PRESS RELEASE (HCES 2025)
Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey 2025
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Background

The Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2025 was conducted in March 2025 with 2024 as the reference year. The survey collected data from 5,883 households out of a nationally representative sample of 6,200 households achieving an impressive response rate of 94.9%. The HCES 2025 was designed to provide reliable estimates at both the national and dzongkhag levels, representing a total of 159,808 households and 592,598 individuals nationwide.

The Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2025 offers critical insights into household consumption patterns across Bhutan, including expenditures related to special family occasions. As the first survey of its kind in Bhutan, the HCES 2025 was designed based on the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) 2018. Findings from this survey will be critical inputs for the National Accounts estimates, and to update weights for the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The Survey Findings

Population and Household Composition

Based on the survey design, the total number of households represented in this survey is 159,808 nationwide. Out of these, 37.7% reside in urban areas and 66.3% in rural areas. Likewise, this survey represents about 592,598 population of which 36.6% resides in urban areas and 63.4% in rural areas. The mean household size is 3.7 persons, with a slight variation between rural (3.8) and urban (3.6) settings.

Approximately 62.3% of Bhutanese households are headed by men, a pattern consistent across both urban and rural areas. Female household heads make up 37.7% of the households in the country with 23.7% in rural areas and 14% in urban households.

The median age of the surveyed population is 32 years with urban population (28 years) notably younger than rural communities (34 years). The population structure shows concentration in younger cohorts, particularly in the 10-14 and 15-19 age groups, followed by those aged 30-34. A notable population decline begins from the 40-44 age group onward.

A notable finding of the survey is the male to female sex ration. The sex ration indicates a female majority nationwide with a sex ratio of 97 males per 100 females.

Housing Characteristics

Housing patterns reveal that around 60% of Bhutanese reside in standalone houses, 34% in separate apartments, 5% in shared accommodations, and just over 1.0% in alternative dwelling types. Rural-urban differences are pronounced, with 82.2% of rural households occupying houses compared to just 23.2% of urban households, where apartments predominate (66.9%) as the preferred housing.

Home ownership stands at 53.2% nationwide, with home ownership significantly higher in rural areas (75.8%) than in urban areas (16%). Access to electricity is nearly universal (99.6%), and electricity and LPG are the dominant cooking fuels.

Household Consumption Expenditure

The nationwide mean monthly household consumption expenditure was Nu 54,387, with urban households (Nu 67,616) significantly outspending rural households (Nu 46,331). On a per capita basis, the national consumption expenditure average stood at Nu 17,434, with urban residents (Nu 22,168) spending more than rural residents (Nu 14,550).

The highest quintile’s mean monthly household expenditure (Nu 96,998) almost quadrupled the lowest quintile’s spending (Nu 25,862). This disparity is even more pronounced in per capita terms, with the fifth quintile (Nu 40,626) outspending the first (Nu 5,545) by more than sevenfold. Notably, household size decreases as economic status improves, from 4.8 persons in the lowest quintile to 2.6 in the highest.

Food consumption accounts for 40.5% of total household expenditure (Nu 7,069 per capita), while non-food items comprise 59.5% (Nu 10,365 per capita). As economic status improves, food’s proportion to total expenditure declines from 49.1% in the lowest quintile to 34.9% in the highest quintile.

Thimphu leads in household expenditure (Nu 73,632), while Trashi Yangtse records the lowest (Nu 26,934). Per capita expenditure peaks in Paro (Nu 24,403) and Thimphu (Nu 24,228), in huge contrast with Trashi Yangtse (Nu 9,025).

Food Consumption Expenditure

The nationwide mean monthly household food consumption expenditure stands at Nu 21,991 with a per capita expenditure of Nu 7,069. Urban food expenditure (Nu 23,728 per household; Nu 9,126 per capita) substantially exceeds rural expenditure (Nu 17,194 per household; Nu 5,816 per capita).

The food consumption expenditure is primarily spent on cereals and cereal products (21.4%), followed by dairy products, oil (19.5%), vegetables (15.49%), and meat and fish (12.92%). Rural households allocate proportionally more to staple foods, while urban dwellers spend relatively more on meat and fish products.

Rural households’ expenditure on cereals contributes 55.6% of total cereal expenditure (Nu 5,524) compared with lower mean spending of Nu 4,212 in urban areas. Meanwhile, reflecting regional dietary preferences and economic conditions, cereal expenditure varies dramatically by dzongkhags, from Nu 10,371 in Trongsa to Nu 2,811 in Samdrup Jongkhar.

Non-Food Consumption Expenditure

The nationwide mean monthly household non-food consumption expenditure stands at Nu 32,396 with a per capita expenditure of Nu 10,365. Urban non-food expenditure (Nu 40,299 per household; Nu 13,042 per capita) markedly exceeds rural expenditure (Nu 27,583; Nu 8,735 per capita), which may reflect differences in lifestyle patterns, access to services, and consumption priorities between urban and rural populations.

Non-food expenditure priorities shift with consumption quintiles. For most households (first through fourth quintiles), housing, utilities, and fuel dominate non-food expenditure. However, in the wealthiest quintile, transportation becomes the leading expense, followed by housing-related costs. Health-related expenditure remains consistently low among non-food expenditure categories across all consumption quintiles.

The Household Consumption and Expenditure 2025 can be downloaded from HERE