Map of Myanmar | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory the military junta ruling the country refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since 1989; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 678,500 km²
Land: 657,740 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries: 5,876 km; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline: 1,930 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: none

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

Elevation

Natural resources: crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 15%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 49%; other 34%; includes irrigated 2%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 42,642,418 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Burmese (singular and plural; adjective - Burmese

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Religions:

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 29 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation
Current issues note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 68 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 57 years male, 61 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 81% (male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form:

Government type: military regime

Capital: Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948)

Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988)

Legal system: martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18
People's Assembly: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%; seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79
Communists: several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP)

Executive branch:

Legislative branch: unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988

Judicial branch: Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September 1988

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about 500. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% of the work force. Burma has been largely isolated from international economic forces and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far with little success.
GDP: exchange rate conversion - $22.2 billion, per capita $530; real growth rate 5.6% (1991)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 40% of GDP (including fish and forestry; self-sufficient in food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and teak account for 55% of export revenues; fish catch of 740,000 metric tons (FY90)

Industries: agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products; petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate:

Labor force: 16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.)
Organized labor:

Unemployment rate: 9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $7.2 billion; expenditures $9.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $6 billion (1991)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $568 million

Imports: $1.16 billion

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.0963 (January 1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 (1990), 6.7049 (1989), 6.46 (1988), 6.6535 (1987)


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Electricity
Production: 950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1990)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $1.28 billion, FY(91-92)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 1,343 km; natural gas 330 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Merchant marine:
Civil air: 17 major transport aircraft (including 3 helicopters)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production is on the increase as growers respond to the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs