Early records suggest scattered clusters of inhabitants had already settled in Bhutan when the first recorded settlers arrived 1,400 years ago.

Bhutan indigenous population is the Drukpa. Three main ethnic groups, the Sharchops, Ngzalops and the Lhotshampas (of Nepalese origin) make up today’s Drukpa.

Bhutan’s earliest residents, the Sharchops, reside predominantly in eastern Bhutan. Their origin can be traced to the tribes of the north Burma and the northeast India. The Ngalops migrated from the Tibetan plains and are the importers of Buddhism to the Kingdom.most of the Lhotshamps migrated to the southern plains in search of agricultural land and work in the early 20th century.

The geography of the land kept each ethnic group separates until the middle of this century when roads are built between the east and west. As the result, the Sarchops have retained their influence over the east. While the Ngalops predominate in the west. And the Nepalese have retained homes in the south of Bhutan.

The contrasting ethnic diversity of the Bhutanese people has meant that a number of different languages and dialects are spoken throughout then kingdom. The national language is Dzongkha, which is taught at all schools. So different are the dialects that eastern and western neighbours can have great difficulty understanding each other.

The national newspaper, Kuensel, is written in dzongkha, English and Nepali. A growing proportion of the people, especially in the urban areas, speak English. The current medium of instruction in Bhutan is English. However, increasing efforts are being made to write more textbooks and to introduce Dzongkha as the principal language of instruction.