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Early records suggest scattered clusters of inhabitants had already
settled in Bhutan when the first recorded settlers arrived 1400 years
ago. Bhutan’s indigenous population is the Drukpa. Three main ethnic
groups, the Sharchops, Ngalops and the Lhotshampas, make up today’s
Drukpa with the total population of 752700 (seven hundred fifty two
thousand and seven hundred only)
Bhutan’s earliest residents, the Sharchops, reside predominantly in
eastern Bhutan. Their origin can be traced to the tribes of north Burma
and northeast India. The Ngalops migrated from the Tibetan plains and
are the importers of Buddhism to the kingdom. Most of the Lhotshampas
migrated to the southern plains in search of agricultural land and work
in the early 20th century. More than 90% of the people live on
subsistence farming, scattered in sparsely populated villages across the
rugged terrain of the Himalayas.
The geography of the land kept each ethnic group separate until the
middle of this century when roads were built between the east and the
west. As a result, the Sharchops have retained their influence over the
east, while the Ngalops predominate in the west, and the Nepalese have
retained their homes in the south of Bhutan.
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