State · 1949 – present
Bhutan
A state of 1949 – present — 77 years, still standing in South Asia. It replaced princely state. The atlas records 7 things within it — wars and battles 1 · famine and plague 1 · natural disasters 1 · people 4. Its line of rulers holds 4 people.
- Still standing: the span runs to the year of the build, 2026.
For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.
- Stood
- 77 years
- and still standing
- Rulers
- 4
- the King of Bhutan
- Most ground
- 71,300 km²
- in 1948
- Within it
- 7
- recorded rows
- Symbols
- 2
- on record, with years
Where it sits in time
Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold.
Before and after
The states the record files it as replacing or following, and those that replaced or followed it - Wikidata's own statements, each read from this state's side.
Before it
- princely state · replaces
Rulers
The line of King of Bhutan - the office this state names as its head of state.
| Ruler | Reign | Length | How it ended · source | To the ruler before |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jigme Wangchuck | 1926 – 1952 | 26 years | died in office, manner not recordedread off the dates alone | |
| Jigme Dorji Wangchuck | 1952 – 1972 | 20 years | died in office of natural causesWikidata's manner of death | child |
| Jigme Singye Wangchuck | 1972 – 2006 | 34 years | abdicated, the article saysread from the ruler's own article | child |
| Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck | 2006 – in office | in office since 2006 | still in office | child |
4 rulers, 4 with terms dated as terms, covering 1926 – 2006. Median reign 26 years. 0 of 3 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.
Heads of government
The line of Prime Minister of Bhutan, drawn and never measured: a cabinet is not a reign.
| Jigme Palden Dorji | 1952 – 1964 |
| Lhendup Dorji | 1964 – 1964 |
| Jigme Thinley | 1998 – 1999 |
| Sangay Ngedup | 1999 – 2000 |
| Yeshey Zimba | 2000 – 2001 |
| Khandu Wangchuk | 2001 – 2002 |
| Kinzang Dorji | 2002 – 2003 |
| Jigme Thinley | 2003 – 2004 |
| Yeshey Zimba | 2004 – 2005 |
| Sangay Ngedup | 2005 – 2006 |
| Khandu Wangchuk | 2006 – 2007 |
| Kinzang Dorji | 2007 – 2008 |
| Jigme Thinley | 2008 – 2013 |
| Tshering Tobgay | 2013 – 2018 |
| Lotay Tshering | 2018 – 2023 |
| Tshering Tobgay | 2024 – … |
Ground held, by year
km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.
71,300 km² in 1949, 40,800 km² in 2019; at its largest 71,300 km² in 1949. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.
Flags and arms, in order
Each symbol with the years its own statement gives; the timeline flies the one of the year on screen.
coat of arms, undatedEmblem of Bhutan · Public domain 
flag, from 1969Flag of Bhutan · Public domain
What happened within it, by century
Every row the atlas hosts under this state, by the century it began in: wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey. A tall bar is a century the record is full for, which is partly a fact about Wikipedia.
1900 – 19994 rows
- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck · ruler · 1980 – present
- Jigme Singye Wangchuck · ruler · 1955 – present
- Jigme Dorji Wangchuck · ruler · 1929 – 1972
- Jigme Thinley · politician · 1952 – present
2000 – 20993 rows · 1 wars and battles
- COVID-19 pandemic in Bhutan · plague · 2020
- 2017 China–India border standoff · war · 2017
- 2009 Bhutan earthquake · disaster · 2009
Among all states
Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.
- How long it stood77 years
stood longer than 42% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
- The most ground it held71,300 km²
held more ground at its peak than 39% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
- Wars recorded per century1.0
had more wars on record per century than 94% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
- How long a reign lasted, at the median26 years
had longer reigns, at the median, than 77% of 967 states whose dated line can carry a median.
- Rulers on record4
has more rulers on record than 58% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.
Open in the atlas
- On the timeline, 1939 – 2036, with everything that stood beside it.
- On the map in 1948, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
- Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.
Wikidata Q917 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · symbols from Wikimedia Commons, each credited above · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.