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Capitals of the world
Thimphu, capital of Bhutan: facts and figures
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan. It has about 115,000 residents, which makes it the 163rd most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 2,314 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Dhaka, 414 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Bhutan |
| Continent | Asia |
| City population | 115,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 163rd of 172 |
| Elevation | 2,314 m |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Time zone | Asia/Thimphu |
| Coordinates | 27.47° N, 89.64° E |
| Country population | 796,682 residents |
| Country GDP | 3.6 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $4,493 |
| Life expectancy | 73.3 years |
| Internet users | 91.3 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Thimphu averages 5.1 °C in winter and 17.5 °C in summer. January is the coldest month of the year and August the warmest, and the city receives 3,360 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 3.8 °C |
| February | 5.4 °C |
| March | 8.5 °C |
| April | 11.7 °C |
| May | 14.1 °C |
| June | 16.9 °C |
| July | 17.7 °C |
| August | 17.8 °C |
| September | 16.6 °C |
| October | 13.2 °C |
| November | 9.5 °C |
| December | 6.2 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Size: 2nd least populous capital in Asia (115,000 residents).
- Elevation: highest capital in Asia (2,314 m).
- Rainfall: 3rd wettest capital in the world (3,360 mm).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Dhaka is the closest capital to Thimphu.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Dhaka | Bangladesh | 414 km |
| Kathmandu | Nepal | 427 km |
| Naypyidaw | Myanmar | 1,079 km |
| New Delhi | India | 1,226 km |
| Vientiane | Laos | 1,697 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Thimphu to a place and a number you already know: it is 414 km from Dhaka, and it is the 163rd largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Bhutan compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- Founding date: Wikidata, earliest recorded founding claim.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, in Asia, with about 115,000 residents, averaging 5.1 °C in winter and 17.5 °C in summer.
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What is the capital of Bhutan?
Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan. It has about 115,000 residents and lies in Asia.
How many people live in Thimphu?
About 115,000, which ranks Thimphu 163rd of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Thimphu?
Thimphu averages 5.1 °C in winter and 17.5 °C in summer, with 3,360 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Thimphu?
GDP per capita in the country is $4,493, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh: facts and figures
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh: 21,000,000 residents, 9 m above sea level, 19.6 °C in winter and 28.4 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Kathmandu, capital of Nepal: facts and figures
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal: 1,500,000 residents, 1,312 m above sea level, 11.6 °C in winter and 22.5 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Naypyidaw, capital of Myanmar: facts and figures
Naypyidaw is the capital of Myanmar: 920,000 residents, 154 m above sea level, 23.4 °C from December to February and 25.8 °C from June to August. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.