Chiwogs of Bhutan or
chios (
Dzongkha chio ) refer to the 1044 basic electoral precincts of
Bhutan. Chiwogs are also former third-level administrative divisions of
Bhutan below
geos. Until 2009, they were the equivalent of municipalities or parishes, containing
clusters of villages and hamlets. There are generally 5 or 6 chios in each geo, and in turn several geos in each
dzongkha (
district). To illustrate, there are 50 chios in
Paro District alone. The majority of chios are small rural communities; more densely populated areas tend to be separate
thromdes, or municipalities. A Chiwog Disaster Management Plan (CDMP) exists in some chios to form an effective responsive to any local disasters. Often, participants in the CDMP are also trained at a geo level for better coordination.