Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and subsequently transferred to house arrest, where she remains virtually incommunicado. In February 2006, the junta extended her detention for another year. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Geographic coordinates
22 00 N, 98 00 E
Map references
Southeast Asia
Area
total
678,500 sq km
land
657,740 sq km
water
20,760 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries
total
5,876 km
border countries
Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline
1,930 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
contiguous zone
24 nm
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate
tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)
Terrain
central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Environment - current issues
deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - international agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note
strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
Population
47,373,958
note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases
dengue fever and malaria are high risks in some locations
note
highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified among birds in this country or surrounding region; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2007)
Nationality
noun
Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective
Burmese
Ethnic groups
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Religions
Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Languages
Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
89.9%
male
93.9%
female
86.4% (2000 est.)
Country name
conventional long form
Union of Burma
conventional short form
Burma
local long form
Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)
local short form
Myanma Naingngandaw
former
Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma
note
since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Government type
military junta
Capital
name
Rangoon (Yangon)
geographic coordinates
16 47 N, 96 10 E
time difference
UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note
Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital
Administrative divisions
7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Constitution
3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition
Legal system
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government
Acting Prime Minister, Gen THEIN SEIN (since 18 May 2007)
cabinet
Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta assumed power 18 September 1988 under name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
elections
none
Legislative branch
unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60
Judicial branch
remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive
Political parties and leaders
National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [TUN YE]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders
Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand); Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Organization or KIO; Karen National Union or KNU; Karenni National People's Party or KNPP; National Council-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political mass-member organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]; 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement) [MIN KO]
red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 14, white, five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$85.2 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$9.6 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
3% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$1,800 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
50%
industry
15%
services
35% (2006 est.)
Labor force
28.49 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
70%
industry
7%
services
23% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate
10.2% (2006 est.)
Population below poverty line
25% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
2.8%
highest 10%
32.4% (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
21.4% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
11.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$2.18 billion
expenditures
$2.36 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Industries
agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; natural gas; garments, jade and gems
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Electricity - production
6.02 billion kWh (FY05/06)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
44.5%
hydro
43.4%
nuclear
0%
other
12.1% (2002)
Electricity - consumption
5.325 billion kWh (FY05/06)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2006)
Electricity - imports
0 kWh (2006)
Oil - production
9,500 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - consumption
20,460 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports
5,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - imports
14,230 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - proved reserves
less than 100 million bbl (2005)
Natural gas - production
10.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
2.7 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports
7.5 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
283.2 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance
$1.247 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$3.56 billion f.o.b.
note: official export figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of timber, gems, narcotics, rice, and other products smuggled to Thailand, China, and Bangladesh (2006 est.)
Thailand 48.4%, India 12.6%, China 5.2%, Japan 5.1% (2006)
Imports
$1.98 billion f.o.b.
note: import figures are grossly underestimated due to the value of consumer goods, diesel fuel, and other products smuggled in from Thailand, China, Malaysia, and India (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment; cement, construction materials, crude oil; food products, edible oil
Imports - partners
China 33.6%, Thailand 21.2%, Singapore 15.7%, Malaysia 4.6%, South Korea 4.1% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$1.01 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$7.162 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$127 million (2001 est.)
Currency (code)
kyat (MMK)
Currency code
MMK
Exchange rates
kyats per US dollar - 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002)
note: unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by yearend 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar; data shown for 2002-05 are official exchange rates
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use
476,200 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
183,400 (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair
domestic
NA
international
country code - 95; satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean), and ShinSat (2004)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1, FM 1, shortwave NA (2004)
Radios
4.2 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
2 (2004)
Televisions
320,000 (2000)
Internet country code
.mm
Internet hosts
42 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000)
Internet users
78,000 (2005)
Airports
85 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
21
over 3,047 m
8
2,438 to 3,047 m
7
1,524 to 2,437 m
4
914 to 1,523 m
1
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
64
over 3,047 m
1
1,524 to 2,437 m
13
914 to 1,523 m
18
under 914 m
32 (2006)
Heliports
1 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 2,224 km; oil 558 km (2006)
Railways
total
3,955 km
narrow gauge
3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
27,000 km
paved
3,200 km
unpaved
23,800 km (2005)
Waterways
12,800 km (2007)
Merchant marine
total
34 ships (1000 GRT or over) 402,699 GRT/620,642 DWT
Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for voluntary military service for both sexes (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
12,268,850
females age 18-49
12,469,771 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
7,946,701
females age 18-49
8,543,705 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
469,841
females
455,689 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.1% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic rebels, illegal cross-border activities, Karen and other refugees, and asylum seekers from Burma; Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma; in 2004, international environmentalist pressure prompted China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River which flows through China, Burma, and Thailand; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands; Burmese Rohingya Muslim refugees reside in two camps in Bangladesh
Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 540,000 (government offensives against ethnic insurgent groups near the eastern borders; most IDPs are ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan, Tavoyan, and Mon) (2006)
Trafficking in persons
current situation
Burma is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked to East and Southeast Asia for sexual exploitation, domestic service, and forced commercial labor; a significant number of victims are economic migrants who wind up in forced or bonded labor and forced prostitution; to a lesser extent, Burma is a country of transit and destination for women trafficked from China for sexual exploitation; internal trafficking of persons occurs primarily for labor in industrial zones and agricultural estates; internal trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation occurs from villages to urban centers and other areas; the military junta's economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and policy of using forced labor are driving factors behind Burma's large trafficking problem
tier rating
Tier 3 - Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so
Illicit drugs
remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2005 of 380 metric tons, up 13% from 2004 and cultivation in 2005 was 40,000 hectares, a 10% increase from 2004; the decline in opium production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control was more than offset by increases in south and east Shan state; lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls
