Pema Gatshel: population, jobs, poverty, crime, health services and local budgets

Pema Gatshel is a dzongkhag of Bhutan, number 14 of 20 by population. The National Statistics Bureau projects the population of Pema Gatshel Dzongkhag at 23,924 in 2026 (12,105 male, 11,818 female), 3.0% of Bhutan's 790,718; 7th smallest of the 20 dzongkhags. The projection runs forward from the 2017 Population and Housing Census, the latest census.

In depth

• Poverty and living standards in Pema Gatshel: 17.9% of people in Pema Gatshel lived below the national poverty line in 2022, according to the Bhutan Living Standards Survey, 7th highest of the 20 dzongkhags (Bhutan: 12.4%). The survey estimate has a standard error of 2.4 percentage points.

More figures

• Health workers ran 36 outreach clinics in Pema Gatshel's villages in 2024 (Bhutan: 555). Source: Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan · saved copy

How dzongkhags are governed in Bhutan

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. Approves district plans and budgets; the dzongda leads district administration.

Every tier of government in Bhutan

Other dzongkhags of Bhutan

• Thimphu 175,374
• Chhukha 70,515
• Samtse 63,379
• Paro 54,892
• Sarpang 52,455
• Wangdue Phodrang 48,907
• Trashigang 40,499
• Monggar 35,680
• Samdrup Jongkhar 34,735
• Punakha 32,552
• Dagana 26,380
• Tsirang 24,966
• Trongsa 23,983
• Bumthang 18,690
• Zhemgang 16,185
• Trashi Yangtse 16,158
• Haa 13,942
• Lhuentse 12,919
• Gasa 4,581

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Sources

• Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan: Annual Health Bulletin 2025 (data for 2024), Table 6.1: health facilities distribution by districts, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 97124fbf6163…)
• Ministry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan: National Budget Financial Year 2025-26, Annexures 1-3: allocations for dzongkhags, thromdes and gewogs, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 42f8c49fbb00…)
• National Statistics Bureau, Royal Government of Bhutan: Labour Force Survey Quarterly Report, Fourth Quarter 2024 (Table 2.4: labour force participation; Table 4.1: unemployment, by dzongkhag/thromde), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ea0253d7b329…)
• National Statistics Bureau, Royal Government of Bhutan (copy hosted by UNFPA Bhutan): Dzongkhag Population Projections 2017-2027 (Table 1: projected population by sex and dzongkhag; Table 4: urban and rural; Tables A.2: broad age groups), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fd95c4726e0a…)
• National Statistics Bureau, Royal Government of Bhutan (with the World Bank): Poverty Mapping in Bhutan: Small Area Estimation, District and Town Level Results (2023), Table 4.1 survey estimates from the Bhutan Living Standards Survey 2022, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9241159c450d…)
• Royal Bhutan Police, Planning and Development Division: Statistical Yearbook 2024 (Table 3.1 criminal incidents, Table 6.1 fire incidents, Tables 7.3 and 7.7 motor vehicle accidents and deaths, by dzongkhag), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1f140360dcb9…)

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