_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
People's Assembly—last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results—NLD 80%; seats—(485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79
_#_Communists: several hundred (est.) in Burma Communist Party (BCP)
_#_Other political or pressure groups: Kachin Independence Army (KIA), United Wa State Army (UWSA), Karen National Union (KNU), several Shan factions, including the Shan United Army (SUA) (all ethnically-based insurgent groups)
_#_Member of: AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador U MYO AUNG; Chancery at 2300 S Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-9044 through 9046; there is a Burmese Consulate General in New York;
US—Ambassador (vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission Franklin P. HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is G. P. O. Box 521, Rangoon or Box B, APO San Francisco 96346); telephone 82055 or 82181
_#_Flag: 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
_*Economy #_Overview: Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $400. The nation has been unable to achieve any substantial improvement in export earnings because of falling prices for many of its major commodity exports. For rice, traditionally the most important export, the drop in world prices has been accompanied by shrinking markets and a smaller volume of sales. In 1985 teak replaced rice as the largest export and continues to hold this position. The economy is heavily dependent on the agricultural sector, which generates about half of GDP and provides employment for 66% of the work force.