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 was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.

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

Land boundaries: Total 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: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 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:

Land use
Arable land: 15%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 49%
Other: 34%

Irrigated land: 10,180 km² (1989)

Population:
Growth rate:

Nationality
Noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Burmese

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Religions:

Population growth rate:

Birth rate:

Death rate:

Net migration rate:

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Current issues Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
International agreements: party to_Biodiversity, Climate Change, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83; signed, but not ratified_Law of the Sea, Tropical Timber 94
International agreements note: Strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
All ages:

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 56.14 years (1996 est.); 60.47 years (1995 est.)
Male: 57.92 years (1996 est.); 58.38 years (1995 est.)
Female: 57.92 years (1996 est.); 62.69 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate:

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)
Total population: 83.1%
Male: 88.7%
Female: 77.7%

Country name
Conventional long form: Union of Myanmar (Union of Burma)
Conventional short form: Myanmar (Burma)
Local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)
Local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw
Former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma

Government type: Military regime

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

Administrative divisions: 7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular_yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular_pyine; Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon*

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from U.K.)

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; chapter headings and three of 15 sections have been approved

Legal system: Has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: Chief of state and head of government:Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992) State Law and Order Restoration Council:Military junta which assumed power 18 September 1988

Legislative branch: People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw):Election last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results_NLD 80%; seats_(485 total) NLD 396, NUP 10, other 79

Judicial branch: Limited; remnants of the British-era legal system in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive

International organization participation: AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, Mekong Group, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

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

Economy overview: Burma has a mixed economy with about 75% private activity, mainly in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with about 25% state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and foreign trade. Government policy in the last seven years, 1989-95, has aimed at revitalizing the economy after three decades of tight central planning. Thus, private activity has markedly increased; foreign investment has been encouraged, so far with moderate success; and efforts continue to increase the efficiency of state enterprises. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the volume of black market trade. A major ongoing problem is the failure to achieve monetary and fiscal stability. Although Burma remains a poor Asian country, its rich resources furnish the potential for substantial long-term increases in income, exports, and living standards.

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:

Agriculture products: Accounts for 60% of GDP and 62.5% of employment (including fishing, animal husbandry, and forestry; self-sufficient in food; principal crops_paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and timber account for 55% of export revenues

Industries:

Industrial production growth rate: Growth rate 4.9% (FY92/93 est.), accounts for 10% of GDP

Labor force: 16.007 million (1992)
By occupation Agriculture: 65.2%
By occupation Industry: 14.3%
By occupation Trade: 10.1%
By occupation Government: 6.3%
By occupation Other: 4.1% (FY88/89 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget
Revenues: $5.3 billion (1995 est.); $4.4 billion (FY93/94 est.)
Expenditures: $10 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.); $6.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY93/94 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Exports:
Commodities:
Partners:

Debt external:

Exchange rates: Kyats (K) per US$1_5.8475 (January 1996), 5.9170 (1995), 5.9749 (1994), 6.1570 (1993), 6.1045 (1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 (1990; unofficial_120

Electricity
Capacity: 1,100,000 kW
Production: 2.6 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 55 kWh (1993)

Telephone system: 122,195 telephones (1993 est.); meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station

Airports: 74
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 17 (1995 est.)
With paved runways under 914 m: 28

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 444,957 GRT/610,420 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 15, chemical tanker 5, container 1, oil tanker 3, passenger-cargo 3, vehicle carrier 2 (1995 est.)

Illicit drugs: World's largest illicit producer of opium (2,340 metric tons in 1995) and source for over 60% of US heroin imports; minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; Rangoon's antinarcotic programs hindered by lack of resources, government commitment; growing role in methamphetamine production for regional consumption