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Country profile

Bhutanese nationals in Japan

Total residents (2025)
450
Total Population of Bhutan: ~780,000
Growth (past 10 years)
+476.9%
78 in 2015 → 450 in 2025

Top visa types (2025)

Engineer / Humanities
154
Student
68
Family stay
64
Nursing care
54
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The Average Bhutanese Migrant

Male profile

The average Bhutanese male in Japan is an engineering or international-services professional in his early thirties, living in Osaka.

Modal age30–34
Top visaEngineer / Humanities (29.8%)
2nd visaStudent (14.9%)
Population228 (50.7%)
Female profile

The average Bhutanese female in Japan is an engineering or international-services professional in her early thirties, living in Osaka.

Modal age30–34
Top visaEngineer / Humanities (38.7%)
2nd visaFamily stay (15.8%)
Population222 (49.3%)

Population over time

Total Bhutanese residents

Annual figures, 2006–2025 — hover the line for details
02004006008001,00020062010201520202025
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2024
Permanent resident Engineer / Humanities Spouse of Japanese Instructor Student Others

Visa Types

What do these visa types mean? →

Status of residence (2025)

Current snapshot
0 50 100 150 200 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 154 154 Student Student: 68 68 Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent: 64 64 Nursing care Nursing care: 54 54 Specified Skilled Worker Specified Skilled Worker: 41 41 Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese: 27 27 Permanent resident Permanent resident: 23 23 Designated activities Designated activities: 7 7 Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee: 4 4 Instructor Instructor: 3 3 Trainee Trainee: 2 2 Professor Professor: 1 1
0 50 100 150 200 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2015: 7 Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services 2025: 154 7 154 (2025) Student Student 2015: 24 Student 2025: 68 24 68 (2025) Family stay / Dependent Family stay / Dependent 2015: 8 Family stay / Dependent 2025: 64 8 64 (2025) Nursing care Nursing care 2015: 0 Nursing care 2025: 54 0 54 (2025) Specified Skilled Worker Specified Skilled Worker 2015: 0 Specified Skilled Worker 2025: 41 0 41 (2025) Spouse of Japanese Spouse of Japanese 2015: 13 Spouse of Japanese 2025: 27 13 27 (2025) Permanent resident Permanent resident 2015: 11 Permanent resident 2025: 23 11 23 (2025) Designated activities Designated activities 2015: 0 Designated activities 2025: 7 0 7 (2025) Technical Intern Trainee Technical Intern Trainee 2015: 8 8 4 (2025) Instructor Instructor 2015: 2 Instructor 2025: 3 2 3 (2025)
Where Bhutan is heavier than rest of world Where Bhutan is lighter (or absent) Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services Bhutanese: 34.2% 34.2% Rest of world: 11.5% 11.5% Student Bhutanese: 15.1% 15.1% Rest of world: 11.3% 11.3% Family stay / Dependent Bhutanese: 14.2% 14.2% Rest of world: 8.6% 8.6% Nursing care Bhutanese: 12.0% 12.0% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Spouse of Japanese Bhutanese: 6.0% 6.0% Rest of world: 3.7% 3.7% Instructor Bhutanese: 0.7% 0.7% Rest of world: 0.4% 0.4% Trainee Bhutanese: 0.4% 0.4% Rest of world: 0.0% 0.0% Professor Bhutanese: 0.2% 0.2% Rest of world: 0.2% 0.2% Cultural activities Bhutanese: 0.2% 0.2% Rest of world: 0.1% 0.1% Permanent resident Bhutanese: 5.1% 5.1% Rest of world: 23.0% 23.0% Technical Intern Trainee Bhutanese: 0.9% 0.9% Rest of world: 11.1% 11.1% Long-term resident Bhutanese: 0.2% 0.2% Rest of world: 5.5% 5.5% Designated activities Bhutanese: 1.6% 1.6% Rest of world: 3.0% 3.0% Specified Skilled Worker Bhutanese: 9.1% 9.1% Rest of world: 9.5% 9.5%

Demographics

Age distribution

All Bhutanese residents — five-year age brackets, December 2025
0 100 200 300 0–4: 17 17 0–4 5–9: 4 4 5–9 10–14: 3 3 10–14 15–19: 7 7 15–19 20–24: 16 16 20–24 25–29: 88 88 25–29 30–34: 206 206 30–34 35–39: 68 68 35–39 40–44: 21 21 40–44 45–49: 8 8 45–49 50–54: 5 5 50–54 55–59: 3 3 55–59 60–64: 2 2 60–64 65–69: 2 2 65–69 70–74: 0 0 70–74 75–79: 0 0 75–79 80+: 0 0 80+
MALE 男性 FEMALE 女性 0–4 8 9 5–9 4 0 10–14 1 2 15–19 2 5 20–24 9 7 25–29 38 50 30–34 101 105 35–39 38 30 40–44 14 7 45–49 6 2 50–54 2 3 55–59 2 1 60–64 2 0 65–69 1 1 70–74 0 0 75–79 0 0 80+ 0 0

Gender split

December 2025
Male: 228 (50.7%) Female: 222 (49.3%) 450 total
Male
228 (50.7%)
Female
222 (49.3%)

The Bhutanese community is perfectly balanced (51% male) and engineer-led: 34% hold Engineer/Humanities visas, with students and families following.

Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 86 (38.7%) Family stay / Dependent: 35 (15.8%) Student: 34 (15.3%) Nursing care: 30 (13.5%) Specified Skilled Worker: 13 (5.9%) Permanent resident: 10 (4.5%) Spouse of Japanese: 9 (4.1%) Instructor: 2 (0.9%) Designated activities: 2 (0.9%) Long-term resident: 1 (0.5%) Total female 222
222 female Bhutanese residents — by status of residence
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services86
Family stay / Dependent35
Student34
Nursing care30
Specified Skilled Worker13
Permanent resident10
Spouse of Japanese9
Instructor2
Designated activities2
Long-term resident1
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services: 68 (29.8%) Student: 34 (14.9%) Family stay / Dependent: 29 (12.7%) Specified Skilled Worker: 28 (12.3%) Nursing care: 24 (10.5%) Spouse of Japanese: 18 (7.9%) Permanent resident: 13 (5.7%) Designated activities: 5 (2.2%) Technical Intern Trainee: 4 (1.8%) Trainee: 2 (0.9%) Instructor: 1 (0.4%) Professor: 1 (0.4%) Cultural activities: 1 (0.4%) Total male 228
228 male Bhutanese residents — by status of residence
Engineer / Humanities / Int'l services68
Student34
Family stay / Dependent29
Specified Skilled Worker28
Nursing care24
Spouse of Japanese18
Permanent resident13
Designated activities5
Technical Intern Trainee4
Trainee2
Instructor1
Professor1
Cultural activities1
0 200 400 600 2010 2015 2020 2025 Female 222 Male 228

Where they live (2025)

By region — heat map

Hover or tap a region to see its breakdown.
Hokkaido Hokkaido 723 723 Tohoku Tohoku 518 518 Kanto Kanto 2,621 2,621 Chubu Chubu 1,926 1,926 Kansai Kansai 3,189 3,189 Chugoku Chugoku 487 487 Shikoku Shikoku 245 245 Kyushu Kyushu 1,158 1,158
Fewer
More
Selected region
Kanto
11,830
57.6% of Japan total
Top Visa Categories
Prefectures
Tokyo
7,596
Kanagawa
1,948
Chiba
1,018
Saitama
763
Ibaraki
231
Tochigi
138
Gunma
136

Highest and Lowest Prefectures

2025 Resident Counts
Top 10
Osaka
Kansai
56
Chiba
Kanto
51
Fukuoka
Kyushu
38
Tochigi
Kanto
33
Aichi
Chubu
31
Tokyo
Kanto
31
Fukushima
Tohoku
28
Kanagawa
Kanto
25
Miyagi
Tohoku
24
Hyogo
Kansai
19
Bottom 10
Shimane
Chugoku
1
Nagasaki
Kyushu
2
Mie
Kansai
2
Kagawa
Shikoku
2
Okinawa
Okinawa
2
Miyazaki
Kyushu
2
Gunma
Kanto
2
Kumamoto
Kyushu
2
Gifu
Chubu
3
Hiroshima
Chugoku
4

Prefecture Growth, 2015 to 2025

Absolute change in Bhutanese residents over the past decade
Largest increase
Osaka
Kansai
+55
Chiba
Kanto
+43
Fukuoka
Kyushu
+37
Tochigi
Kanto
+33
Fukushima
Tohoku
+28
Largest decrease
Saitama
Kanto
-3
Kumamoto
Kyushu
+0
Shimane
Chugoku
+1
Gunma
Kanto
+1
Nagasaki
Kyushu
+2
0 50 100 150 2010 2015 2020 2025 Osaka Chiba Fukuoka Tochigi Aichi Tokyo Fukushima Kanagawa

Fun Fact

Bhutan's community grew nearly sixfold in a decade (78 → 450) — young Bhutanese recruited into Japan's IT and engineering workforce, clustered not in Tokyo but around Osaka and Chiba.
Interested to know more about migration numbers in Japan?
Explore Overview →Immigration statistics for the whole of Japan — 4.13 million foreign residentsAll Nationalities/Regions →This page is one of 67 — explore every major community in Japan
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