Rural households in Bhutan spend an average of Nu. 32,463 annually on ritual activities
TIL BDR GHALLEY | Thimphu
Poorer households in Bhutan devote a larger share of their household budgets to religious and ceremonial activities than wealthier families, despite spending considerably less in absolute terms, according to the country’s first nationally representative study on household ritual expenditure.
Household Ritual Expenditure in Bhutan, published by the National Statistics Bureau (NSB) using data from the Household Consumption and Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2025, found that while wealthier households spend substantially more money on rituals, lower-income households allocate a greater proportion of their total consumption to meet religious and ceremonial obligations.
The study found that households in the lowest consumption quintile spend an average of Nu. 13,539 annually on ritual activities, representing about 5.9 per cent of their household consumption.
In comparison, households in the highest consumption quintile spend an average of Nu. 45,130 annually, but ritual expenditure accounts for only about 3.5 per cent of their total household consumption.
According to the report, this indicates that ritual expenditure is regressive in relative terms, meaning the financial burden is proportionately higher for poorer households even though their total spending remains lower.
“This suggests that standard welfare measures may understate financial pressure among lower-income groups when cultural obligations are not explicitly considered,” the report states.
The findings are based on a nationally representative sample of 5,883 households, representing an estimated 159,808 households across Bhutan.
The study is the first official statistical assessment examining how Bhutanese households spend on religious and ceremonial activities and how expenditure varies across income groups, geographic locations and household characteristics.
The report defines ritual expenditure as spending on routine religious and ceremonial activities, excluding funeral and birthday-related expenses to capture regular cultural and religious practices.
Nationally, Bhutanese households spend an average of Nu. 27,689 annually on ritual activities, accounting for approximately 4.9 per cent of total household consumption. At the national aggregate level, ritual expenditure represents about 4.2 per cent of total household consumption.
Households spend an average of Nu. 21,735 annually on general ritual activities, while health-related rituals account for an average of Nu. 5,954.
However, expenditure is unevenly distributed.
The median annual ritual expenditure is Nu. 12,000, considerably lower than the national average, indicating that a relatively small proportion of households account for a large share of total ritual spending.
Nearly one-third of Bhutanese households 31.8 per cent reported no ritual expenditure during the survey period.
The report also found that about 45 per cent of households recorded no expenditure on general rituals, while approximately 66.1 per cent reported no spending on health-related rituals.
Significant differences were observed between rural and urban households.
Rural households spend an average of Nu. 32,463 annually on ritual activities compared with Nu. 19,852 among urban households.
The difference is more pronounced when measured as a share of household consumption.
According to the report, rural households allocate approximately 6.4 per cent of their household budgets to ritual activities, while urban households allocate about 2.5 per cent.
Regression analysis conducted as part of the study also found that urban households spend significantly less on ritual activities than rural households after controlling for income, age, education and other household characteristics.
The report attributes these differences to variations in cultural participation, demographic composition and household consumption patterns between rural and urban areas.
Wangdue Phodrang recorded the highest average annual household ritual expenditure at Nu. 57,021, followed by Punakha with Nu. 50,065.
Haa, Paro and Gasa also ranked among the higher-spending dzongkhags.
At the other end of the scale, Samtse recorded the lowest average annual ritual expenditure at Nu. 11,741, followed by Samdrup Jongkhar at Nu. 12,879.
According to the report, western dzongkhags generally fall within the higher expenditure categories, while several southern and south-eastern dzongkhags consistently record lower ritual expenditure.
The report notes that these findings reflect relative spatial patterns and may be associated with differences in income levels, demographic characteristics, access to religious institutions and regional ritual traditions.
Household demographics were found to have a strong association with ritual expenditure.
Average spending increases steadily with the age of the household head. Households headed by individuals below 35 years spend an average of Nu. 16,647 annually on rituals.
This rises to Nu. 27,860 for household heads aged between 35 and 50 years, Nu. 34,082 for those aged between 51 and 65 years and Nu. 35,472 for household heads aged above 65 years.
The analysis from the report found a strong positive relationship between age and ritual expenditure after accounting for other socio-economic factors.
Female-headed households spent an average of Nu. 32,341 annually compared with Nu. 24,879 among male-headed households.
The regression analysis also found male-headed households spent significantly less than female-headed households after controlling for other variables.
Households with one to three members spend an average of Nu. 23,540 annually, while households with six or more members spend nearly Nu. 39,000 each year on rituals.
According to the report, larger households are likely to face greater ceremonial and social obligations.
Households headed by individuals without formal education reported the highest average annual ritual expenditure of Nu. 32,541.
Average expenditure declined progressively with education, falling to Nu. 23,776 among households headed by individuals with primary education, Nu. 24,743 for secondary education and Nu. 21,514 for tertiary education.
Regression analysis confirmed that higher educational attainment remained negatively associated with ritual expenditure even after controlling for household income, household size, age and location.
Among all variables examined, household economic status emerged as the strongest determinant of ritual expenditure.
Compared with households in the lowest quintile, expenditure increased progressively among higher-income households, with those in the highest quintile reporting the largest increase after controlling for demographic and socio-economic characteristics.
The report states that while wealthier households spend substantially more on rituals in absolute terms, increasing household resources are associated with expanded ritual participation rather than substitution between different categories of ritual expenditure.
The statistical analysis also found that the main findings remained consistent under alternative modelling approaches, indicating the robustness of the results.
According to the report, ritual expenditure is a significant component of household consumption and should be considered in welfare analysis within Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness framework.
The ritual spending is not randomly distributed across households but is systematically associated with household income, demographic characteristics and geographic location.
While households with greater financial resources spend more on rituals in monetary terms, poorer households devote a larger proportion of their available resources to these activities.
The report states that recognising cultural expenditure alongside conventional household consumption measures could provide a more comprehensive understanding of household welfare, particularly among lower-income families.
The NSB said the findings provide the first national statistical evidence on the magnitude, distribution and determinants of ritual expenditure in Bhutan and are intended to support evidence-based policy discussions and future research on the role of cultural expenditure in household welfare.
