Background: Various ethnic Burmese and ethnic minority city-states or kingdoms occupied the present borders through the 19th century. Over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) Britain conquered Burma and incorporated the country into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate self-governing colony; in 1948 Burma attained independence from the Commonwealth. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988 first as military ruler then as self-appointed president and later as political kingpin. In response to widespread civil unrest NE WIN resigned in 1988 but within months the military crushed student-led protests and took power. Multiparty legislative elections in 1990 resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory. Instead of handing over power the junta placed NLD leader (and Nobel Peace Prize recipient) AUNG SAN SUU KYI (ASSK) under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 2000 to 2002 and from May 2003 to November 2010. In late September 2007 the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices led by prodemocracy activists and Buddhist monks killing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in the demonstrations. In early May 2008 Burma was struck by Cyclone Nargis which left over 138,000 dead and tens of thousands injured and homeless. Despite this tragedy the junta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum the first vote in Burma since 1990. Parliamentary elections held in November 2010 considered flawed by many in the international community saw the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party garner over 75% of the seats. Parliament convened in January 2011 and selected former Prime Minister THEIN SEIN as president. Although the vast majority of national-level appointees named by THEIN SEIN are former or current military officers the government has initiated a series of political and economic reforms leading to a substantial opening of the long-isolated country. These reforms have included allowing ASSK to contest parliamentary by-elections on 1 April 2012 releasing hundreds of political prisoners reaching preliminary peace agreements with 10 of the 11 major armed ethnic groups enacting laws that provide better protections for basic human rights and gradually reducing restrictions on freedom of the press association and civil society. At least due in part to these reforms ASSK now serves as an elected Member of Parliament and chair of the Committee for Rule of Law and Tranquility. Most political parties have begun building their institutions in preparation for the next round of general elections in 2015. The country is preparing to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014.

Geographic coordinates: 22 00 N 98 00 E

Area
Rank: 40
Land: 653,508 km²
Water: 23,070 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Border countries: (5) Bangladesh 193 km; China 2,185 km; India 1463 km; Laos 235 km; Thailand 1800 km

Coastline: 1930 km

Maritime claims
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

Elevation
Extremes highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m

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

Land use
Permanent crops: 2.16%
Other: 81.89% (2011)

Irrigated land: 21,100 km² (2004)

Total renewable water resources: 1168 km³ (2011)

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: 55,167,330 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 25
Growth rate: 1.05% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 110
Below poverty line: 32.7% (2007 est.)

Nationality
Adjective: Burmese

Ethnic groups: Burman 68% Shan 9% Karen 7% Rakhine 4% Chinese 3% Indian 2% Mon 2% other 5%

Languages: Burmese (official)

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

Age structure
15-24 years: 18.6% (male 5,183,653/female 5,060,385)
25-54 years: 42.8% (male 11,724,297/female 11,879,420)
55-64 years: 6.7% (male 1,754,397/female 1,963,051)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 1,244,758/female 1,615,243) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 35.7 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.5 %
Potential support ratio: 13.4 (2013)

Median age
Male: 27 years
Female: 28.2 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.05% (2013 est.)
Rank: 110

Birth rate: 18.89 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 97

Death rate: 8.05 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 97

Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 124

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 2.49% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: RANGOON (capital) 4.259 million; Mandalay 1.009 million; Nay Pyi Taw 992,000 (2009)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air soil and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 46
Male: 52.91 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 39.31 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 170
Male: 63.24 years
Female: 68.09 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.21 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 102

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 46% (2009/10)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.5 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 0.6 beds/1000 population (2006)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 64
People living with hivaids: 240,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 24
Deaths: 18,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 17

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever malaria and Japanese encephalitis
Water contact disease: leptospirosis
Animal contact disease: rabies

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 4% (2008)
Rank: 172

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 22.6% (2010)
Rank: 26

Education expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 172

Literacy
Total population: 92.7%
Male: 95.1%
Female: 90.4% (2011 est.)

Country name
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: parliamentary government took power in March 2011

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 16 48 N 96 09 E
Time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 7 regions (taing-myar singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar singular - pyi ne)
Regions: Ayeyarwady Bago Magway Mandalay Sagaing Taninthayi Yangon
States: Chin Kachin Kayah Kayin Mon Rakhine (Arakan) Shan
Union territory: Nay Pyi Taw

Independence: 4 January 1948 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 4 January (1948); Union Day 12 February (1947)

Constitution: previous 1947 1974 (suspended until 2008); latest approved by referendum 29 May 2008; approved 15 May 2008; reformed 2011 (2011)

Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law (as introduced in codifications designed for colonial India) and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President THEIN SEIN (since 4 February 2011)
Cabinet: cabinet is appointed by the president and confirmed by the parliament
Elections: THEIN SEIN elected president by the parliament from among three vice presidents; the upper house the lower house and military members of the parliament each nominate one vice president (president serves a five-year term)

Legislative branch: bicameral consists of the House of Nationalities [Amyotha Hluttaw] (224 seats 168 directly elected and 56 appointed by the military; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives [Pythu Hluttaw] (440 seats 330 directly elected and 110 appointed by the military; members serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 7 November 2010 (next to be held in December 2015)
Election results: House of Nationalities - percent of vote by party - USDP 74.8% others (NUP SNDP RNDP NDF AMRDP) 25.2%; seats by party - USDP 129 others 39; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - USDP 79.6% others (NUP SNDP RNDP NDF AMRDP) 20.4%; seats by party - USDP 259 others 71

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges nominated by the president with approval of the Pythu Hlattaw and appointed by the president; judges normally serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
Subordinate courts: High Courts of the Region; High Courts of the State; Court of the Self-Administered Division; Court of the Self-Administered Zone; district and township courts; special courts (for juvenile municipal and traffic offenses); courts martial

Political parties and leaders: numerous smaller parties

International organization participation: ADB ARF ASEAN BIMSTEC CP EAS FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITU ITUC (NGOs) NAM OPCW (signatory) SAARC (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chancery: 2,300 S Street NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-3,344
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 332-4,351
In the us consulate general: none; Burma has a Mission to the UN in New York
From the us embassy: 110 University Avenue Kamayut Township Rangoon
From the us mailing address: Box B APO AP 96,546
From the us telephone: [95] (1) 536-509 535-756 538-038
From the us FAX: [95] (1) 511-069

Flag description: design consists of three equal horizontal stripes of yellow (top) green and red; centered on the green band is a large white five-pointed star that partially overlaps onto the adjacent colored stripes; the design revives the triband colors used by Burma from 1943-45 during the Japanese occupation

National symbols: chinthe (mythical lion)

National anthem
Lyrics and music: SAYA TIN

Economy overview: Burma is a resource-rich country but still suffers from pervasive government controls inefficient economic policies corruption and rural poverty. Burma is the poorest country in Southeast Asia; approximately 32% of the population lives in poverty. Corruption is prevalent and significant resources in the extractive industries are concentrated in a few hands. The Burmese government has initiated notable economic reforms. In October 2011 11 private banks were allowed to trade foreign currency. On April 2 2012 Burma's multiple exchange rates were abolished and the Central Bank of Myanmar established a managed float of the Burmese kyat. In November 2012 President THEIN SEIN signed a new Foreign Investment Law. Despite these reforms the Burmese government has not yet embarked on broad-based macro-economic reforms or addressed key impediments to economic development such as Burma's opaque revenue collection system. Key benchmarks of economic progress would include steps to ensure the independence of the Central Bank provide budget allocation for social services and enact laws to protect intellectual and real property. In recent years foreign investors have shied away from nearly every sector except for natural gas power generation timber and mining. The exploitation of natural resources does not benefit the population at large. The most productive sectors will continue to be in extractive industries - especially oil and gas mining and timber - with the latter two causing significant environmental degradation. Other areas such as manufacturing tourism and services struggle in the face of poor infrastructure unpredictable trade policies undeveloped human resources (the result of neglected health and education systems) endemic corruption and inadequate access to capital for investment. The US initially imposed sanctions on Burma in response to the 1988 military crackdown and the regime's refusal to honor the democratic opposition National League for Democracy's 1990 landslide election victory under the leadership of AUNG SAN SUU KYI. In 2003 the US moved from broad-based to more targeted sanctions. In July 2012 as a result of reforms undertaken by President THEIN SEIN and his nominally civilian government the US broadly eased restrictions on new investment in and the export of financial services to Burma. In November 2012 the US eased the import ban on Burmese products to the US with the exception of jadeite and rubies. Although the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors significant improvements in economic governance the business climate and the political situation are needed to promote serious foreign investment.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 74

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 37

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 201

Gross national saving:
Rank: 116

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 3.8%
Investment in fixed capital: 16.6%
Investment in inventories: 0.4%
Exports of goods and services: 18.9%
Imports of goods and services: -20.4%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 19.3%
Services: 41.8% (2012 est.)

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

Industries: agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper tin tungsten iron; cement construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; oil and natural gas; garments jade and gems

Industrial production growth rate: 8.6% (2012 est.)
Rank: 24

Labor force: 33.41 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 19
By occupation industry: 7%
By occupation services: 23% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 51

Population below poverty line: 32.7% (2007 est.)

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

Budget
Expenditures: $4.487 billion (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -4.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 146

Taxes and other revenues: 4.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 214

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 31

Central bank discount rate: 12% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 18

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 16.33% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 32

Stock of narrow money: $8.91 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 75

Stock of domestic credit: $15.59 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 89

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: $-1.424 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 137

Exports: $7.699 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 102
Commodities: natural gas wood products pulses beans fish rice clothing jade and gems
Partners: Thailand 40.7% India 14.8% China 14.3% Japan 7.4% (2012)

Imports: $7.491 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 108
Commodities: fabric petroleum products fertilizer plastics machinery transport equipment; cement construction materials crude oil; food products edible oil
Partners: China 36.9% Thailand 20.2% Singapore 8.7% South Korea 8.7% Japan 8.2% Malaysia 4.6% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $7.017 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 82

Debt external: $7.766 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 118

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 7.346 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 104
Consumption: 6.093 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 107
Exports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 168
Imports: 0 kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 164
Installed generating capacity: 1.713 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 108
Generation sources fossil fuels: 53.3% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 147
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 51
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 46.7% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 47
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 158

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 20,830 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 76
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 88
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 162
Crude oil proven reserves: 50 million bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 78

Refined petroleum
Products production: 18,920 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 95
Products consumption: 40,620 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 107
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 153
Products imports: 4,855 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 153

Natural gas
Production: 11.91 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 40
Consumption: 3.24 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 71
Exports: 8.57 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 31
Imports: 0 m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 163
Proven reserves: 283.2 billion m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 41

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 13.67 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 94

Telephones
Main lines in use: 556,000 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 95
Mobile cellular: 5.44 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 106

Telephone system
Domestic: system barely capable of providing basic service; mobile-cellular phone system is grossly underdeveloped
International: country code - 95; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia the Middle East and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and ShinSat (2011)

Broadcast media: government controls all domestic broadcast media; 2 state-controlled TV stations with 1 of the stations controlled by the armed forces; 2 pay-TV stations are joint state-private ventures; access to satellite TV is limited; 1 state-controlled domestic radio station and 9 FM stations that are joint state-private ventures; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available in parts of Burma; the Voice of America (VOA) Radio Free Asia (RFA) BBC Burmese service the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and Radio Australia use shortwave to broadcast in Burma; VOA RFA and DVB produce daily TV news programs that are transmitted by satellite to audiences in Burma

Internet
Country code: .mm
Hosts: 1055 (2012)
Hosts rank: 172
Users: 110,000 (2009)
Users rank: 158

Military expenditures: 4.8% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 17

Military service age and obligation: 18-35 years of age (men) and 18-27 years of age (women) for voluntary military service; no conscription (a 2010 law reintroducing conscription has not yet entered into force); service obligation 2 years; male (ages 18-45) and female (ages 18-35) professionals (including doctors engineers mechanics) serve up to 3 years; service terms may be stretched to 5 years in an officially declared emergency; Burma signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 15 August 1991; on 27 June 2012 the regime signed a Joint Action Plan on prevention of child recruitment; in February 2013 the military formed a new task force to address forced child conscription which reportedly continues (2013)

Airports: 64 (2013)
Rank: 77
With paved runways over 3047 m: 12
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 12
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 10
With unpaved runways: 13 (2013)

Heliports: 11 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 3,739 km; oil 551 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 36
Narrow gauge: 5,031 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 93

Waterways: 12,800 km (2011)
Rank: 10

Merchant marine
Rank: 86
By type: cargo 22 passenger 2 passenger/cargo 3 specialized tanker 1 vehicle carrier 1
Foreign owned: 2 (Germany 1 Japan 1)
Registered in other countries: 3 (Panama 3) (2010)

Ports and terminals
River port: Rangoon (Rangoon River)

Disputes international: over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; the Naf River on the border with Bangladesh serves as a smuggling and illegal transit route; Bangladesh struggles to accommodate 29,000 Rohingya Burmese Muslim minority from Arakan State living as refugees in Cox's Bazar; Burmese border authorities are constructing a 200 km (124 mi) wire fence designed to deter illegal cross-border transit and tensions from the military build-up along border with Bangladesh in 2010; Bangladesh referred its maritime boundary claims with Burma and India to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea; Burmese forces attempting to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias tied to the drug trade prompts local residents to periodically flee into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; fencing along the India-Burma international border at Manipur's Moreh town is in progress to check illegal drug trafficking and movement of militants; 140,000 mostly Karen refugees fleeing civil strife political upheaval and economic stagnation in Burma live in remote camps in Thailand near the border

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 808,075 (2012); note - Burma's main group of stateless people is the Rohingya Muslims living in northern Rakhine State; the Burmese Government does not recognize the Rohingya as a 'national race' and stripped them of their citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship law categorizing them as 'non-national' or 'foreign residents'; native-born but non-indigenous people such as Indians and children born in Thailand to Burmese parents are also stateless; the Burmese Government does not grant citizenship to children born outside of the country to Burmese parents who left the country illegally or fled persecution

Illicit drugs: world's third largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2012 of 690 metric tons an increase of 13% over 2011 and poppy cultivation in 2012 totaled 51,000 hectares a 17% increase over 2011; production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low; Shan state is the source of 94.5% of Burma's poppy cultivation; 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