Map of Myanmar | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: 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 outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988 first as military ruler then as president and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 was again placed under house detention from September 2000 to May 2002 and again in May 2003; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.


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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 reference: Southeast Asia

Area
Total: 678,500 km²
Land: 657,740 km²
Water: 20,760 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

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

Coastline: 1930 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM
Continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

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
Extremes lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m

Natural resources: petroleum timber tin antimony zinc copper tungsten lead coal some marble limestone precious stones natural gas hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 14.53%
Permanent crops: 0.9%
Other: 84.57% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 15,920 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts

Geography
Note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes


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Population
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 and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.52% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 25% (2000 est.)

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%

Languages: Burmese minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Religions: Buddhist 89% Christian 4% (Baptist 3% Roman Catholic 1%) Muslim 4% animist 1% other 2%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 28.1% (male 6,091,220; female 5,840,968)
15-64 years: 67% (male 14,162,190; female 14,347,751)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 916,702; female 1,151,706) (2003 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 25.3 years
Male: 24.8 years
Female: 25.9 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.52% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 19.15 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 12.17 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.81 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air soil and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female (2003 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 70.35 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 63.84 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 76.48 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 55.79 years
Male: 54.12 years
Female: 57.56 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.99% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 530,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 65,000 (2001 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 83.1%
Male: 88.7%
Female: 77.7% (1995 est.)
Note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Union of Burma
Conventional short form: Burma
Local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
Local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)
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 regime

Capital: Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon)

Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (taing-myar singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar singular - pyi ne); Chin State Ayeyarwady* Bago* Kachin State Kayin State Kayah State Magway* Mandalay* Mon State Rakhine State Sagaing* Shan State Tanintharyi* Yangon*

Dependent areas

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 4 January (1948)

Constitution: 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled

Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
Head of government: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the appointed Prime Minister, Gen. KNIN NYUNT (since 25 August 2003), is not the head of government
Cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet
Elections: none

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, 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 chairman AUNG SAN SUU KYI general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG general secretary]; and other smaller parties

International organization participation: ARF AsDB ASEAN CP ESCAP FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ITU NAM OPCW (signatory) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador LINN MYAING
In the us consulates general: New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 332-9,046
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-9,044
In the us chancery: 2,300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
From the us embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)
From the us mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96,546
From the us telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881
From the us fax: [95] (1) 256 018

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 resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the 'Burmese Way to Socialism' but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.3% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1700 (2002 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 60%
Industry: 9%
Services: 31% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products: rice pulses beans sesame groundnuts sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products

Industries: agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper tin tungsten iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 23.7 million (1999 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 70%
By occupation industry: 7%
By occupation services: 23% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.1% (2001 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 25% (2000 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.8%
Highest 10: 32.4% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $7.9 billion
Expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 53.7% (2002 est.)

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: $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: gas wood products pulses beans fish rice
Partners: Thailand 31.4% US 13% India 7.4% China 4.7% (2002)

Imports: $2.5 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: machinery transport equipment construction materials crude oil; food products
Partners: China 27% Singapore 19.5% Thailand 12% Malaysia 9.1% Taiwan 6.3% South Korea 5.3% Japan 4.3% (2002)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $6.1 billion (2002 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: kyats per US dollar - 6.64 (2002) 6.75 (2001) 6.52 (2000) 6.29 (1999) 6.34 (1998)


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Electricity
Production: 6.139 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 44.4%
Production by source hydro: 55.6%
Production by source other: 0% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 5.709 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 0 kWh (2001)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 7.35 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 2.15 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 5.2 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Proven reserves: 314.4 billion m³ (37,257)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 250,000 (2000)
Mobile cellular: 8,492 (1997)

Telephone system
General assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good
Domestic: NA
International: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .mm
Service providers isps note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000)
Users: 10,000 (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $39 million (FY97)
Percent of gdp: 2.1% (FY97)

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: 80 (2002)
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 72
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 34 (2002)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 20
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 16

Heliports: 1 (2002)

Pipelines: gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2003)

Railways
Total: 3,955 km
Narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Merchant marine
Total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 352,765 GRT/536,396 DWT
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.)
Ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: despite continuing border committee talks significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels refugees and illegal cross-border activities

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2002 - 630 metric tons down 27% due to drought and to a lesser extent eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 77,000 hectares a 27% decline from 2001); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success but lack of government will and ability 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