Suicide in Bhutan in recent years has become a notable phenomenon in the small Himalayan kingdom, which promotes Gross National Happiness as a government policy.
As the Kingdom of Bhutan adheres to Tibetan Buddhism for its state religion,[1] the mere discussion of suicide and the means of tackling it have been generally seen as socially taboo amongst most Bhutanese.
This figure ranked the kingdom as the 20th-highest suicide rate in the world, and 6th highest in the Asia-Pacific region.
[4] Lack of job opportunities, the percentage of broken families, and a high rate of domestic violence are considered to be major contributing factors.
In addition, the suicide rate has been widely discussed about Bhutanese refugees who live outside Bhutan, who tend to be of Nepalese origin,[6] as unemployment, lack of family ties and depression ensue.