The Overhyped Economy of Bhutan

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Most countries really want to bring in tourists for the big infusion of money into the local economy. But Bhutan makes it incredibly expensive to visit, and bans all visitors from climbing the parts of the Himalayan mountains that are within their borders. Why? Do they just want to protect their culture from tourists (with the hotels, photo spots and trouble that comes with them)?
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[@EconomicsExplained]

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[@tadzik6762]

Could it be possible, that you made an online version of EE national leaderboard that would be accessible every time? For example maybe on some website or give a link to it on your youtube videos, because it has grown very much since you have begun making those videos and it is hard to stay in touch how different country are placed.

[@boarbot7829]

The national leaderboard is clearly biased and ridiculous. You gave India, which has a gdp per capita almost a third less than Bhutan, a three out of ten for that metric, whilst Bhutan got a 2. That is a very unjustified discrepancy.

[@AbinDhital]

I love your video as an student who is intrested and learning economics you explain your concepts well.Could please make a video about nepal as i want to understand the economic state of my country and for any help relating to it i will like to help you myself.

[@danielcz6882]

Please do something on Czech republic. Like for instance why it's only country in EU which is in recession, having biggest inflation despite central bank raised interest rates year ahead of EU and USA. Or anything. Thx

[@noel7777noel]

You have one outstanding ignorant switch-a-roo. "Building wealth" is being switched to a great infrastructure that predicts a paying customer correctly. The investors want mailbox money from this great infrastructure. Paul wants rent. This great infrastructure is homes to own. A capital investment. These are the two excomponents in the fraction of inflation. Mixing these very different excomponents into each other. Is moving this fraction. The numerator is the home, and the denominator is the currency. Do synonyms confuse you? Changing the names of math equations or its excomponents doesn't change the math. Please don't play samanics at the same time play math. This incorrect math formula is called trickle-down economics. Our great-grandfathers had the same argument pains and back then it was called horse and sparrow economics.

[@rileymiller7786]

I live in Western Australia and I have worked with many Bhutan workers at a laundry linen factory that supplied the hospital linen around our state. The workplace treatment and conditions have deteriorated over the last couple of years and are now very poor so many Aussies have ended up leaving, and more and more new Bhutan workers have kept coming on working and student visas to take their place. They are very hard working, polite, kind, gentle but also a timid and overall more introverted group who you can see are uneducated and so unfortunately are taken advantage of at this factory (I have just only left myself). I became friends with many of them and they become a lot more talkative once you established trust. They come here to work and make a living because all the money is here compared to their country. Still, they all love their king and country (to the point of being kinda weird) and hold very traditional, simplistic views. Oh and their generosity… they are the most generous people, especially with their food that I have ever witnessed. Overall they are a beautiful people but they certainly lack the extroversion and ability to speak up for oneself and create a splash and climbing the hierarchy compared to our Aussie culture. But I understand that because they are here on visas they are more vulnerable, particularly at our workplace

[@puraLusa]

Thanku for ur testimony. Very nice read.

[@rogink]

Yes I'm surprised he didn't mention expat workers. I know there are a lot of Nepali workers working in the Gulf, so I wonder if Bhutanese workers do the same.

[@xiphoid2011]

I'm not from Bhutan but China, but I want to point out that keeping your heads down and work hard is a common Asian trait. I think it's cultural. Unlike western culture who tells each person is a unique and special individual, Asian cultures teach us that we are an insignificant part of society and is easily replaced.

[@noseboop4354]

I'm sure the corporations just love exploiting the sh*t out of them.

[@Pockipockipocki]

The people regardless of where they come from have their aspiration for happiness,Butan should not think that Buddhism is the only path toward these happiness?.if allowed to explore further will bring much happiness for themselves and the country ,and better inform of their duties and spiritual meaning in life.

[@KLondike5]

I was obsessed with Bhutan as a kid in the mid-80s because of their weird and unique postage stamps. They had to be purely for decoration or for sale because they had to be expensive to produce. Lots of embossing & 3D lenticular.

[@harisadu8998]

The truth is that the Bhutanese youth are no longer satisfied by being the happiest country. They actually now want to make money.

[@KamikazeCommie501]

So what? Some of us in Western countries don't care about money, where can we go to escape? There's nowhere for us, even though we're objectively (by the sole metric of 'greediness') morally superior.

[@purpleWizard0]

​@@KamikazeCommie501grass is always greener on other side.

[@js-kp1uh]

​@@KamikazeCommie501stay at your country and stop ruining other countries. You are not welcomed

[@cyrusthegreat7030]

​@@SUPERPOWERCHINA_Sweden better

[@limitbreak2321]

​@@cyrusthegreat7030Swedistan?

[@nilnil8411]

Point to be noted. Indians don't need to pay the exhorbitant amount of government fees to stay in Bhutan. Typically is much lower like around $15. Also India and Bhutan are really good friends with great diplomatic/cultural ties. Bhutan is breaktakingly beautiful with it's peaceful & serene landscape

[@FatBoy42069]

Yeah India helped cover up their genocide of the nepalese ethnic minority so they better be besties.

[@kanidai9985]

15$ just to breathe the air is comparatively expensive

[@1carusGG]

@@kanidai9985 Do not visit Bhutan if you are after material pleasures. However if you want a spiritual journey that fills the soul, its the right place.

[@tenzingbhutia180]

​@@kanidai9985keeps out most of the low income indisciplined tourists out. Some time back reports of some Indian bikers climbing on top of holy stupa in Bhutan for a selfies. Extremely disrespectful to the local culture.

[@rjc09]

Bhutan keeping out peacefuls. Atleast it won't become Bhatanistan

[@dorianodet8064]

I mean, when you started a video with : "Bhutan geographical position mean its economy will never take up", it kind of make sense to focus on maintaining quality of life as much as possible.

[@kausthubh]

Well even Switzerland is landlocked and mountainous but they've found other ways to make money. Bhutan could do so much more: arts and crafts, luxury items, financial hubs and so on. Bhutan really lacks in healthcare and road/rail infrastructure, something they need to build by themselves even if India doesn't provide its annual grant.

[@MA-go7ee]

Except they're literally not maintaining quality of life?

[@prameyprabhudesai864]

One thing you have missed out. Bhutan’ over 50% government budget is financed by India as a grant and NOT a loan.

[@patriarch7237]

What is India getting out of it?

[@prameyprabhudesai864]

@@patriarch7237 excess electricity thru hydro projects is transmitted to India. In addition, soft power influence. Their currency is also pegged to Indian Rupee as well. Also we dont require expensive Visa to travel there nor need a guided tour.

[@ion8264]

bhutan is tiny country so indian gov funds it@@patriarch7237

[@praneeshpal8677]

@@patriarch7237 a geopolitical buffer zone against China over its vulnerable "Siliguri Corridor" (Chicken's neck). A right to station troops (training corps) within Bhutanese sovereign territory. Do look up how India went about handling the Doklam Plateau crisis a few years back, when China occupied parts of Bhutan's Doklam valley in an attempt to gain a tactically advantageous positon over the Siliguri Corridor, and you'll know exactly how crucial it is for India to maintain amicable ties with Bhutan.

[@patriarch7237]

@@praneeshpal8677 Thank you.

[@hc1897]

I have been to Bhutan. It is a beautiful country and the people are lovely. It is a mountainous country but at the time I went (a few years ago) the roads were bad. I understand that they couldn’t build their own highways so India helped them. Sadly it seemed to me that that was a very slow and not very good job (nothing against India, I don’t know anything about the background). There was only one major road and no flights or railway linking the eastern part with the western part of the country. I came back feeling a little underwhelmed - the Bhutanese are a peaceful contented people, but the western hype about happiness is, to be honest, just another kind of manipulation. There is simply no such thing as paradise on earth, in my view.

[@shubhounofficial5125]

Its very hard, labourous and costly affair to build road in bhutan for India. And more over china is already claiming some part of bhutan as theirs like they did to tibet, and India china relationship is lets say not on friendly terms so the contracts and infra works go on and off all the time...

[@berzerius]

You can't call it "Western hype" about happiness when butan itself is marketing itself as being all about happiness.

[@ubitubee]

“Peaceful, contented people”. That’s already a huge win in my books, and a state of mind we in developed countries seem to have lost entirely.

[@shubhounofficial5125]

It comes with a price tag of $200 per day... I mean not for them.. @@ubitubee

[@MachineGunPepe]

Your comment is super negative. First of all Bhutanese themselves call themselves the happiest not westerners. Quit blaming western people for everything. Second I'd rather be poor and happy and than poor and miserable like most people are in the west.

[@kevincronk7981]

Bhutan is weird in a lot of ways. He mentioned that they only officially became a democracy in 2008 with the king still keeping a lot of powers, that was because the king wanted the country to be a democracy. The people want him to stay in power. Not many other countries have a leader who wants to get rid of their own power and a people who want that leader to keep it.

[@rickycool6083]

Not that weird, for the longest time monarchy was respected all over the world and people still respect the old kings and empires in all cultures. Its also partially because royalty des[ite similarities are not politicians, they actually care about people as its their purpose for even existing rather than because of a power or monetary desire.

[@chuckygobyebye]

@liversuccess1420 I don't know if Thailand is a very good example, every 20-30 years ago. It's pretty glossy but if you ask questions you end up in jail or at the bottom of the Mekong.

[@reanukeeves2k77]

Monarchy has many advantages over democracy, which people like the Americans could never understand.

[@chuckygobyebye]

@@reanukeeves2k77 Not just the Americans, While it could be argued that monarchy has certain advantages over democracy, those advantages can also be ascribed to dictatorship.

[@melize7035]

Western democracy is a scam. Imagine being stuck with having to vote for delirious Joe Biden or Crazy Trump 😂😂😂😂

[@prateekojha7717]

My dream for Bhutan will be to develop without compromising on their values. We need a country like Bhutan in this world.

[@jabloko992]

So essentially, Bhutan is the equivalent on a country level of the guy who wants to live off-grid, yet achieved this off-grid status by first relentlessly mining "the grid" for so much wealth that they can ignore it later in their lives.

[@berlin2047]

What he did not mention is Bhutan might be closed off to the rest of the world, but it is VERY open to India in all sectors. Indians are not required to pay to $200 a day tourism fee, so Bhutan gets thousands of Indian tourists each year. Also India manages a lot of internal ministries for Bhutan which include defence and foreign affairs. It is a sovereign country on paper, it is highly dependent on India for survival. China would have gobbled up Bhutan long ago had it not been for India, as was evident from the Doklam clashes.

[@user-bv8fr4to8k]

Pretty cool, they aren't too disimilar to the UK and Ireland. The UK manages a lot of their shipping and pretty much all defense and then they both get visa free access both ways.

[@KelzangDorji]

It's not China that wants to gobble up Bhutan, it's India that wants to turn Bhutan into another Sikkim

[@sustainerofdivineprincipeal]

Lol never imagined seeing my country on this channel. Agree with all of the points. Nepotism is one of the biggest issue plaguing the country. As a result most youths and even government staff have become disillusioned with the country. Hence these days there is a mass exodus of people leaving the country for Australia. We are also paying the price for prioritizing GNH over GDP . Not to mention the country offers nothing special for the ridiculous tourist fee. Furthermore most Bhutanese are too scared to take a risk and only know how to copy others. Because of this there is very few individuals with unique business ideas. The government just cares only about taxing the business and filling up their pockets nothing more .

[@randomfunclips3505]

Someone spoke up at least !🎉

[@Steverog3]

First I doubt if you are a Bhutanese 😂 Second, you would never be happy anywhere in the world, just punch my word

[@thastayapongsak4422]

​@@Steverog3You can never be happy anywhere in the world, but you can never be totally miserable in industrially developed countries with strong state welfare system.

[@Steverog3]

@@thastayapongsak4422 i live in one of the most richest and developed country you would have ever lived. Life here is miserable everyday

[@hanantkm]

@@thastayapongsak4422 You couldn't be more wrong sadly🙂

[@tenzo_san]

The fact that Bhutan has small economy and still offers free education and free healthcare to all citizens is something to be proud of.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Free indoctrination and mid 1900s care. Fixed that for you.

[@tenzo_san]

@@Andy-hp4tf lol India lends money as a loan. Nothing is free in this 21st Century

[@ashutoshsingh3204]

​@@Andy-hp4tfNot true.

[@mesa9724]

“””Free education””” Nothing is free.

[@roujin518]

*All the americans enter the chat* "rabble rabble rabble"

[@NielMalan]

I guess it's normal to measure poverty in dollars, but I'm much more interested in the real effects of poverty, especially in how it reflects in health and education. For example, a poor country can have good health outcomes for not much money if it concentrates on primary health care. Non-monetary indicators for poverty include infant mortality, life expectancy, and suicide rate.

[@longiusaescius2537]

Exactly

[@DemosthenesKar]

Suicide rate i don't think correlates much with poverty. The other ok.

[@TR4R]

According to omniscient Google, Bhutan has an infant mortality rate of 19.76 per 1000 births while in America it is 5.6, just used a wealthy country for comparison. Life expectancy isn't that high, around 70 years. So, I guess, you can be happy there if you don't care about sophistication, top of the line healthcare nor education.

[@death_parade]

Google "UN Report on Multidimensional Poverty Index 2022" Therein you will find poverty and extreme poverty measured as a function of deprivations that includes deprivations in housing, access to clean water, nutrition and education, the type of cooking fuel used, etc. Much better than some random line drawn on the basis of PPP Dollars. D

[@manofculture4249]

You are looking for multidimensional poverty index

[@anilshrestha3818]

Small Correction. 700 Million USD is the highest Nepal has ever earned through Tourism in a single year , It hasnt reached a Billion USD yet according to available data on the internet. Please Do a video about Nepal soon

[@Prashant_Pandey4]

are you nepali

[@asura2600]

it's 2.2 bill usd according to worldbank website check it again ur data is from 2020 which is like 690 mil usd

[@sreeshpoudyal807]

​@@Prashant_Pandey4 Judging by his username, yes

[@damodardangi]

No you are wrong nepal is making in billions and creating millions of job in year

[@1carusGG]

Bhutan is am amazing place. You can get mesmerized by its sheer beauty and landscapes. We Indians love Bhutan.

[@stormshadow5283]

Yes Saar we LoVe BhooTaN SaaR! Uugh! You can't even browse without at least finding one Indian declaring one sided undying love for another country even if said love is totally unnecessary.

[@GloryToAryaVrat]

​@@stormshadow5283lmao deal with it🤣

[@sammy57533]

@@stormshadow5283 loving thy neighbor is one of the core value for cristianity, and many indians follow this core tennent, we hate those who hate us

[@asura2600]

​@@stormshadow5283💯 i friggin find them annoying saale chaatu log

[@asura2600]

​@@GloryToAryaVratit's aryavarat not aryavrat fix dis 🥹

[@todo9633]

This basically mirrors my response when I saw articles and stuff about Bhutan, they have a good thing going, but they can only maintain what they have by relying on other countries. It's not a model that scales up well, or that can standd on it's own, like Singapore in a way.

[@darthmortus5702]

Exactly, one major weakness of this model is your depend entirely on the goodwill of your neighbours. Now admittedly when your neighbours are China and India that is pretty much a given :P Still there is something to be said of the porcupine thinking, or in this case its reverse, and if your country is so backwards that absorbing it doesn't even lead to a burp then why not. It is what every conqueror since antiquity has done...

[@jessesteeves9876]

@@maximipe its extremely easy to get food to Singapore, even if you are still not getting the point he made lol.

[@todo9633]

@@maximipe I said Singapore was similar to Bhutan in that it can't stand on it's own, so yeah.

[@Demopans5990]

​ @darthmortus5702 With Bhutan, it could even be that absorbing it would be such a huge long term burden that it is better to let it be

[@MA-go7ee]

The people are poor, how is that 'a good thing going'? Have you forgotten that poverty means toiling in fields all day doing back breaking work? Probably with all your children? Low levels of education? High infant mortality? Malnutrition? Lack of medical care?

[@93Russki]

I like Butane. It's my favorite after Propane and Ethane.

[@jkardez4794]

You shud try Cocane .

[@pritsingh9766]

You both are insane.

[@rudragaming6977]

​@@jkardez4794no I think Benzene.

[@SaifKhan-wu2zj]

​@@jkardez4794😂😂😂

[@asura2600]

​@@rudragaming6977but benzane is carcinogane😂

[@merrymachiavelli2041]

Out of curiosity, I looked up Bhutans fertility rate and it stands at 1.4 - which is pretty low and represents a massive drop from the 1970s (when it was around 6.6). I do find this a bit weird, given you'd think most of the factors that drive falling fertility else where would be less pronounced in a more traditionalist, slow-growth economy. One thing here is that it looks like Bhutan is going to completely forfeit the demographic dividend (i.e. the boost in the working-age population driving growth that many developing countries experience).

[@adurpandya2742]

It should really be studied. A preindustrial rural agrarian life should lead to high fertility.

[@NarasimhaDiyasena]

@@adurpandya2742use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides contains carcinogenic chemicals such as glyphosate will have negative impact on population on various aspects including fertility

[@RubmaLione]

Or it’s due to young people leaving for economic opportunities in neighboring countries because they don’t want to live in poverty like their parents did.

[@ubitubee]

@@RubmaLioneis it?

[@P_Dendu]

@@ubitubee yes. Take it from a Bhutanese youth lol most young and productive youths are trying their best to go abroad for better opportunities.

[@jamessaintjames1387]

I went to Bhutan in 2014 and that 200 USD a day charge includes everything such as your hotels, meals, your driver and guide making it is very good value for money.

[@kingdomofashes]

They have changed post pandemic so the tourist tax no longer includes hotels etc. It was set at $200 last year but was recently reduced to $100/day. Still, compared to accommodation prices in a variety of places I am sure the price would still not be crazy expensive unless you had a big family.

[@aryamangogoi6764]

Bhutan can be like this coz they always have their big bro nation India looking after them, doing development projects, defending their borders so that they don't need to maintain any army and lot other things. So they are just chill and it's such a small country that India will never mind paying for them and since they are so culturally bonded that Indian love them a lot hence and can be like this forever.

[@joyid]

I am Indian Assamese too and seriously they don't have much favourable view about us. We should be more neutral about our citizens stance on international relations, let government do their job minding our national interest. We don't have be "we love this and that country".

[@x87-64]

@@joyid Yeah, I've been to Bhutan and they really don't have a good opinion of India. The only reason India spends so much money on Bhutan is so that they don't start allying with China like what Nepal did. Pretty smart on Bhutan's part honestly

[@KelzangDorji]

India is helping Bhutan only because they want strategic advantage for the chicken corridor

[@napoleon9514]

If you can't compete in the GDP score, change the whole system so you come out on top. Something to learn there

[@vickyv6645]

Bhutan and india have built a few hydropower projects in the past few years where india builds the projects and pays a royalty and ten percent free power to bhutan till the project costs are recovered and then the project gets transferred to bhutan. Bhutan would do well to focus on its hydropower potential.

[@omkarsankhe2909]

Bhutan can say that they don't care about the economy because most of its national budget is sponsored by India directly More than 50% of total foreign aid that India provides to other nations is towards bhutan. And its in someway a 30th state of india with more sovereignty

[@sukizuki9497]

It definitely is not an Indian state

[@aasamspb967]

@@sukizuki9497 That's true. What he means to say is that India treats Bhutan like it's own not as a foreign country. Indian doesn't have to help them but they are doing it like they are our own people. And this money is not a loan but free money without expecting anything back.

[@sukizuki9497]

@@aasamspb967 I get ya on that first part but there is no such thing as free money. Those money go right back into the pockets of the lenders in the form hydroelectricity purchases at a rate much lower than the global average set price.

[@EarthShadowFilms]

As long as they don’t have a natural resource China or India ends up wanting they should be fine. I grew up in rural poverty and now I live in nyc making a lot more money but still basically poor and less happy. I was happier when my window to the outside world was limited to library books, but yeah if someone had asked me at the time I’d probably had said I wasn’t that happy, because I had no idea how deep sadness and despair could actually go. Human physiology doesn’t want you to experience lasting joy so it’s hard to quantify happiness and wellbeing subjectively.

[@oksowhat]

india is not going to annex Bhutan, india already has its army inside Bhutan to protect it from Chinese aggressions. China is the only real threat to them but they are safe since any agression on Bhutan is an agression towards india.

[@KamikazeCommie501]

I'm sorry that you were lured to a western country under false pretenses. We aren't happy in our society and you're only being lured here to take on debt so bankers can conjure money out of nothing from the interest you pay.

[@tushar-lf8eu]

lol india provide border security to bhutan china claims parts of bhutan search 2017 China-India border standoff

[@dhowe5180]

One of the best comments I’ve seen on YT

[@shubhounofficial5125]

One of the best comment indeed... Thanks..

[@eltonbritt1502]

Bhutan should start developing its contact center/call center industry. They speak good neutral English which is less thickly accented as their Indian counterparts.

[@shi2rplays344]

Do a video on Nepal

[@Peleski]

I find this contrast a lot with Asia. Tourists want to experience people living a bucolic, traditional life, whereas locals want to live with western comforts and opportunity. That's not really compatible. At best you end up with Potemkin villages designed for instagram accounts and real life is happening elsewhere. Bhutan is becoming one big Potemkin village.

[@s9ka972]

*Bhutan* 🇧🇹 is placed much much higher in happiness index than their neighbours- India 🇮🇳 & China 🇨🇳 . Sandwiched between two economic and Nuclear powers and yet happy is something only Bhutanese can do .

[@Contractor48]

Look up how that survey was conducted. It is nonsense.

[@Charvak-Atheist]

That's a facad. Happiness is not quantifiable. These Happiness index is just subjective opinion.

[@danax6653]

​@@Charvak-Atheist Are you indian by any chance ?

[@kakun63]

dude have u got surveyed for this happiness imdex thing coz in india its the leftist dumps that getr to survey if u ask the right maniacs they are the happiest right now i think turh is in bw@@danax6653

[@OP-yw3ws]

You really think that a country can't be happy and rich at the same time

[@JasRoss]

I was lucky enough to book a 5 day trip to Bhutan from Nepal back in 2012. Expensive yes, but one of the most naturally beautiful countries I have ever seen.

[@hewas_chewasky]

For a Nepali you sure are a rich guy

[@someonefromsomewhere6650]

@@hewas_chewaskyonly you could think all nepalis are poor. However if you used logic you’d realise this guy is a foreigner visiting bhutan and nepal. And no hate but all beggars in nepal are from India. You’re free to go and check in kathmandu

[@TR4R]

I'm from Costa Rica and I'm so sick and tired of beggars that I wonder, if they're from abroad, why don't you just deport them?

[@supermanvanced]

​@@TR4RIndia and Nepal share a open border. So, they will keep coming back.

[@xijinpig8982]

​@@supermanvanced A good chunk of young Nepali men work and earn their bread in the industrial regions around Delhi as well as Western and Southern India. It goes both ways, ungrateful Nepalis are not welcomed in India.

[@hzhang1228]

when people say a nation is poor based on the dollar it really does not paint clear picture. in dollar amount they might be poor but not poor in the same way as a citizen that uses the dollar domestically. for example 100k in NYC is only 35k after taxes and cost of living adjustment. and then vs some of these "poor" nations where they might just earn a couple thousand USD a year, they own their land, their house, have no debt and cost of living is a tiny fraction of a city in the MidWest USA. sure they might not be able to buy an imported BMW but they are also not living in a car or tent.

[@HaHaBIah]

Noticed you guys have improved your usage of text animation on screen (forgot what it's called). It's way better than when it was first tried (and overused in a bad way)

[@theconqueringram5295]

Man, I would give anything to visit the country for a holiday! Sadly, I am too poor. I sure hope that the Bhutanese government spends the money they get through tourism on the people!

[@Steverog3]

Yep, the money they generate from tourism directly goes to the countries economy.

[@NjK8]

You can visit Indian states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. It's kind of similar, Himalayan region, Buddhism, low population etc

[@Dmitrisnikioff]

Speaking as an Icelander, who worked in the tourist industry, the Butanese got the right idea.

[@pq7185]

I still want to visit there

[@Lockheed_007]

U girl?

[@aezakmi3766]

@DontReadMyProfilePicture.57 ok

[@mihaidavid359]

8:32 WAW! Nepal mountains are so awesome! .... Just that ... those are Caucasus Mountains with Ushba Peak in the background! 😄

[@pritsingh9766]

I think those are Indian mountains Nanda devi in the Himalayas.

[@mihaidavid359]

@@pritsingh9766 Not true! This is the view from south face of Elbrus.You can clearly see from those slopes some 5000m peaks like Kazbek, Koshtan-Tau, Dykh-Tau, Skhara(the highest point of Georgia), Jangi-Tau and Elbrus (the highest summit of Russia). The twin peaks awesome looking mountain actually is Ushba 4690m.

[@aishikpanja3931]

Why are there Buddhist flags in Georgia?

[@BijayBaruwal-ck1tx]

That's Annapurna South.... everyone can recognize it ..

[@KamikazeCommie501]

I think if Bhutan had a decent economy, I wouldn't be surrounded by Bhutanese immigrants working minimum wage jobs.

[@ericvulgate7091]

Everything about this country seems well managed and smart. I hope they can keep their independence.

[@bearcubdaycare]

Not pursuing economic abundance might be their strategy for keeping that independence.

[@sakshamkumar3864]

India provides security to Bhutan. Bhutan has no form of military weapons, the indian army is deployed there for its protection

[@Bibikkyuu]

Not at all smart

[@puraLusa]

It's also a perfect sistem to keep peasants subservient to high nobility.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​@@bearcubdaycareSo North Korea was right all along?

[@XYZ-tx9id]

If you look bhutan from a political point of view, this system exists because monarch wants to be in power and they dont want any foreign influence or even democratic views to reach average bhutanese.They are highly dependent on aid and infrastructure from india. And india supports the monarchs because india dont want bhutan to come under china's field of influence. ONly thing thats good that bhutanese monarchs are preserving their environment.

[@2ravioli392]

"We don't want to go full Wendover here"😂. We need that collaboration!

[@fh5kskalf]

What's the deal with the horrible research lately?? Finding prices for a random top luxury resort and then proclaiming "That means one night stay in a hotel in this country represents a similar market value to the average resident's entire economic output" is such an absurd and dumb leap of logic, especially considering Bhutan has many hotels for less than $100 a night.

[@fh5kskalf]

You obviously can't mention the prices for a Screaming Eagle wine in a video about the US and then in the next sentence say "This means that wine in this country costs more than most local residents earn in year".

[@kracks9852]

Yeah, there are definitely many cheaper hotels. Homestays are a huge thing there too!

[@Septimus_ii]

I think it's a fundamental flaw of channels like this. Making a decent summary of a country's economy takes months or ideally years of research, but that's just not financially viable for a youtube channel, so instead we get whatever came up in the first few weeks of research packaged with some nice stock footage.

[@ricequackers]

Bhutan only really exists and is able to afford to ignore economic development due to the presence of India. India provides it with security guarantees against Chinese expansionism, and also very heavily subsidises it (again as a bulwark against Chinese influence) which is why they're able to provide free education and healthcare despite being so poor. It's only due to this massive support that it hasn't collapsed or gone the way of Tibet.

[@userre85]

Gotta help buffer states.

[@shauncameron8390]

@@userre85 See China helping North Korea and Russia helping Belarus.

[@TheJohnlyh]

E.E, please do an economic explained video of the middle income trapped Malaysia 🇲🇾 🙆🏻‍♀️

[@Senkelbert]

Thank you very much for your educational content! Didn‘t find anything like your channel yet

[@luismercado5160]

"Money and Macro" and "How Money Works" are good sources as well

[@paulwoods1950]

I worked in Bhutan with some of their richest highest profile residents. How corrupt? You judge, the royal family takes a reputed 30% of GDP, and owns in part or all corporate entities including both airlines. Access to the interior is strictly controlled so visitors cant see the crushing poverty of the majority. When traveling from Paro to climb to tigers nest we passed three generations of a family breaking stones under a huge overhanging rock, on our return home the rock was on the road closing trafic and all the workers were not to be seen. I dont know what happened and there was no reported incident! I came away thinking gross domestic tolorence of misery was more like it. Our driver unknowingly took us into a restricted region and was threatened with severe punishments upon our return after we had all been detained. Gross domestic BS was my impression.

[@ozelolaf4562]

What?

[@tandytshery]

Bro I need more tea on this one. I always thought it was one grand facade but hearing details is whole another matter

[@jonmcclung5597]

I know this kind of nitpick is annoying to read, but I believe in the audio you said they make less than $100 million on tourism while the text said they *lose* $100 million. It might be worth updating the description of the video or pinning a comment acknowledging the typo (assuming that's what it was) since I know KZbin doesn't let you edit the video after uploading.

[@chuckygobyebye]

Yeah, Bhutan ticks the boxes for a fantasy kingdom and that's why it's a playground for wealthy folks. But I'm pretty sure the average citizen may have a few other ideas. Decent schools, decent hospitals don't come cheap and the nation's treatment of its Nepalese population a few years ago is not exactly squeaky clean. It's a one-family, one-nation kind of place, like Saudi Arabia. I would argue that the King needs to do a heck of a lot more for his people rather than keep them living in huts.

[@user-bv8fr4to8k]

If they are happy in the huts why change it? Plus the Nepalese stuff was far more complex than that, the Gurkha stuff was really whipping up a storm to the point civil war looked on the cards. They had to go.

[@tandytshery]

Education and healthcare services are "free" albeit lacking compared to the advancement of the west. As for the mass deportation of the Nepalese people, we're sad that you were treated in an undignified manner but the charges were association with foreign criminals and rebellion. Ofcourse,not all of them but everyone got hurt by association. Ps:we don't live in huts

[@Glitchysky21]

As a bhutanese i can confirm that all are true the main problem in my country is employment, as thereis less industries there is not much employment oppurtunutues for the youth so thats why recently many youth are going oversees to work which has kinda reduced the people in oyr country which is affectibg many local business ventures but i am happy that my fellow country mates are working hard to have a stable future

[@BlueWhiteWiper]

you should do one of Nepal as well.

[@bonchitogovindodas3333]

Well, Nepal's economy is very much integrated with India with open borders and visa free travels. Bhutan-India is a bit more restricted in this respect. It'll be interesting to actually see the video though.

[@koushikdas1992]

​@@bonchitogovindodas3333Nepalese like Chinese more than you.

[@bonchitogovindodas3333]

@@koushikdas1992 still that doesn't refute the fact that Nepal and India's economies are integrated too much to separate them out.

[@animadas2306]

​@@bonchitogovindodas3333you forgot cultural ties also

[@bonchitogovindodas3333]

@@animadas2306 cultural ties doesn't necessitate economic ties anywhere in the world. Infact two neighbouring countries with cultural tie generally results in enmity (Indo-Pak, Koreas, Balkans, irani-pak, Russ-ukraine, etc.)

[@manashdb]

Bhutan has an elder brother named India for all its needs ranging from roads to higher education for Bhutanese children who are the future of the country. Bhutan doesn’t need modernisation and capitalism. The people of Bhutan are happy with what they have.

[@yi6738]

你忘记了 不丹好像还有一个表哥 好像是🇨🇳

[@AzraJay]

@@yi6738 cry more chinese bot

[@tyt684]

I am Bhutanese, we don't consider you elder brother or any familial ties. We are just neighbors, we depend on you for our economy which our shirty leaders have kept it primitive and We act as buffer between India and China to minimise frictions at border and safeguard your Siliguri Chicken Neck corridor which you cannot trust on Bangaldesh and Nepal. So please never consider yourself our brother or father or mother, geo politics is business.

[@shubhounofficial5125]

@ty684 I am extremely sorry for the arrogance of my fellow nationals. We see bhutan as a aspirational country.. according to hindu faith we are supposed to seek the spiritual fulfilment and not materialistic achievements and ypu people already achieved that.. its more important to be content with your friends and family than to be rich and alone..

[@shubhounofficial5125]

Let people live the way they wnat to... From typing a comment from comfort of your home you are not gonna bring any revolution to the people of bhutan.. and you cant speak on behalf of ALL THE BHUTANESE... @Andy-hp4tf

[@vijai-gf4ub]

My flat in south India, Chennai used to have tendents from Bhutan who came for higher education. They were very friendly, kind, Polite and honest. I think Bhutan being a Himalayan country not like Nepal is more concerned about its Environment over quick Economic growth and taking every steps into future very carefully. Focusing on Green tech should be a good option for them.

[@EconClimate]

A happy country after doing ehtnic cleasning of Nepalese people and creating havoc to Nepal. They did ethnic cleansing back in 1990s,have blood in hand but i have seen it being mentioned. it is amazing how bhutan have rebranded from being ethnic cleaning country to happy psoperous country,

[@insight7232]

Those Nepalese people you mentioned were illegally settled in Bhutan and taking advantage of peace loving Bhutanese people. They brought all friends and cousins living across the border into Bhutan and settled in fertile southern lands. They wanted the free education, free healthcare and relaxed attitude governance provided in Bhutan. Then they started flexing their superior racial complex. Although living in Bhutan they demanded that southern Bhutan be part of greater Nepal ( Gurkha land ), rejected state rule and started agitation against the country and King. When Bhutan demanded they follow the country's rule and started immigration status, they resorted to violence. Killing people and beheading any people not siding up with them. They bombed schools, planted dynamites under the bridges, ransacked immigration office and burned files. Like in some horror Hollywood movies, these Nepalese people displayed those chopped human heads with warning letters to their own Nepalese people that same fate will befall them if they didn't join the agitation against Bhutan. Some peace loving Nepalese origin villagers in southern Bhutan were forced and coerced into joining their agitation. Those who stayed neutral were robbed and tortured in the night by crossing the border by these agitators. Why Bhutan didn't protect those innocent villagers was because Bhutan has less armed forces and inexperienced which the agitators knew very well. These Nepalese people knew how to manipulate the media by adding economically challenged Nepalese people ( who never set their foot in Bhutan's land ) in their refugees camps and inflating the numbers. The outside world didn't know any better because they all look alike. All they had to do was claim they were from Bhutan and they were provided with free rations and relocations to western countries. No proper check was done to identify of their legitimacy, in short it was free for all, as long as they look and dressed as Nepalese and claim to be refugees. Then their leaders started the refugee scam. Many actual Nepalese citizens and some people from other nations paid huge amounts of cash to these agitating Nepalese leaders to be relocated to America as refugees from Bhutan. Google " Fake Bhutanese refugee scam in Nepal " in cahoots with some of the then Nepalese government for details.

[@kevinbee4617]

If striving for GDP makes a country more happy than any other goal, then the strategy could just as well be to strive for happiness. If striving for GDP doesn't make a country as happy as it could be, then _obviously_ it makes the country less happy than it could potentially be. Why would someone not want happiness? I don't get it. Why is happiness "overhyped"? What I read a bit between the lines is that Bhutan is not perfect at striving for happiness. For example that they could be more happy, if they had cheaper hotels. But that's not the fault of the goal of happiness. In Greece there was a bit of a debate between the Epicureans and the Stoics, whether happiness is the ultimate goal, but _GDP_ was not the alternative. In my opinion GDP is nothing but a _heuristic,_ it's important to distinguish heuristics from real goals and thirdly, some people _do_ confuse the two.

[@sonamdema3252]

As a Bhutanese I don’t think your comparison matters a lot. We are doing the best and we are happy with that.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

Buthan: we want to preserve our ancient culture and ways ALSO Buthan: Bitcoin is an ancient ancestral industry of this agrarian society 😂🤷‍♂️🙄🤷‍♂️

[@patriarch7237]

More like: a way to earn currency which makes literally no difference to anyone here - we don't have to look at it, talk about it, or clean up after it. We don't even have to think about it, and it doesn't impinge on our culture in any way whatsoever. And if it goes pear-shaped, we have very little to lose - at worst, we just end up where we started.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@patriarch7237 so earnings is the priority? And culture comes 2nd?

[@patriarch7237]

@@ricardokowalski1579 No. I'm saying if there is a way of earning money which has no impact on your culture whatsoever, then there's no reason not to do it. Bitcoin is a way of doing that, as once you install the resources to mine it, you can leave it running with little interaction. If your culture is "being poor" (e.g. Franciscan monk) then it would impact your culture, so maybe don't do it. But most people don't really regard "being poor" as a noble calling. If they do, it is a quality to be admired in other people, not something an individual seeks for themselves.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@patriarch7237 "no impact" means government gets the money and the citizens stay miserable

[@mr.goldenproductions_0143]

Great doubl- digit IQ thinking there pal! As evidenced by your use of Emojis on an economics video.

[@christopherellis2663]

Well, I can afford to, but I don't feel like being that exclusive. I suggest a lottery for the visa. No extra fees are required, more likelihood of getting a stay 🤔 this could be universally adopted

[@imviiku]

You forgot to mention one thing . For the rest of the world it's $200 dollars a Day . For Indians it used to be Free until 2021 and now it's $15 dollars a day .

[@sukizuki9497]

I think for tourists, the rate now is 100$ per day

[@eriklarsson6622]

So Bhutan is like the Switzerland of Asia?

[@yangerjamir0906]

How many Swiss citizens have you come across foreign countries doing minimum wage jobs?

[@shauncameron8390]

LOL. Bhutan has more in common with eSwatini than Switzerland.

[@tandytshery]

The difference would be a king cobra and a worm. Ofcourse Switzerland is the cobra

[@gorilladisco9108]

Q : "How to make your power safe?" Wangchuck : "Keep the people poor and stupid." Kim Jong Un : "My man."

[@insight7232]

Wangchuk already handed over the democracy to people before this video was made.

[@pranaydutt5273]

even if the external debt is high , i think it is mostly given by India at a very low interest rate, and even if bhutan unable to pay the debt india will just waive it off.

[@thastayapongsak4422]

It's an absolute monarchy. That's sufficient to conclude that life there is generally miserable.

[@Glitchysky21]

Life here is great and maybe greater then urs we may not be that much rich but we are able to afford and lead a happy and simple life just as buddha has teached us

[@manishapadmawar372]

ive been to Bhutan and no, it isnt $3k-$20k for a room! thats just stupidly absurd..you could get a decent room with good services for $150-$450..please research with the locals before making such videos..also the way you mention that Nepal is capitalizing on tourism, it is littered with uncultured tourists..unlike Nepal, the Bhutanese villages seem way better and calm..if they like to be like that, let them be instead of making videos on them explaining how they arent modern or development

[@imdiyu]

Plot twist: Bhutan is not the happiest country in the world.

[@jayjyotisarma3222]

Bhutan is far away from my home is about 10 KM . Bhutan citizens conditions is not good and morden. Royal family get status like Gods. 😢😢

[@Bishnu347]

well now, I don't think Nepal ever made 'Billions of Dollars ' just through mountaineering and tourism in a single year as claimed in this video at 8:29. I would like to know where you guys found this data.

[@christopherellis2663]

Not " who should it be priduced for " but who is going to buy it?

[@juncenli9983]

I do wonder where does the $100M/yr tourism revenue go. Given the low labor cost, I would assume the few high end hotels be extremely profitable. Do the profits go to education/healthcare/infrastructure or some powerful guys pocket?

[@Glitchysky21]

Mostly to education,health and infrasture in the country but bhutan also places importance on its civil servabts like teachers so they have high wage rate

[@nickhexum01]

I don't blame them. Nepal is filling up with garbage and dead climbers. I think Bhutan has it figured out.

[@CoastalCoves]

Make a video on Nepal it would be interesting to see that

[@bearcubdaycare]

I'd think that aluminum smelting might be an industrial option, given the country's abundant hydro and the bauxite production of some nearby countries, if the country decided to pursue industry.

[@Demopans5990]

They're probably just happy to take advantage of hydro and wind projects. Maybe take out more loans to build out HVDC infrastructure since mountains aren't great places to build rail or roads

[@premsprespective3507]

Bhutan also ethnically cleansed Nepali people

[@sukizuki9497]

Ye, lllegal immigrants and anti-nationals were kicked out

[@washingtonradio]

Bhutan has probably gone to far the other way but they do have a point - a balance between economic growth and personal happiness is needed in all countries. Economic growth "ueber Alles" is also stupid.

[@drewski-qu3co]

Amsterdam and Venice residents are taking notes on how to redevelop their tourism industry.

[@fajaradi1223]

No more hippies backpackers

[@bishnukarmakar2508]

just a small feedback can you slow up your pace, it is very hard for an non native English speaker to catch up to your pace of speaking otherwise the content is far more than excellent kudos for that, an d Avery happy new year.🥳

[@kaikalls5058]

In terms of tourist backpackers tend to spend very less and do not contribute much hence they have increased prices for visa.. they only want rich tourist who is wiling to spend... it serves two purpose.. less crowd and quality tourist willing to spend..

[@nomehdrider]

Well,, I am guessing that the ruling family is happy

[@dinglshingle]

its okay to say that you want to stay undeveloped because of your geographic resources but to say that your countries goal is focussing on GDH is some hard copium to shoot.

[@davidbrunsdon3245]

These happiness surveys - would be more aptly titled 'self-satisfied' surveys. They cannot measure relative happiness as the surveyed have mostly only experienced their own country. If however you have been brainwashed into thinking your country is the best on the planet - then you tend to very happy.

[@bingobongo1615]

Bhutan is also (despite nominally a democracy) ruled by the King and laws are extremely restrictive for citizens as well… This video also says nothing about the issue of "measuring happiness" …

[@Atombender]

USA being ranked #24 on the CPI sounds VERY biased.

[@notdpanda9525]

Bhutan wants you to ignore their problems by presenting an image of a country full of poor people that are happy, but they could do better. They also don't want people discussing what they did to their minorities very recently.

[@seditiousrebel6988]

It's one of the worst countries in the world but with very strong PR. I don't think even North Korea has banned education for multiple years.

[@zurielsss]

Thanks for raising awareness of this, I just googled and learn about it. They wrap themselves around good PR when all the king cares about is preserving the status quo and the ignorance of their people

[@trustycrusty1773]

What did they do to their minorities?

[@userre85]

Which minority?

[@shi2rplays344]

@@userre85 Nepali speaking Minority who were born there(Bhutan)

[@Lapantouflemagic0]

It might seem admirable, but that approach also means accepting to be at the mercy of whatever the future will throw at you. saying you don't need money is the same as saying you don't need medication when you're sick. if you're fine with dying from something curable, yeah, okay, sure. for most other countries, there also would be the need to keep up technologically and militarily with your neighbors to make sure no one tries to attack you and turn your entire population into slaves, but it's not as if they could ever fend off either of their neighbors, so they can probably survive in limbo like that.

[@rattyratstuff7125]

never once wanted to go to china or India, but ive always dreamed of visiting Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet because those seem to be the last in tact ancient cultures. the chinese tried to snuff them out, but their willpower were the only ones strong enough to keep their way of life.

[@Cray-wilder]

seems like you are very ignorant about the region. Bhutans geography and culture is not unique to the country since himalayas are spread over from pakistan, india , china and nepal. india has like many states that are like bhutan or even better for instance , places like ladakh and sikkim in india. with local bhudhist culture being preserved as insect trapped in amber. it's just that bhutan is its own nation state it recieves more attention.

[@rattyratstuff7125]

@Cray-wilder I'd also love to visit India. Grew up with an Indian kid right down the street. Only cool kid in the neighborhood. Did everything together. He invites me to go to India with him every summer but I've never had the time or money to go with him. He usually visits his family then heads to the north and north eastern areas to just tour the country side for a few weeks.

[@greypilgrim9967]

Maybe you should add happiness index to the score of the economy. Since well-being and happiness is the point, the WHY of why we even bother with economics

[@Septimus_ii]

The problem is that happiness is so hard to measure. Even the happiness index is very flawed and exploitable

[@rainbowpaillettes8404]

The Bhutanese monarchy are displacing their Nepali minority into india basically ethnically cleansing their country. I haven't heard about any killings of Nepalese, but the evictions have been going on for some time

[@userre85]

How do they tell the difference between Nepalese and Bhutanese? Both look Tibetan to me.

[@rainbowpaillettes8404]

@djeaenpgahku absolutely racist.... also they speak the different language and have different culture.

[@userre85]

@@rainbowpaillettes8404 Oh i get it. Nepalese aren't Buddhist, right?

[@rainbowpaillettes8404]

@djeaenpgahku some are most aren't. They are predominantly hindu yes

[@P_Dendu]

How are ethnic nepali in Bhutan a minority when they make up a sizable portion of the country's population? My people in the country are the real minority, we don't even make up 20k in number. Don't try to play the victim without understanding the full context of the situation.

[@Dodo-td1pg]

Bhutan is one of the saddest country (95th in World Happiness Report 2023) Bhutan is one of the poorest country (153rd in GDP per capita 2022) Most Bhutan people would prefer to accept more tourists, if that helps with their poverty. Bhutan's ruling elite don't seem to care though.

[@sukizuki9497]

Not really

[@sanshuma0]

This was a weird episode - Classic case of going to lengths to prove why an apple is not a pear. Well, it is not. Nor it is trying to be, it doesn't want to be why do you even start?

[@qualityking1068]

buddhism also have made progress difficult, and most of these countries are dirt poor

[@zebraboy]

Bro excited for ur journey

[@DelCause]

It's funny how Bhutan their non-capitalist system received a better grade than Russia, Turkiye, Iran and Cyprus while they are about to reach Brunei.

[@juliomandiaga9612]

If the people are not worried about where the next meal will come from, they have a decent house to shelter them from the elements, then the government is succeeding. Cars, expensive clothes, jewelry are really just extra stuff in life, good to own them but not necessary. There are countries with high GDP but at the same time they also have homeless children and parents worried about being laid off at any time.

[@Llooktook]

Interestingly enough, if you look at Nepals vs bhutan's HDI Bhutan is ahead, with substantially less globalisation, corruption and foreign involvement. Additionally history has shown us that countries eager to rapidly develop often put aside human rights and other societal constraints to benefit (usually) a single Strata of society. It seems a pretty good choice by bhutan here given all of that.

[@OOOOOO-dx7zu]

i mean between nepal and bhutan, its bhutan that has a history of ethnic cleansing and human rights distribution issues. Bhutan has done well but lets not carried away.

[@KalG-uy8fq]

You need to do a little bit of research, mate! bhutan is built on ethnic cleansing. It expelled almost a quarter of its population. don't fall for the marketing BS it spews. Nepal is definitely poorer compared to bhutan but its a far more diverse place; culturally, economically and socially. Plus its lot more freer than Bhutan. Bhutan whitewashes its history to its populace. If you ever met a group of bhutanese, ask them about the expulsion of almost 135000 of their people and they will all parrot the same text taught by their government. Almost as if they have fallen prey to their BS. Interestingly, even the BS is not working anymore as bhutanese villagese are emptying at an alarming rate as the youth seem to all want to leave for australia.

[@sukizuki9497]

@@OOOOOO-dx7zu You mean lllegal immigrants being kicked out especially considering the mass exodus of Nepalese into neighbouring areas during the mid 1900s

[@sukizuki9497]

​@@KalG-uy8fq You're the one that needs to do proper research, Bhutan was long present even before those illegal immigrants from nepal decided to cause problems in the country and the nearby areas. Their history doesn't revolve around those irrelevant toublemakers. If anyone's whitewashing its you lot, withholding info about how Nepalese officials were literally in cahoots with the dissidents, not to mention how many of your people were faking it by opting for the status of a 'refugee' all so they could live in a better country through the resettlement program which surprise surprise, officials from your government had a huge hand in it as well(check news about nepalese officials involvement) that was found out about what? 30 years later? who knows how many have gone unnoticed even now? oh but let me guess, you're just gonna spout the same nonsensensical lie as all those dissidents and ignoramus'. Also, youths go outside to make money to send back to their families and improve their skills for the country's development unlike your youths who leave their country for good, really shows the patriotism one has for their country and people.

[@logical-brain-]

The "country" doesn't prefer it. It's the kingdom that prefers it.

[@shauncameron8390]

Namely the government in charge.

[@Miaphysite3]

About Eritrea? I will wait you.

[@bbd121]

​@DontReadMyProfilePicture.57Will you please stop?

[@Bengalinationalist]

Please make a video about Bangladesh, it is a major economy in asia!

[@BoboSLO1]

Wow ...just wow 😮

[@braineaterzombie3981]

Are you guys forgetting that butan is only carbon negative country in world which means it takes more carbon dioxide then it releases it.

[@patriarch7237]

Because it doesn't produce anything? Because it is pretty much subsidised by the Indian taxpayer? Any I bet that Indian money isn't remotely "carbon negative"...

[@peterjim6646]

One of my elders said - keep domestic and commercial separate and your happiness will always remain in balance ! Glad that Bhutan is following this. The more you focus on making endless money, the more unhappy you are and hence end up doing things that you never wanted to do in the first place!!

[@jamessimon2002]

I knew someone who was a missionary to butan.