Bhutan

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

754,394

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

Articles 213 and 214 of the Bhutanese Penal Code states that same-sex sexual acts are punishable by a prison sentence of between one month to less than one year. LGBT people in Bhutan face little violence or persecution, though most Bhutanese did not know they even exist with the idea of being gay or transgender "pretty much unheard of."

Bhutan's Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
No
Gender
Male Only
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
1

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Chuki, S. (2019). Being LGBT: Their Status and Rights in Bhutan. Australian Journal of Asian Law, 20(1). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3490388

Wangdi, S., & Tshering, U. (2017). Sexual diversity in Bhutan.Bhutan Health Journal, 3(1), 24-27.