Burma (Myanmar)

Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the military junta ruling the country refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG San Suu Kyi, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, continues to have her activities restricted; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed.

• 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, Endangered Species, 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:

30% (male 6,341,546; female 6,086,650)

15-64 years:

65% (male 13,565,379; female 13,764,242)

65 years and over:

5% (male 885,583; female 1,091,453) (2000 est.)

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2000 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 League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary];
• National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW];
• Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary];
• and eight minor legal parties

• All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF;
• Kachin Independence Army or KIA;
• Karen National Union or KNU;
• National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [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;
• several Shan factions;
• United Wa State Army or UWSA

chief of mission:

Ambassador TIN WINN

chancery:

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-9044

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-9046

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Permanent Charge d'Affaires Priscilla A. CLAPP

embassy:

581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521)

mailing address:

Box B, APO AP 96546

telephone:

[95] (1) 282055, 282182

FAX:

[95] (1) 280409

• 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

• kyats (K) per US$1 - official rate - 6.2665 (January 2000), 6.2858 (1999), 6.3432 (1998), 6.2418 (1997), 5.9176 (1996), 5.6670 (1995);
• kyats (K) per US$1 - market exchange rate - 330 (yearend 1999)

total:

3,991 km

narrow gauge:

3,991 km 1.000-m gauge

total:

28,200 km

paved:

3,440 km

unpaved:

24,760 km (1996 est.)

total:

40 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 472,284 GRT/716,533 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 13, cargo 20, container 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2 (1999 est.)

note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Japan owns 2 ships, US 3 (1998 est.)

males age 15-49:

11,865,696

females age 15-49:

11,894,661

note: both sexes liable for military service (2000 est.)

males age 15-49:

6,334,750

females age 15-49:

6,334,937 (2000 est.)

males:

483,964

females:

468,221 (2000 est.)

• world's second largest producer of illicit opium, after Afghanistan (potential production in 1999 - 1,090 metric tons, down 38% due to drought; cultivation in 1999 - 89,500 hectares, a 31% decline from 1998);
• 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 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;
• becoming a major source of methamphetamines for regional consumption [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]