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 8,883,099; female 8,542,087)

15-64 years:

60% (male 14,343,888; female 14,293,233)

65 years and over:

4% (male 906,517; female 1,112,478) (1999 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:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (1999 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

• National Unity Party or NUP SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary];
• Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social eight minor legal parties

• National Coalition 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 or KIA;
• United Wa State Army or UWSA;
• Karen National Union or KNU;
• several Shan factions;
• All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF

chief of mission:

Ambassador TIN WINN

chancery:

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general:

New York

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

• 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

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

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

total:

3,740 km

narrow gauge:

3,740 km 1.000-m gauge (1997)

total:

28,200 km

paved:

3,440 km

unpaved:

24,760 km (1996 est.)

total:

11

over 3,047 m:

2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1998 est.)

males age 15-49:

12,475,987

females age 15-49:

12,224,947 (1999 est.)

note: both sexes liable for military service

males age 15-49:

6,660,309

females age 15-49:

6,510,730 (1999 est.)

males:

496,912

females:

477,803 (1999 est.)

• world's largest producer of illicit opium (cultivation in 1998--130,300 hectares, a 16% decline from 1997; potential production--1,750 metric tons, down 26% due to drought and the first eradication effort since the current government took power in 1987) 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 continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort;
• growing role in the production of methamphetamines for regional consumption