Bhutan was unified by the Shabdrung, a Buddhist lama of the Drukpa Kagyu sect who fled from Tibet in 1616. From the 1600s until the early 1900s, Shabdrungs were Bhutan's spiritual and temporal rulers. During the 1800s they ruled decayed, and the Shabdrungs lost much of their temporal power to feuding district governors. In 1907, the office of the Shabdrungs was quietly abolished and Ugyen Wangchuck became the first king with the approval of the British, whom he had supported during their incursions into Tibet. Since 1907, Bhutan has been ruled by four kings of the Wangchuck line; the present king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, began his dictatorship in 1972.

Bhutan does not have any indigenous group. It is a nation of immigrants and a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society. There are three main ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and a dozen smaller groups. The Ngalung - often called Drukpas - are the ruling group who control the monarchy and the government and dominate the economy. King and all the high Government Officials belong to this politically and economically dominant ethnic group. They live in the north-western region, speak Dzonkha language and wear robe like dresses. They migrated from Tibet. They are called Drukpas as they follow the Drukpa Kargyupa school of Mahayana Buddhism. The second ethnic group is called Sharchop, who inhabit in eastern and central region and practice Nyingmapa sect of Mahayana Buddhism and belong to Tibeto-Burman ancestry. They speak Tsangla, Kurteop, Kheng and Brokpa dialects. They were supposedly migrated from North-east India.

The third ethnic group is called Lhotshampas (meaning Southern Bhutanese) live in six southern foothill districts, speak Nepali language, practice mostly Hinduism and migrated from Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim in India. All three ethnic groups migrated to Bhutan at different points of time in history, but before the exodus of British from India in 1947. There are other minority ethnic groups having their own distinct characteristics in terms of language, culture, religious practices etc. They are Tibetans, Doyas, Khengs, Adivashis, Brokpas Mangdepas and Kurteopas. In terms of religion and faith, Bhutanese people practise Hinduism, Christianity, Drukpa Kargyupa and Nyingmapa sects of Buddhism and Animism. Each ethnic group of Bhutan have lived clustered together in separate regions. For example, the Nepali-speaking Lhotshampas lived in southern foothills, the Sharchops lived in eastern region and the Ngalungs lived in north-western regions.

In Bhutan the census record is maintained in the district of origin, even though they are living in different parts like capital Thimphu. The government of Bhutan does not disclose the exact number of population. It has been a guarded secret. In the eighties the government put the figure at 1,165,800 and even increased to 1.4 million. The reason and the need for this inflated figure could not be ascertained. However, due to external pressure and after the dissident groups published the population figure at between 600,000 to 700,00, the king of Bhutan admitted in 1991 that the real number was just about 600,000. In 1999, Bhutan's population was 657,548 according to the Planning Commission of the Royal Government of Bhutan. There are 125,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal and India. Out of which around 105,000 are living in Nepal and another 20,000 in India.. Thus, the total population of Bhutan was estimated at 782,548, plus 125,000 exiled refugees. The World Bank's population figure for the year 2000 was 782,000.

Bhutan is administratively divided into western, central, eastern and southern regions. King's religion -Drukpa Kargyupa Buddhism is the state religion. King's language Dzonkha is the national language. The following unofficial demographic statistics have been derived by a complex system based on Government statistics, population figures of 1980 and 2000, UN, World Bank and other international sources. The following figures include the refugee population, about 125,000 living in refugee camps in Nepal, other parts of Nepal and India. With the support of British Empire, monarchy was established in 1907. Since then, Bhutan is ruled by an absolute hereditary monarch since 1907. There is no Constitution or the Bill of Rights in Bhutan. The system of governance is practically autocratic, primitive, despotic and feudal. The King is the head of the state, government and the highest court of appeal. In the absence of the Constitution or clearly defined powers of the government, the executive, judiciary and the legislature function as a single administrative structure under the command of the King. There is a Council of Minister under the chairmanship of the king.

The High Court in Thimphu known as Royal Court of Justice is the country's Supreme Court was set up in 1968. It comprises of six judges and functions as a single bench and district courts too have a lone district judge. The judiciary is not independent of the king and neither is it impartial or neutral. Since, it functions under the command of the king, the King exercises strong, active and direct power over the judiciary. The Government significantly restricts the rights of Bhutanese citizens and the judiciary has never protected these rights. The judiciary is also never known to declare any government action unlawful. Provisions for defence attorneys, lawyers, solicitors and jury trials are non existent. No Judicial official including the Chief Justice is trained in law. The current judges do not possess any university degree. In fact an important institution like the judiciary has been made a dumping ground for inefficient and unwanted civil servants. Arbitrary arrest and detention is the rule rather than exception. Royal Bhutan Police has never seen an arrest warrant. Bhutan has the most outdated, unprofessional and unlawful prosecution and trial system. The government restricts citizens' right to a fair trial. In contravention to all established jurisprudence and international legal norms, the judges in Bhutan investigate cases, file charges, prosecute and even award judgment. The hearing judge assists the police from the executive branch of the government in the prosecution and decides the cases. The entire basis of the judicial system is extraction of the confession of the crime.

The National Assembly of Bhutan ( a unicameral house ) is called Tshogdu. It consists of 150 members. 100 seats are filled up by the so-called representative of people, selected by the King appointed Dzongda (Chief District Officer). The Chief District Officer is the final authority to decide on the person to be selected. Forty members are appointed by the King from among the bureaucracy and ten members are nominated by the Buddhist clergy. There is no fair representation to the National Assembly. It is a rubber-stamp of the executive and its deliberations are all engineered by the Government. There is only Treasury bench. The king and his Council of Ministers is the single source of law. Members of national Parliament -- the National Assembly themselves cannot pass any legislation.

They do not belong to any political party, since political parties and human rights organisations are banned in Bhutan. The Council of Ministers sends all legislation to the National Assembly for approval and enactment. The NA just approves them and all legislation passed by the NA is sent to the King, who has the power to veto any legislation. NA has been relegated to the institution of eulogizing the magnanimity of the king, paying adulatory and flattering tributes to him and legitimising government action. NA members are indoctrinated to deliberate on pre-decided agenda set by the government. Laws in Bhutan have no respect at all for individual rights and civil liberties. Citizens including members of NA lose their nationality if they criticize the King and his government. The king and his government are above law and supreme in the legal system.