Burma (Myanmar)

• 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)

• destructive earthquakes and cyclones;
• flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September);
• periodic droughts

• deforestation;
• industrial pollution of air, soil, and water;
• inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

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.)

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.)

noun:

Burmese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Burmese

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

• 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*

• 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

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

head 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

• 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

• Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA, proregime), THAN AUNG, general secretary;
• National Unity Party (NUP, proregime), THA KYAW;
• National League for Democracy (NLD), AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary;
• and eight minor legal parties

• National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), headed by Dr. SEIN WIN-consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime;
• the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government;
• Kachin Independence Army (KIA);
• United Wa State Army (UWSA);
• Karen National Union (KNU);
• several Shan factions;
• All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF)

chief of mission:

Ambassador TIN WINN

chancery:

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-9044, 9045

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Kent M. WIEDEMANN

embassy:

581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)

mailing address:

Box B, APO AP 96546

telephone:

[95] (1) 282055, 282181 (operator assistance required)

• 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

total:

18.8 million (FY95/96 est.)

by occupation:

agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other 4.1% (FY88/89 est.)

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

total value:

$693 million (1996)

commodities:

pulses and beans, teak, rice, rubber, hardwood

partners:

Singapore, China, Indonesia, India, Thailand

total value:

$1.4 billion (1996)

commodities:

machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, food products, consumer goods

partners:

Japan, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia

total:

3,569 km

narrow gauge:

3,569 km 1.000-m gauge (1995)

total:

28,200 km

paved:

3,440 km

unpaved:

24,760 km (1996 est.)

total:

24

over 3,047 m:

3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (1997 est.)

males age 15-49:

12,208,916

females age 15-49:

11,983,225 (1998 est.)

note: both sexes liable for military service

males:

6,523,797

females:

6,387,291 (1998 est.)

males:

488,818

females:

469,850 (1998 est.)

• 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 BURUNDI

• in a number of waves since October 1993, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the ethnic violence between the Hutu and Tutsi factions in Burundi and crossed into Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zaire (now called Democratic Republic of the Congo);
• since October 1996, an estimated 92,000 Hutu refuguees have been forced to return to Burundi by Tutsi rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving an estimated 35,000 still dispersed there;
• in Burundi, the ethnic violence between the Hutus and the Tutsis continued in 1996, causing an additional 150,000 Hutus to flee to Tanzania, thus raising their numbers in that country to about 250,000