evidence: MIA TSHERING TOBGAY, Prime Minister of Bhutan, recounting his country’s admission into the United Nations in September 1971, said: "On that day, after centuries of self-imposed isolation, Bhutan became the 128th member of the United Nations. It was a defining moment for us — a moment when a small, poor, landlocked country, nestled in the world’s highest mountains, joined the global community of nations." That same year, the United Nations created the "least developed country" category to provide targeted support to the world’s poorest nations, and Bhutan was among the first in the group to be admitted, he added. Its primarily agrarian economy then was operating largely on a barter system, and its per capita income stood at just $215. Life expectancy was barely 40 years, and its infant mortality rate was "tragically high at 142 deaths for every 1,000 live births". The literacy rate was "woefully low, with less than 300 students in the few scattered schools" established to provide modern education.