Suicide in Bhutan in recent years has become a notable phenomenon in the small
Himalayan kingdom, which promotes
Gross National Happiness
Gross National Happiness (GNH), sometimes called Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH), is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. Gross Na ...
as a government policy. As the
Kingdom of Bhutan adheres to
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...
for its state religion, the mere discussion of suicide and the means of tackling it have been generally seen as socially
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
amongst most
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
ese.
Under
Bhutanese law
The law of Bhutan derives mainly from legislation and treaties. Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, laws were enacted by fiat of the King of Bhutan. The law of Bhutan originates in the semi-theocratic Tsa Yig legal code, and was heavily ...
, the act of committing suicide is itself not illegal, but abetting a suicide is regarded as a crime.
Based on 2011 data, the official suicide rate of Bhutan was 16.2 per 100,000 people. This figure ranked the kingdom as the 20th-highest suicide rate
in the world
''In the World'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Clifford Jordan which was recorded in 1969 and released on the Strata-East label in 1972. The album was rereleased on CD as part of ''The Complete Clifford Jordan Strata-East Sessions'' by Mosaic ...
, and 6th highest in the
Asia-Pacific region. The number of recorded deaths has increased by around 50% for the years 2012 and 2013. Lack of job opportunities, the percentage of broken families, and a high rate of
domestic violence are considered to be major contributing factors. As of 2019, the suicide rate in Bhutan was relatively low, ranking in the bottom 44 countries out of 183.
Autopsies are not done in Bhutan, and thus the actual suicide rate is likely to be higher than the official rate. Some suicides are reported as "accidental deaths".
In addition, the suicide rate has been widely discussed about
Bhutanese refugees
Bhutanese refugees are Lhotshampas ("southerners"), a group of Nepali language-speaking Bhutanese people. These refugees registered in refugee camps in eastern Nepal during the 1990s as Bhutanese citizens deported from Bhutan during the prote ...
who live outside Bhutan, who tend to be of
Nepalese origin, as
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...
, lack of family ties and
depression ensue.
See also
*
Health in Bhutan
Health in Bhutan is one of the government's highest priorities in its scheme of development and modernization. Health and related issues are overseen by the Ministry of Health, itself represented on the executive Lhengye Zhungtshog (cabinet) by th ...
References
{{Asia topic , prefix=Suicide in
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
Health in Bhutan