 |
| People of Laya, Gasa |
The estimated population of the country is 7, 00,000
with the growth rate of 3.1% per year. The country is still predominantly
rural and about 85% of the people live in villages.
Three main ethnic groups constitute its population:
Sharchops: live in eastern
part of country are recognized as the original inhabitants of Bhutan and are
Indo Mongoloid origins.
Ngalops: Ngalops are
descendants of Tibetan immigrants who arrived in Bhutan from 9th
century and settled in the western part of Bhutan.
Lhotshampas:
Nepalese group, began settling in the southern part of Bhutan in the late 19th
century. The Lhotshampa represents different Nepali speaking ethnic groups
primarily Brahman, Chettri, Gurung, Rai and Limbu.
