmi of each gewog plus a representative of the town; the dzongda (district administrator) is a civil servant appointed by the central government
• Self-governing towns (thromdes): Thimphu, Phuentsholing, Gelephu, Samdrup Jongkhar: Thrompon (mayor) and thromde tshogde (town council) directly elected
• Village blocks (205): gewog tshogde: Gup (head) and mangmi (deputy) directly elected; one tshogpa elected for each chiwog
• Chiwogs (about 1,000 village clusters): Tshogpa (representative) directly elected

How local power works in Bhutan

Places in Bhutan

• All 20 dzongkhags
• Official statistics for Bhutan

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.