The population of a town at any given time is basically composed of two types of groups. One group is the residents of the town, who spend their life residing in the town, while the other is of floating types, who frequently visit the place for some reasons. The residing population of the town can be again sub-classified into two groups, one who permanently reside in the town for a considerably long duration of time like ten to fifteen years while others are those like hostel students and transferable government servants who might live for two to three years, as per their requirements, but are replaced by an equal number of new population for the same purpose. Thus, at any given time the number of people under this category remains more or less the same.

The floating population of a town constitutes mainly two types. The first category is those types of people who visit the place routinely but do not stay at the place. The reason for such visits is mainly for some job or work associated with the town. The second type constitutes visitors or guests who might live for a small span of time, but their duration of stay as well as next visit are not predictable. Often the second type of floating population is seasonal visitors, like tourists and people from hinterlands. They visit the place for specific kinds of activities and are related to the town with respect to its seasonal specialty, like climate or ceremonial occasions and events.

With faster and more convenient modes of transportation being easily available, there is always a considerable increase in the number of floating population. In Bhutan some ten years ago the floating population may not have been of major concern. With the increasing road connectivity and the decision of Bhutan to selectively modernize infrastructure, the floating population factor cannot be neglected. Certain cities and towns have their entire economy closely linked to floating populations. The typologies of towns which belong to this category are market towns, towns where the mode of transportation changes, government and services centers, the tourist destination towns, border towns, etc. Another important factor in Bhutan is the necessity for both skilled and unskilled, laborers from outside Bhutan. This particular component contributes considerably to the long term floating population. This sector of population consumes urban services, as well as contributes substantially to Bhutan’s resources. It must be addressed during the preparation of the structure plan. One of the main sources of tracking these segments of the population is the Census and Immigration Department.