Bhutan’s Regret #
March 24th, 2008 | In Worth Knowing
Today, Bhutan became a democracy. While admitting his faults, The Economist point out that monarchy wasn’t too bad to the small country:
Few elected governments could boast of the king’s record. Accelerating a reform process begun by his father, whom he succeeded in 1972, the king transformed Bhutan from one of the world’s most reclusive poor countries to one of its more enlightened.
Over the past 25 years its economy has grown at an average annualised rate of 7%, mainly on the back of sales of hydro-generated electricity to India. With massive investments in public health care, life expectancy has risen from 40 years at the time of the king’s succession to 66 years today. The school enrollment rate leapt by over 20% in the 1990s.