Bhutan - Indigenous groups

There are four major ethnic groups or groupings in Bhutan: Bhutia/Buotias, Sharchops, a cluster of indigenous groups, and Nepali. The Buotias account for approximately half of the country’s population while indigenous tribal people account for approximately 15% of the population.

These clusters of small, indigenous ethnic groups, such as the Lepcha, are scattered throughout Bhutan. The strongest concentration inhabits the narrow fringe of the Duars (floodplains or foothills) in the southern foothills near the Indian border. These people are ethnically related to groups in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal. They speak Indo-Aryan languages and follow Hinduism instead of the widely popular faith of Bhutan – Buddhism. Their main source of livelihood comes from wet-rice and dry-rice agriculture. Also, it is known that some of these indigenous people are actually descendants of slaves who are brought to Bhutan from similar tribal areas in India.