Trafficking in persons Burma (Myanmar), in 20 editions.

current situation: Burma is a source country for men, 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 service, servitude, and forced commercial labor; a significant number of victims Burmese children are economic migrants who wind up in forced or bonded labor and forced prostitution; subjected to a lesser extent, Burma is a country conditions of transit forced labor in Thailand as hawkers, beggars, and destination for work in shops, agriculture, fish processing, and small-scale industries; women are trafficked from China for commercial sexual exploitation; exploitation to Malaysia and China; some trafficking victims transit Burma from Bangladesh to Malaysia and from China to Thailand; internal trafficking of persons occurs primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones and zones, agricultural estates; internal trafficking of women estates, and girls for commercial sexual exploitation occurs from villages exploitation; military and civilian officials continue to urban centers use a significant amount of forced labor; ethnic insurgent groups also used compulsory labor of adults and other areas; unlawful recruitment of children; the military junta's gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and its policy of using forced labor are driving the top causal factors behind for Burma's large 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 so; military and civilian officials remain directly involved in significant acts of forced labor and unlawful conscription of child soldiers (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)

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, hawkers and small-scale industries; beggars; 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; Burma's internal trafficking occurs remains the most serious concern occurring primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones, agricultural estates, and commercial sexual exploitation; the Burmese military continues to engage in the unlawful conscription of child soldiers, and civilian officials continue continues to use a significant amount be the main perpetrator of forced labor; labor inside Burma; ethnic insurgent groups also used compulsory labor of adults and unlawful recruitment of children; the military junta's gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, regime's widespread use of and its policy lack of using accountability in forced labor are and recruitment of child soldiers is particularly worrying and represents the top causal factors factor for Burma's significant trafficking problem
tier rating:
Tier 3 - serious problems remain in Burma, and in some areas, most notably in the area of forced labor, the Government of Burma does is not fully making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, warranting a ranking of Tier 3; in other areas, particularly with regard to international sex trafficking of women and girls, the Government of Burma 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) (2010)

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 and beggars; 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; Burma's internal trafficking remains the most serious concern occurring primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones, agricultural estates, and commercial sexual exploitation; the Burmese military continues to engage in the unlawful conscription of child soldiers, and continues to be the main perpetrator of forced labor inside Burma; ethnic insurgent groups also used compulsory labor of adults and unlawful recruitment of children; the regime's widespread use of and lack a small number of accountability foreign pedophiles occasionally exploit Burmese children in forced labor and recruitment of child soldiers is particularly worrying and represents the top causal factor for Burma's significant trafficking problem country
tier rating:
Tier 3 - serious problems remain in Burma, the driving factors behind Burma's significant trafficking problem are the regime's gross economic mismanagement and in some areas, most notably in human rights abuses, the area military's continued widespread use of forced and child labor, and the Government recruitment of Burma is not making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for child soldiers; although the elimination of trafficking, warranting a ranking government of Tier 3; in other areas, particularly with regard Burma has taken some steps to international address cross-border sex trafficking of women trafficking, it has not demonstrated serious and girls, the Government of Burma is making significant sustained efforts (2010) to clamp down on military and local authorities who are themselves deriving economic benefit from forced labor practices (2011)

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 and beggars; 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; Burma's internal trafficking remains the most serious concern occurring primarily from villages to urban centers and economic hubs for labor in industrial zones, agricultural estates, and commercial sexual exploitation; the Burmese military continues to engage in the unlawful conscription of child soldiers, and continues to be the main perpetrator of forced labor inside Burma; a small number of foreign pedophiles occasionally exploit Burmese children in the country
tier rating:
Tier 3 - the driving factors behind Burma's significant trafficking problem are the regime's gross economic mismanagement and human rights abuses, the military's continued widespread use of forced and child labor, and the recruitment of child soldiers; although the government of Burma has taken some steps to address cross-border sex trafficking, it has not demonstrated serious and sustained efforts to clamp down on military and local authorities who are themselves deriving economic benefit from forced labor practices (2011) (2010)

current situation:
Burma is a source country for men, women, children, and men children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor, labor and for women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other countries; poor economic conditions have led to increased legal and illegal migration of trafficking; Burmese adults adult and children throughout child labor migrants travel to East Asia and parts of Asia, the Middle East, where they are subject to forced labor South Asia, and sex trafficking; the US, where men are forced to work in the fishing fishing, manufacturing, forestry, and construction industries, while industries and women and girls are forced into prostitution or prostitution, domestic servitude; servitude, or forced labor in the garment sector; some Burmese economic migrants seeking work in Thailand are subsequently subjected to and Rohingya asylum seekers have become forced labor or sexual exploitation; laborers on Thai fishing boats; some military personnel and insurgent militias armed ethnic groups unlawfully conscript child soldiers or coerce adults and continue children into forced labor; domestically, adults and children from ethnic areas are vulnerable to be the leading perpetrators of forced labor inside the country; Burmese on plantations and in mines, while children are may also forced be subject to work in tea shops, home industries, on plantations, forced prostitution, domestic service, and as beggars begging
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List - – Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but it is making significant efforts to do so; anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts focus on the recruitment and transport of Burmese women and girls across international boundaries government has a written plan that, if implemented, would constitute making a significant effort toward meeting the minimum standard for forced marriages and sex eliminating human trafficking; efforts in 2014, law enforcement continued to combat investigate and prosecute cross-border trafficking within Burma remain weak; forced labor of offenses but did little to address domestic trafficking; no civilians and or government officials were prosecuted or convicted for the recruitment of child soldiers soldiers, a serious problem that is hampered by both military corruption and private entities remain serious problems; the government continues modest efforts to provide temporary shelter and facilitate safe passage to Burmese victims repatriated from abroad, but its overall influence of the military; victim referral and protection efforts are inadequate; in 2012, the government signed a UN-backed action plan services remained inadequate, especially for the identification, release, men, and rehabilitation of children in the Burmese military; as a result, some child soldiers have been released, but left victims vulnerable to being re-trafficked; the government has not taken steps to prevent recruitment (2013) coordinated anti-trafficking programs as part of its five-year national action plan (2015)

current situation: human traffickers exploit men, women, and children through forced labor, and women and children in sex trafficking in Burma and abroad; Burmese men are forced to work domestically and abroad in fishing, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, and construction; fishermen are lured into forced labor in remote waters and offshore by recruitment agencies in Burma and Southeast Asia; Burmese women increasingly are lured to China for marriage under false pretenses and are subjected to sex trafficking, forced concubinage and childbearing, and forced domestic labor; men, women, and children in ethnic minority areas are at increased risk of sex trafficking and forced labor in farming, manufacturing, and construction; men and boys are recruited locally by traffickers for forced labor in oil palm, banana, and rubber plantations, in mining, fishing, and bamboo, teak, rice, and sugarcane harvesting; some military personnel, civilian brokers, border guard officials, and ethnic armed groups continue to recruit child soldiers, particularly in conflict areas
tier rating: Tier 3 — Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; authorities increased the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes, including those involving officials, and the investigation of forced labor in the fishing sector; the government identified and referred more victims to care and enacted legislation enhancing protections for child victims; however, a policy or pattern of forced labor existed; the use of children in labor and support roles by the military increased in conflict zones in Rakhine and Shan States; displacement resulting from military conflict made Rohingya and other ethnic groups vulnerable to human trafficking; the constitutionally guaranteed power of the military continued to limit the government’s ability to address forced adult labor and child soldier recruitment; although authorities allocated increased funding to victim protection, most services to trafficking victims were provided by NGOs and foreign donors (2020)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit men, women, and children through forced labor, and women and children in sex trafficking in Burma and abroad; Burmese men are forced to work domestically and abroad in fishing, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, and construction; fishermen are lured into forced labor in remote waters and offshore by recruitment agencies in Burma and Southeast Asia; Burmese women increasingly are lured to China for marriage under false pretenses and are subjected to sex trafficking, forced concubinage and childbearing, and forced domestic labor; men, women, and children in ethnic minority areas are at increased risk of sex trafficking and forced labor in farming, manufacturing, and construction; men and boys are recruited locally by traffickers for forced labor in oil palm, banana, and rubber plantations, in mining, fishing, and bamboo, teak, rice, and sugarcane harvesting; some military personnel, civilian brokers, border guard officials, and ethnic armed groups continue to recruit child soldiers, particularly in conflict areas

tier rating: Tier 3 — Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; authorities increased the investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes, including those involving officials, and the investigation of forced labor in the fishing sector; so, therefore Burma remained on Tier 3; the government identified and referred more victims to care and enacted legislation enhancing protections for child victims; however, a policy or pattern of forced labor existed; military continued the use of children in labor and support roles by adults for forced labor; the regime did not prosecute any military increased in conflict zones in Rakhine or deposed government officials for the forced labor, and Shan States; it prevented civil society organizations from assisting trafficking victims; displacement resulting from military conflict conflict, exacerbated by the February 2021 military coup that deposed the democratically elected government, made Rohingya and other ethnic groups more vulnerable to human trafficking; the constitutionally guaranteed power of the military continued to limit the government’s ability to address forced adult labor and child soldier recruitment; although authorities allocated increased funding to victim protection, most services to trafficking victims were provided by NGOs and foreign donors (2020) (2022)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit men, women, and children through forced labor, and women and children in sex trafficking in Burma and abroad; Burmese men are forced to work domestically and abroad in fishing, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, and construction; fishermen are lured into forced labor in remote waters and offshore by recruitment agencies in Burma and Southeast Asia; Burmese women increasingly are lured to China for marriage under false pretenses and are subjected to sex trafficking, forced concubinage concubinism and childbearing, and forced domestic labor; men, women, and children in ethnic minority areas are at increased risk of sex trafficking and forced labor in farming, manufacturing, and construction; men and boys are recruited locally by traffickers for forced labor in oil palm, banana, palm and rubber plantations, in mining, fishing, and bamboo, teak, rice, and sugarcane rice harvesting; some military personnel, civilian brokers, border guard officials, and ethnic armed groups continue to recruit child soldiers, particularly in conflict areas areas; discriminatory laws and hiring practices put LGBTQI+ individuals at higher risk for trafficking (2022)

tier rating: Tier 3 — Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Burma remained on Tier 3; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/burma/ https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/burma/