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)

total:

33.23 cu km/yr (1%/1%/98%)

per capita:

658 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Burmese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Burmese

name:

Rangoon (Yangon)

geographic coordinates:

16 48 N, 96 09 E

time difference:

UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

note: Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital

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

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 October 2007)

cabinet:

Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta assumed power 18 September 1988 under name State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)

elections:

none

• a unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw consisting of 485 seats with members elected by popular vote was elected in 1990 but was never seated;
• according to the terms of the constitution approved on 10 May 2008, a bicameral Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consisting of an upper house with a maximum of 224 seats and a lower house with a maximum of 440 seats will be selected in elections in 2010

elections:

last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never allowed by junta to convene (junta has announced plans to hold elections in 2010)

election results:

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NLD 392 (opposition), SNLD 23 (opposition), NUP 10 (pro-government), other 60

• National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, AUNG SAN SUU KYI];
• National Unity Party or NUP (pro-regime) [TUN YE];
• Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [HKUN HTUN OO];
• and numerous other smaller parties

• Ethnic Nationalities Council or ENC (based in Thailand);
• Federation of Trade Unions-Burma or FTUB (exile trade union and labor advocates);
• National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB (self-proclaimed government in exile) ["Prime Minister" Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals, some legitimately elected to the People's Assembly in 1990 (the group fled to a border area and joined insurgents in December 1990 to form parallel government in exile);
• Kachin Independence Organization or KIO;
• Karen National Union or KNU;
• Karenni National People's Party or KNPP;
• National Council-Union of Burma or NCUB (exile coalition of opposition groups);
• United Wa State Army or UWSA;
• Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (pro-regime, a social and political mass-member organization) [HTAY OO, general secretary];
• 88 Generation Students (pro-democracy movement) [TOE KYAW HLAING]

other:

several Shan factions

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires MYINT LWIN

chancery:

2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-3344

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-4351

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Charge d'Affaires Larry M. DINGER - note:

The United States does not maintain an ambassador in Burma

embassy:

110 University Avenue, Kamayut Township, Rangoon

mailing address:

Box B, APO AP 96546

telephone:

[95] (1) 536-509, 535-756, 538-038

FAX:

[95] (1) 650-306

• red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 14, white, five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice;
• the 14 stars represent the seven administrative divisions and seven states

agriculture:

70%

industry:

7%

services:

23% (2001)

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

32.4% (1998)

• rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane;
• hardwood;
• fish and fish products

• agricultural processing;
• wood and wood products;
• copper, tin, tungsten, iron;
• cement, construction materials;
• pharmaceuticals;
• fertilizer;
• oil and natural gas;
• garments, jade and gems

• fabric, petroleum products, fertilizer, plastics, machinery, transport equipment;
• cement, construction materials, crude oil;
• food products, edible oil

general assessment:

meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government

domestic:

system barely capable of providing basic service; cellular phone system is grossly underdeveloped with a subscribership base of less than 1 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 95;
• landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe;
• satellite earth stations - 2, Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and ShinSat (2008)

total:

3,955 km

country comparison to the world: 44

narrow gauge:

3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

total:

27,000 km

country comparison to the world: 101

paved:

3,200 km

unpaved:

23,800 km (2006)

total:

24

country comparison to the world: 92

by 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)

males age 16-49:

13,402,788

females age 16-49:

13,437,042 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

9,146,312

females age 16-49:

9,520,852 (2009 est.)

male:

426,110

female:

417,674 (2009 est.)

• over half of Burma's population consists of diverse ethnic groups who have substantial numbers of kin in neighboring countries;
• Thailand must deal with Karen and other ethnic refugees, asylum seekers, and rebels, as well as illegal cross-border activities from Burma;
• Thailand is studying the feasibility of jointly constructing the Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River near the border with Burma;
• citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China is reconsidering construction of 13 dams on the Salween River but energy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream, despite identical regional and international protests;
• India seeks cooperation from Burma to keep Indian Nagaland separatists, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam, from hiding in remote Burmese Uplands;
• after 21 years, Bangladesh resumes talks with Burma on delimiting a maritime boundary in January 2008

current situation:

• Burma is a source country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation;
• Burmese women and children are trafficked to East and Southeast Asia for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor;
• Burmese children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Thailand as hawkers, beggars, and for work in shops, agriculture, fish processing, and small-scale industries;
• women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Malaysia and China;
• some trafficking victims transit Burma from Bangladesh to Malaysia and from China to Thailand;
• internal trafficking occurs primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones, agricultural estates, and commercial sexual exploitation;
• military and civilian officials continue to use a significant amount of forced labor;
• ethnic insurgent groups also used compulsory labor of adults and unlawful recruitment of children;
• the military junta's gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and its policy of using forced labor are the top causal factors for Burma's significant trafficking problem

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• military and civilian officials remain directly involved in significant acts of forced labor and unlawful conscription of child soldiers (2008)

• remains world's second largest producer of illicit opium with an estimated production in 2008 of 340 metric tons, an increase of 26%, and poppy cultivation in 2008 totaled 22,500 hectares, a 4% increase from 2007;
• production in the United Wa State Army's areas of greatest control remains low;
• Shan state is the source of 94% of Burma's poppy cultivation;
• lack of government will to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort;
• major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption (2008)