World Facts

conventional long form: Union of Burma
Capital: Rangoon (government refers to capital as Yangon)
Type of Government: military junta-
Administrative Divisions: 7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,967,487/female 5,717,795)
Agriculture: rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products
Airports: 78 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 19
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: total: 678,500 sq km. slightly smaller than Texas
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 from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arrest from 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 and is currently under house arrest. In November 2005, the junta announced it was extending her detention for at least another six months. Her supporters, as well as all those who promote democracy and improved human rights, are routinely harassed or jailed.
Birth rate: 18.11 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $523.5 million
Coastline: 1,930 km-
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)
Communications:
Constitution: 3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include participation of democratic opposition
Currency: kyat (MMK)
Current account balance: $-215 million (2005 est.)
Death rate: 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $6.967 billion (2005 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Shari VILLAROSA
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: LINN MYAING
Disputes - international: over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups with substantial numbers of kin beyond its borders; 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; ethnic Karens flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops, in 2004 Thailand sheltered about 118,000 Burmese refugees; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand continue to voice concern over China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists from hiding in remote Burmese uplands-
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $127 million (2001 est.)
Economy - overview: Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from government controls, inefficient economic policies, and abject rural poverty. The junta took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts stalled and some of the liberalization measures were rescinded. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including inflation, multiple official exchange rates that overvalue the Burmese kyat, and a distorted interest rate regime. Most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta began to suppress the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 legislative elections. Economic sanctions against Burma by the United States - including a ban on imports of Burmese products and a ban on provision of financial services by US persons in response to the government of Burma's attack in May 2003 on AUNG SAN SUU KYI and her convoy - further slowed the inflow of foreign exchange. Oil and gas development will drive growth in the next few years. Other areas, however, are struggling. In February 2003, a major banking crisis hit the country's 20 private banks, shutting them down and disrupting the economy. As of December 2005, the largest private banks remained moribund, leaving the private sector with little formal access to credit. Official statistics are inaccurate. Published statistics on foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and unofficial border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the size of the official economy. Burma's trade with Thailand, China, and India is rising. Though the Burmese government has good economic relations with its neighbors, a better investment climate and an improved political situation are needed to promote foreign investment, exports, and tourism.
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
Environment - current issues: deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease
Environment - International Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
Ethnic groups: Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5%
Exchange rates: kyats per US dollar - 5.82 (2005), 5.7459 (2004), 6.0764 (2003), 6.5734 (2002), 6.6841 (2001)
Executive branch: chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
Exports: $2.514 billion f.o.b.
Exports - partners: Thailand 38.9%, India 11.5%, China 5.9%, Japan 5.2% (2004)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Flag description: red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, 14 white five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 7 administrative divisions and 7 states
GDP (official exchange rate): $8.243 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $76.2 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 54.6%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.5% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates: 22 00 N, 98 00 E
Geography - note: strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes-
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 20,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 330,000 (2003 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.8%
Illicit drugs: remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium (estimated production in 2004 - 292 metric tons, down 40% from 2003 due to eradication efforts and drought; cultivation in 2004 - 30,900 hectares, a 34% decline from 2003); 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; currently under Financial Action Task Force countermeasures due to continued failure to address its inadequate money-laundering controls (2005)
Imports: $2.183 billion f.o.b.
Imports - partners: China 29.8%, Singapore 20.8%, Thailand 19.3%, South Korea 5.2%, Malaysia 4.8% (2004)
Independence: 4 January 1948 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Industries: agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer; cement; natural gas
Infant mortality rate: total: 67.24 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (2005 est.)
International organization participation: APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Internet country code: .mm
Internet hosts: 3 (2003)
Internet users: 28,000 (2003)
Investment (gross fixed): 11.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 15,920 sq km (1998 est.)
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
Labor force: 27.75 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 5,876 km
Land use: arable land: 15.19%
Languages: Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Legal system: has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 60.7 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: very high
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 11,254,374
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 6,512,923
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males: 440,914
Map references: Southeast Asia
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Median age: total: 26.14 years
Merchant marine: total: 37 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 429,144 GRT/659,622 DWT-
Military - note:
Military branches: Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (2005)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $39 million (FY97)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (FY97)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service for both sexes (May 2002)
National holiday: Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Nationality: noun: Burmese (singular and plural)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production:
Natural gas - proved reserves: 2.46 trillion cu m (2003)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts
Natural resources: petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower
Net migration rate: -1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 32,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: 3,356 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - imports: 49,230 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - production: 18,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - proved reserves: 3.2 billion bbl (2003)-
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [THA KYAW] (at last report); Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN HTUN OO]; and other smaller parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile); Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]
Population: 42,909,464
Population below poverty line: 25% (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.42% (2005 est.)
Ports and terminals: Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe-
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1 (2004)
Railways: total: 3,955 km
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs: 600,000 - 1,000,000 (government offensives against ethnic insurgent groups near borders; most IDPs are ethnic Karen, Karenni, Shan, and Mon) (2004)
Religions: Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $721.1 million (June 2005)
Roadways: total: 30,000 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: barely meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is fair
Telephones - main lines in use: 357,300 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 66,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (2004)
Terrain: central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 5% (2005 est.)-
Waterways: