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Bhutan

Deep-built
ISO: BTN Region: Asia & the Pacific

1% circumcision prevalence

Prevalence of non-therapeutic male circumcision.

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Research coverage

A transparent snapshot of what this file currently contains.

PrevalenceComplete
Categorical profileComplete
Circumcision by intentComplete
Deep write-upsComplete
Native perspectiveExploratory

8

Sources · Citations

7

Verifications · Independent

0

Structured claims · Evidence-based

Jul 9, 2026

Last updated · deep-built

Research note: Bhutan DEEP_BUILT 2026-07-07. Morris 2016 PMC4772313: 1.0% (confirmed 3-0). Vajrayana Buddhist majority (~75%) + Hindu minority (~22.6-23%, ~175,000 people, 2011) both non-circumcising. DISTINCTIVE: Bhutan's Hindu population is concentrated among the ethnic Lhotshampa (Nepali-speaking, southern Bhutan) — early 1990s documented ethnic-cleansing/citizenship crisis expelled a large share; by 1996, 100,000+ refugees (~40% of Lhotshampa pop) in Nepali camps, many later resettled in third countries incl. US. Presented as demographic-historical CONTEXT for current population composition, NOT conflated with a circumcision-practice finding. Muslim community NOT independently documented (honest gap). HIV 0.16% (2018, UNAIDS) — the CLEANEST HIV figure across this entire 6-country batch (bn/bt/kp/mn/tl/tm), most of which only yielded case counts not %. UNREGULATED. NOT VMMC priority. 0 verified incidents (honest gap). Sources #1310-1317.

Research claims

Short, testable claims backed by evidence and categorised for clarity.

No structured research claims have been added for Bhutan yet.

Legal status

Unregulated

No Bhutanese statute specifically governs non-therapeutic male circumcision. This research did not independently verify Bhutan's female genital mutilation legal status — an honest gap. Female genital mutilation is a separate matter and must not be conflated with male circumcision.

Medical & HIV context

0.16%

Adult HIV prevalence

UNAIDS (2018) · Adults 15–49

no

Circumcision in newborns

Non-therapeutic (cultural practice)

no tradition

Typical age

Benchmarks are international context — not a local complication rate.

Incident registry

No verified incidents are currently recorded for Bhutan.

This absence should not be read as proof that harm does not occur — only that no verified, sourced case has been documented in this database yet.

Country write-ups

Bhutan: A Near-Zero Rate, and a Hindu Minority Shaped by a 1990s Refugee Crisis

Bhutan's tiny circumcision prevalence reflects both its Buddhist majority and a Hindu Nepali-speaking minority whose population was dramatically reduced by a documented citizenship crisis three decades ago

Nov 1, 2025