Bhutan, Champion of Happiness Over GDP, Turns to Cash as Births Decline

Bhutan, the small Himalayan nation that has made national happiness its policy compass, has opened its wallet in response to the declining sound of children's cries. The government has decided to provide monthly cash payments to families with three or more children.

According to Reuters and other outlets Saturday, the Bhutanese government announced that families will receive $105 (about 163,000 won) each month for a third child born after the 4th of this month until the child turns three years old. The support will also be applied retroactively to third children born before the 4th of this month who have not yet reached the age of three.

Kesang Deki, secretary of Bhutan's cabinet, explained that the support extends beyond the third child to the fourth and fifth, with all eligible regardless of the number.

The Bhutanese government said, "Population decline, aging, and overseas migration pose a long-term burden not only on the labor force but on social and economic development as a whole," adding that the measure reflects the government's commitment to welfare and the sustainability of the population.

The figures reveal a sense of crisis. Bhutan's annual births plunged 26% over nine years, from 11,001 in 2015 to 8,153 in 2024.

The total fertility rate, the number of children a woman is expected to bear over her lifetime, has also fallen to 2.1, the population replacement level. With more young people leaving for Australia and elsewhere in search of better jobs, the population base itself is being shaken.

Bhutan, with a population of fewer than 800,000, is a small Himalayan kingdom wedged between the two giants of China and India. Since its king declared in the 1970s that "Gross National Happiness (GNH) is more important than Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," the country has made a name for itself worldwide as a nation that places happiness at the center of its policies.

Its geopolitical position is far from easy. While Bhutan has traditionally maintained close and friendly relations with India, with which it established diplomatic ties in 1968, it has yet to even establish diplomatic relations with China, with which it has experienced conflict over an undemarcated border.