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.

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

Land use
Arable land: 15%
Permanent crops: 1%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 49%
Other: 34% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 10,680 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 47,305,319 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 1.65% (1998 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 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 beliefs 1%, other 2%

Age structure
0-14 years: 36% (male 8,798,474; female 8,461,791)
15-64 years: 59% (male 14,052,386; female 14,019,244)
65 years and over: 5% (male 888,773; female 1,084,651) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.65% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 28.96 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 12.51 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

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, 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

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: 0.82 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 78.35 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 54.51 years
Male: 53.03 years
Female: 56.08 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.7 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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

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 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; chapter headings and three of 15 sections have been approved

Legal system: does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note_the prime minister is both the chief of state and head of government: ead of
Government: Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note_the prime minister is both the chief of state and 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; the prime minister assumed power upon resignation of the former prime minister

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 convened
Election results: percent of vote by party_NA%; seats by party_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, ASEAN, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador TIN WINN
In the us chancery: 2,300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-9,044, 9,045
In the us fax: [1] (202) 332-9,046
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Kent M. WIEDEMANN
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) 282,055, 282,181 (operator assistance required)
From the us fax: [95] (1) 280,409

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 private activity dominant in agriculture, light industry, and transport, and with substantial state-controlled activity, mainly in energy, heavy industry, and the rice trade. Government policy in the last nine years, 1989-97, 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: 6% (1997 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $1,190 (1997 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 61%
Industry: 10%
Services: 29% (1996 est.)

Agriculture products: paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses; hardwood

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

Industrial production growth rate: 9.2% (FY95/96 est.)

Labor force
Total: 18.8 million (FY95/96 est.)
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% (FY88/89est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

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

Fiscal year: 1 April_31 March

Exports: total value:$693 million (1996)
Commodoties: pulses and beans, teak, rice, rubber, hardwood
Partners: Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, Thailand

Imports: total value:$1.4 billion (1996)
Commodoties: machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products, consumer goods
Partners: Japan, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia

Debt external: $5.3 billion (FY94/95 est.)

Exchange rates: kyats (K) per US$1_6.3941 (January 1998) 6.2418 (1997), 5.9176 (1996), 5.6670 (1995), 5.9749 (1994), 6.1570 (1993; unofficial_310-350 (1998)

Electricity
Capacity: 1.212 million kW (1995)
Production: 4.1 billion kWh (FY95/96 est.)
Consumption per capita: 79 kWh (1995)

Telephones: 122,195 (1993 est.)

Telephone system: 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)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $380 million (FY96/97 est.)
Percent of gdp: NA%

Airports: 80 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 24
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 12
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 56
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 19
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 32 (1997 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1997 est.)

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

Railways
Total: 3,569 km
Narrow gauge: 3,569 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

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

Merchant marine
Total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 561,786 GRT/742,450 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 3, passenger-cargo 3, refrigerated cargo 1, vehicle carrier 2
Note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries:Japan owns 2 ships, US 3 (1997 est.)

Disputes international: none

Illicit drugs: world's largest illicit producer of opium (cultivation in 1997_155,150 hectares, a 5% decline from 1996; potential production_2,365 metric tons, an 8% drop from 1996) and a minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; 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 serious government commitment and resources continue to hinder the overall antidrug effort; growing role in the production of methamphetamines for regional consumption