03/07/2026
𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 📊🧓
The National Statistics Bureau (NSB) is pleased to announce the official release of our latest thematic research series: "Economic Security among Elderly Persons in Bhutan: A Multidimensional Analysis of Poverty, Consumption, Income and Social Support."
As Bhutan undergoes a significant demographic transition—with the proportion of elderly persons projected to increase from 8.8% to nearly 20% by 2047—understanding the economic well-being of our older citizens has become an increasingly important national priority. For the first time, this report provides a rigorous, multidimensional assessment of economic (in)security among persons aged 60 years and above, offering critical evidence for shaping social protection policies in Bhutan using Bhutan Living Standard Survey 2022.
🔍 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲:
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐚𝐩:While only 12.8% of elderly persons are consumption-poor, 38.8% experience multidimensional insecurity—deprivations across economic resources, material well-being, health, and social support. This 26-percentage-point gap reveals that income-based measures alone substantially underestimate elderly vulnerability.
• 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫: Household wealth emerges as the single most powerful predictor of elderly welfare. Moving from the poorest to the richest wealth quintile reduces poverty by 30.2 percentage points and increases consumption by 156%, highlighting the enduring importance of asset accumulation over the life course.
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞:Elderly persons in urban areas experience significantly better outcomes than their rural counterparts—with 9.5 percentage points lower poverty and 28.7% higher consumption—reflecting persistent spatial disparities in access to services and economic opportunities.
• 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Each additional income source reduces poverty by 4.4 percentage points and increases consumption by 9.8%. However, diversification does not support against non-monetary deprivations, underscoring the need for targeted structural interventions.
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱: Receiving remittances is associated with 4.6 percentage points higher poverty and 18.2% lower consumption, suggesting that remittances flow to already-vulnerable households as a coping mechanism rather than a pathway out of poverty.
• 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: The Eastern region consistently emerges as the most disadvantaged, with 16.8% lower consumption and 4.2 percentage points higher poverty compared to the Western region, underscoring the need for geographically targeted interventions.
📖 Access the full report here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19tgCgxRaHXQzIgtISxaf12JsmDfAy-qv/view?usp=drive_link]
For further details, please contact Tshewang Jamtsho ([email protected]) or Tashi Norbu ([email protected])
