Burma (Myanmar)

military regimeIndependence 4 January 1948 (from UK)

Burma (Myanmar) as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 76 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalRangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Area678,500 km2

1992

Every edition of Burma (Myanmar)

Populationas each edition published it

42.64 million July 1992 · 41.28m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.88% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 25.3 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 59.5 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

3.8 children per woman 1992 · 4.2 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

68 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 97 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $660 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.3% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

678,500km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Texas

Coastline

1,930km

Contiguous zone: 24 nmContinental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nmExclusive economic zone: 200 nmTerritorial sea: 12 nm

Land boundaries

5,876km

Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 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)

Terrain

central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands

Natural resources

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

Land use

arable land 15%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 1%;
forest and woodland 49%;
other 34%;
includes irrigated 2%

Environment

subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones;
flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September);
deforestation

Note

strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes

People

14 fields

Population

42,642,418

(July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

29Death

10Net migration

Ethnic divisions

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

Religions

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

Literacy

81%

(male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality

noun - Burmese (singular and plural); adjective - Burmese

Languages

Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Labor force

16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY89 est.)

Organized labor

Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members; Peasants' Asiayone, 7,600,000 members

Government

Military regime

20 fields

Long-form name

Union of Burma; note - the local official name is Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw, which has been translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar

Capital

Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)

Administrative divisions

7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular - pyine);
Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State, Karan State, Kayah State, Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State, Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tenasserim*

Constitution

3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988)

Legal system

martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch

chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, State Law and Order Restoration Council

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988

Judicial branch

Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September 1988

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government: Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)

Political parties and leaders

National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW;
National League for Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE;
National Coalition of Union of Burma (NCGUB), SEIN WIN - consists of individuals legitimately elected but not recognized by military regime;
fled to border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government

Elections

People's Assembly:: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened;
results - NLD 80%;
seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79

Communists

several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP)

Other political or pressure groups

Kachin Independence Army (KIA), United Wa State Army (UWSA), Karen National Union (KNU) , several Shan factions, including the Shan United Army (SUA) (all ethnically based insurgent groups)

Member of

AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador U THAUNG;
Chancery at 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046;
there is a Burmese Consulate General in New York

US:: Ambassador (vacant);
Deputy Chief of Mission, Charge d'Affaires Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.;
Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is GPO Box 521, AMEMB Box B, APO AP 96546);
telephone [95] (1) 82055, 82181;
FAX [95] (1) 80409

Flag

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

Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $500.

17 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

40%

(1991)

Unemployment rate

9.6%in urban areas

(FY89 est.)

External debt

$4.2billion

(1991)

Budget

Revenues

$7.2 billionExpenditures

$9.3 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $6 billion (1991)

Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $500. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales.

In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, which generates about 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% of the work force. Burma has been largely isolated from international economic forces and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far with little success.

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $22.2 billion, per capita $530; real growth rate 5.6% (1991)

Exports

$568 million

commodities:: teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems
partners:: Southeast Asia, India, Japan, China, EC, Africa

Imports

$1.16 billion

commodities:: machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products
partners:: Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia

Industrial production

growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP

Electricity

950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1990)

Industries

agricultural processing;
textiles and footwear;
wood and wood products;
petroleum refining;
mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron;
construction materials;
pharmaceuticals;
fertilizer

Agriculture

accounts for 40% of GDP (including fish and forestry);
self-sufficient in food;
principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses;
world's largest stand of hardwood trees;
rice and teak account for 55% of export revenues;
fish catch of 740,000 metric tons (FY90)

Illicit drugs

world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy and minor producer of cannabis for the international drug trade;
opium production is on the increase as growers respond to the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic programs

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million

Currency

kyat (plural - kyats); 1 kyat (K) = 100 pyas

Exchange rates

kyats (K) per US$1 - 6.0963 (January 1992), 6.2837 (1991), 6.3386 (1990), 6.7049 (1989), 6.46 (1988), 6.6535 (1987)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 71 ships by typeone square, one ship

passenger-cargo 3cargo 19refrigerated cargo 5vehicle carrier 3container 3petroleum tanker 2chemical 6combination ore/oil 1bulk 27combination bulk 1roll-on/roll-off 171 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,036,018 GRT/1,514,121 DWT

Airports, 85 total, 82 usable

permanent-surface runways

27runways | over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

3runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

27,000Railroads

3,991Inland waterways

12,800

Highways: ; 3,200 km bituminous, 17,700 km improved earth or gravel, 6,100 km unimproved earth · Railroads: , all government owned; 3,878 km 1.000-meter gauge, 113 km narrow-gauge industrial lines; 362 km double track · Inland waterways: ; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels