Bhutan consists of multi-ethnic and multi-lingual population of around 700, 000.

Brokpas: The extreme north-east of the country is home to the Brokpas, the semi-nomads of the villages of Merak and Sakteng. Their main occupation is rearing yaks and sheep. They speak Bro-kad, the language of the Brokpas. In summer they move south to the pastures with their yaks and sheep and in winter they return home. Their houses are normally built of stones with small ventilation to protect from the piercing cold weather. As virtually nothing grows in Merak and Sakteng, the Brokpas trade with the Tshanglas of neighboring villages for their necessities with butter, cheese and yak meat. They also barter bamboo baskets and mats

Tsanglas / Sharshops : To the east of the country are the Tsanglas, popularly known as Sharchops, or the easerners, who speak Tsangla. Besides cultivation of maize, rice, wheat, barley, and vegetables, they also rear domestic animals to supplement their living. The women weave clothes mainly of silk and raw silk.

Kurtoeps: Kurteops inhabit the Lhuentse district in the east, and speak kurtoep. The district is known as the land of Kishuthara, due to the expertise of Khoma women who are talented with skills in weaving the kishuthara.

Bumthaps, Mangdeps and Khengpas: These groups of society live in the central districts of Bhutan, viz, Bumthang, Trongsa and Shemgang and they speak Bumthap, Mangdep and Khengkha respectively.

 Lhotsampas: Lhotsampas inhabit the sountern region of the country and speak Nepali. Most of them practise Hinduism as their religion.

Ngalops: They occupy the western region of the country and speak Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan. They cultivate rice, wheat, barley, maize, and etc.

Layaps: To the extreme north-west are the Layaps who speak the layapkha. Like the Brokpas of Merak and Sakteng, they are semi-nomads whose source of livelihood is dependent on yaks and sheep.

Doyaps: These are the other tribal community and are settled mostly in southern Bhutan. They are considered the aboriginal inhabitants of western and central Bhutan, who over the years settled in the present areas in Dorokha. They have a dialect of their own and dress in their own unique style.

THE BHUTANESE SOCIETY

The Bhutanese society is free of class or caste system. Slavery was abolished by the Third King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck sometimes in the 1950s through a royal edict. Though, few organizations to empower women have been established a few years back, in general the Bhutanese have always been gender sensitive. In general ours is an open and a good-spirited society.

As is the case elsewhere, living in a Bhutanese society generally means understanding some basic norms like Driglam Namzha, the traditional etiquette. This is a norm which desires that the members of the society conduct themselves in harmony and in a similar manner. For instance, wearing a scarf when visiting a Dzong, letting the elders and the monks serve themselves first, offering felicitation scarves when someone gets a promotion, greeting the elders or senior officials before they wish you, etc. are some simple manners that synchronizes the society.

Normally, greetings are limited to saying Kuzuzangpo amongst equals. For seniors and elders, the Bhutanese bow their head a bit and say kuzuzangpola. But, the western way of shaking the hands has caught on people of urban areas.
The Bhutanese are also fun-loving people. Dancing, singing, archery playing, stone pitching, partying, social gatherings etc. are common things that one observes. Visiting friends and relatives at any hour of the day without any advance notice or appointment clearly depicts the openness of the Bhutanese society.