CIA - The World Factbook -- Burma

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EAST & SOUTHEAST ASIA:: BURMA PRINTPAGE LAST UPDATED ON FEBRUARY 4,

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Introduction :: BURMA

Background:Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) andincorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a provinceof India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony;independence from the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WINdominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as mi litary ruler, thenas self-appointed president, and later as political kingpin. In September

1988, the military deposed NE WIN and established a new ruling junta.Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the mainopposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning alandslide victory, the junta refused to hand over power. NLD leader andNobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who was under house arr estfrom 1989 to 1995 and 2000 to 2002, was imprisoned in May 2003 andsubsequently transferred to house arrest. After the ruling junta in August2007 unexpectedly increased fuel prices, tens of thousands of Burmesemarched in protest, led by pr odemocracy activists and Buddhist monks. Inlate September 2007, the government brutally suppressed the protests,kil l ing at least 13 people and arresting thousands for participating in thedemonstrations. Since then, the regime has continued to raid homes andmonasteries and arrest persons suspected of participating in the pro-

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Page 1 of 15CIA - The World Factbook -- Burma

2/20/2010https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html


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democracy protests. The junta appointed Labor Minister AUNG KYI inOctober 2007 as liaison to AUNG SAN SUU KYI, who remains under housearrest and virtually incommunicado with her party and supporters. Burma i nearly May 2008 was struck by Cyclone Nargis w hich official estimatesclaimed left over 80,000 dead and 50,000 injured. Despite this tragedy, thejunta proceeded with its May constitutional referendum, the first vote inBurma since 1990, setting the stage for the 2010 parliamentary elections.AUNG SAN SUU KYI's house arrest was due to end i n May 2009, but was

extended for eighteen months after she was convicted for violating theterms of her house arrest.

Geography :: BURMALocation:

Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal,between Bangladesh and Thailand

Geographic coordinates:22 00 N, 98 00 E

Map references:Southeast Asia

Area:total: 676,578 sq km country comparison to the world: 40land: 653,508 sq kmwater: 23,070 sq km

Area - comparative:slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries:total: 5,876 kmborder countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos235 km, Thailand 1,800 km

Coastline:1,930 km

Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nmcontiguous zone: 24 nmexclusive economic zone: 200 nmcontinental 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, lowerhumidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)

Terrain:central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Elevation extremes:




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lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 mhighest 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:arable land: 14.92%permanent crops: 1.31%other: 83.77% (2005)

Irrigated land:18,700 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:1,045.6 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal(domestic/industrial/agricultural) :total: 33.23 cu km/yr (1%/1%/98%)per capita: 658 cu m/yr (2000)

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

Environment - current issues:deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequatesanitation and water treatment contribute to disease

Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Pr otocol,Desertif ication, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone LayerProtection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Ti mber 94 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

People :: BURMAPopulation:

48,137,741country comparison to the world: 26note:estimates for this country take into account the effects of excessmortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infantmortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes inthe distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise beexpected (July 2009 est.)

Age structure:0-14 years: 25.3% (male 6,193,263/female 5,990,658) 15-64 years: 69.3% (male 16,510,648/female 16,828,462)65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,121,412/female 1,493,298) (2009 est.)




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Median age:total: 28.2 yearsmale: 27.7 yearsfemale: 28.8 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate:0.783% (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 14 1Birth rate:

16.97 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 12 4Death rate:

9.14 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 78Net migration rate:

NA

Urbanization:urban population: 33% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Sex ratio:at birth: 1.06 male(s)/femaleunder 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/femaletotal population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate:total: 47.61 deaths/1,000 live birthscountry comparison to the world: 54male: 53.78 deaths/1,000 live birthsfemale: 41.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:total population: 63.39 yearscountry comparison to the world: 17 2male: 61.17 yearsfemale: 65.74 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate:1.89 children born/woman (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 14 8HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.7% (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 64HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

240,000 (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 28HIV/AIDS - deaths:




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25,000 (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 18Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: very highfood or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A,and typhoid fevervectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: leptospirosisanimal contact disease: rabiesnote:highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identif ied in thiscountry; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible amongUS citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

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%

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

Languages:Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and writetotal population: 89.9%male: 93.9%female: 86.4% (2006 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):total: 8 yearsmale: 8 yearsfemale: 8 years (2001)

Education expenditures:1.2% of GDP (2001)country comparison to the world: 17 8

Government :: BURMA

Country name:conventional long form: Union of Burma conventional short form: Burmalocal long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the USGovernment as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar)local short form: Myanma Naingngandawformer: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note:since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name




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Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was notapproved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government didnot adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form nameMyanma Naingngandaw

Government type:military junta

Capital:name: Rangoon (Yangon)geographic coordinates: 16 48 N, 96 09 Etime difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC duringStandard Time)note:Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital

Administrative divisions:7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states* (pyi ne-myar,singular - pyi ne)

divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi,Yangonstates: Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan

Independence:4 January 1948 (from the UK)

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

Constitution:3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; a new constitutionwas approved on 10 May 2008; note - new constitution will take effect whena new parliament is convened following elections scheduled for 2010

Legal system:based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)head of government: Prime Minister, Lt. Gen THEIN SEIN (since 24 October2007)cabinet: Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta assumed power 18September 1988 under name State Law and Order Restoration Council(SLORC)(For more information visit the World Leaders website )

elections: noneLegislative branch:

a unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw consisting of 485 seatswith members elected by popular vote was elected in 1990 but was neverseated; according to the terms of the constitution approved on 10 May2008, a bicameral Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of an upper house with amaximum of 224 seats and a lower house with a maximum of 440 seats will




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be selected in elections in 2010

elections: last held 27 May 1990, but A ssembly never allowed by junta toconvene (junta has announced plans to hold elections in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392(opposit ion), SNLD 23 (opposit ion), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60

Judicial branch:remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is noguarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of theexecutive

Political parties and leaders:National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI];National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [TUN YE]; Shan NationalitiesLeague for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO]; and numerous othersmaller parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand); Federation of Trade

Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates); NationalCoalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimedgovernment in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals,some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the gr oup fledto a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallelgovernment in exile); Kachin Independence Organization or KIO; KarenNational Union or KNU; Karenni National People's Party or KNPP; NationalCouncil-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups);United Wa State Army or UWSA; Union Solidarity and DevelopmentAssociation or USDA (pro-regim e, a social and political mass-memberorganization) [HTAY OO, general secretary]; 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement) [TOE KYAW HLAING]

other: several Shan factions

International organization participation:ADB, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIMSTEC, 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), SAARC (observer), UN,UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires KYAW WIN chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-3344FAX: [1] (202) 332-4351 consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Charge d'Affaires Larry M. DINGER - note: The UnitedStates does not maintain an ambassador in Burma embassy: 110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546telephone: [95] (1) 536-509, 535-756, 538-038FAX: [95] (1) 650-306

Flag description:red with a blue rectangle in the upp er hoist-side corner bearing 14, white,five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14




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country comparison to the world: 20 5$1,200 (2008 est.)

$1,200 (2007 est.)

note:data are in 2009 US dollars GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 42.9%industry: 19.8%services: 37.3% (2009 est.)

Labor force:30.85 mill ion (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 19

Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 70 %industry: 7% services: 23% (2001)

Unemployment rate:4.9% (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 465% (2008 est.)

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

Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: 2.8%highest 10%: 32.4% (1998)

Investment (gross fixed):14.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

country comparison to the world: 14 1Budget:

revenues: $1.142 bill ionexpenditures: $2.354 bill ion (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):7.7% (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 17 826.8% (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate:12% (31 December 2008)country comparison to the world: 2512% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:17% (31 December 2008)country comparison to the world: 3017% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:




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$NA (31 December 2008)

$598 bill ion (31 December 2007)

note:this number reflects the vastly overvalued official exchange rate of5.38 kyat per dollar; at the unofficial black market rate of 1,305 kyat perdollar, the stock of kyats would equal only US$2.465 bill ion and Burma'svelocity of money (the number of times money turns over in the course of ayear) would be six, in line with the velocity of money for other countries in

the regionStock of quasi money:

$NA (31 December 2008)

$216.9 bill ion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:$NA (31 December 2008)

$887.7 bill ion (31 December 2007)

Market value of publicly traded shares :$NA

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

Industries:agricultural processing; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten,iron; cement, construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertil izer; oil andnatural gas; garments, jade and gems

Industrial production growth rate:0.2% (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 72

Electricity - production:6.286 bill ion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 10 5

Electricity - consumption:4.403 bill ion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 11 2

Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2008 est.)

Oil - production:22,120 bbl/day (2008 est.)country comparison to the world: 74

Oil - consumption:41,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)country comparison to the world: 10 0

Oil - exports:




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2,200 bbl/day (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 11 4Oil - imports:

18,250 bbl/day (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 11 6Oil - proved reserves:

50 mill ion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 77Natural gas - production:

12.4 bill ion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 40Natural gas - consumption:

3.85 bill ion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 67Natural gas - exports:

8.55 bill ion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 23Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 76Natural gas - proved reserves:

283.2 bill ion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 40Current account balance:

$924 mill ion (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 42$1.281 bill ion (2008 est.)

Exports:$6.504 bill ion (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 95$6.677 bill ion (2008 est.)

note:official export figures are grossly underestimated due to the value oftimber, gems, narcotics, rice, and other products smuggled to Thailand,China, and Bangladesh

Exports - commodities:natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade andgems

Exports - partners:Thailand 52%, India 12.3%, China 8.8%, Japan 4.3% (2008)

Imports:$3.555 bill ion (2009 est.)country comparison to the world: 13 1$3.388 bill ion (2008 est.)




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Internet country code:.mm

Internet hosts:128 (2009)country comparison to the world: 19 6

Internet users:108,900 (2008)country comparison to the world: 15 0

Transportation :: BURMAAirports:

77 (2009)country comparison to the world: 72Airports - with paved runways:

total: 37 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 91,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 1under 914 m: 2 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 40 over 3,047 m: 11,524 to 2,437 m: 4914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2009)

Heliports:5 (2009)

Pipelines:gas 2,228 km; oil 558 km (2009)

Railways:total: 3,955 kmcountry comparison to the world: 44narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

Roadways:total: 27,000 kmcountry comparison to the world: 10 1paved: 3,200 kmunpaved: 23,800 km (2006)

Waterways:12,800 km (2008)country comparison to the world: 10

Merchant marine:




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total: 24 country comparison to the world: 92by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 17, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3,specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 3 (Cyprus 1, Germany 1, Japan 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:Moulmein, Rangoon, Sittwe

Military :: BURMAMilitary branches:

Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw): Army, Navy, Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay)(2008)

Military service age and obligation:18 years of age for voluntary military service for b oth sexes; forcedconscription of children, although officially prohibited, reportedly continues

(2007)

Manpower available for military service:males age 16-49: 13,402,788females age 16-49: 13,437,042 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:males age 16-49: 9,146,312females age 16-49: 9,520,852 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:male: 426,110female: 417,674 (2009 est.)

Military expenditures:2.1% of GDP (2005 est.)country comparison to the world: 77

Transnational Issues :: BURMADisputes - international:

over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who havesubstantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries; Thailand must deal withKaren and other ethnic refugees, asylum seekers, and rebels, as well asil legal cross-border activities from Burma; Thailand is studying the

feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River nearthe border with Burma; citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns,China is reconsidering construction of 13 dams on the Salween River butenergy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on buildingfive hydro-electric dams downstream, despite identical regional andinternational protests; India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep IndianNagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, fromhiding in remote Burmese Uplands; after 21 years, Bangladesh resumestalks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary in January 2008

Refugees and internally displaced persons:IDPs: 503,000 (government offensives against ethnic insurgent groups near




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