Total area:
678,500 km2
Land area:
657,740 km2
Comparative area:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
5,876 km; Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km,
Thailand 1,800 km
Coastline:
1,930 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
24 nm
Continental shelf:
edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
none
Climate:
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)
Terrain:
central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands
Natural resources:
crude oil, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some
marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas
Land use:
arable land 15%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
woodland 49%; other 34%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides
common during rainy season (June to September); deforestation
Note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
:Burma People
Population:
42,642,418 (July 1992), growth rate 1.9% (1992)
Birth rate:
29 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
68 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
57 years male, 61 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Burmese (singular and plural); adjective - Burmese
Ethnic divisions:
Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Mon 2%, Indian 2%,
other 5%
Religions:
Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%,
animist beliefs 1%, other 2%
Languages:
Burmese; minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Literacy:
81% (male 89%, female 72%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
16,036,000; agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%,
other 4.1% (FY89 est.)
Organized labor:
Workers' Asiayone (association), 1,800,000 members; Peasants' Asiayone,
7,600,000 members
:Burma Government
Long-form name:
Union of Burma; note - the local official name is Pyidaungzu Myanma
Naingngandaw, which has been translated by the US Government as Union of
Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar
Type:
military regime
Capital:
Rangoon (sometimes translated as Yangon)
Administrative divisions:
7 divisions* (yin-mya, singular - yin) and 7 states (pyine-mya, singular -
pyine); Chin State, Irrawaddy*, Kachin State, Karan State, Kayah State,
Magwe*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Pegu*, Rakhine State, Rangoon*, Sagaing*, Shan
State, Tenasserim*
Independence:
4 January 1948 (from UK)
Constitution:
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988)
Legal system:
martial law in effect throughout most of the country; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Executive branch:
chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, State Law and Order
Restoration Council
Legislative branch:
unicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) was dissolved after the coup
of 18 September 1988
Judicial branch:
Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18 September
1988
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government:
Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE
(since 23 April 1992)
Political parties and leaders:
National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for
Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE; National Coalition of Union of Burma (NCGUB),
SEIN WIN - consists of individuals legitimately elected but not recognized
by military regime; fled to border area and joined with insurgents in
December 1990 to form a parallel government
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, UPU, WHO, WMO
:Burma Government
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador U THAUNG; 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, Charge d'Affaires Franklin P.
HUDDLE, Jr.; Embassy at 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (mailing address is GPO
Box 521, AMEMB Box B, APO AP 96546); telephone [95] (1) 82055, 82181; FAX
[95] (1) 80409
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
:Burma Economy
Overview:
Burma is a poor Asian country, with a per capita GDP of about $500. 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 40% of GDP and provides employment for 65% of the work
force. Burma has been largely isolated from international economic forces
and has been trying to encourage foreign investment, so far with little
success.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $22.2 billion, per capita $530; real growth rate
5.6% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
40% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
9.6% in urban areas (FY89 est.)
Budget:
revenues $7.2 billion; expenditures $9.3 billion, including capital
expenditures of $6 billion (1991)
Exports:
$568 million
commodities:
teak, rice, oilseed, metals, rubber, gems
partners:
Southeast Asia, India, Japan, China, EC, Africa
Imports:
$1.16 billion
commodities:
machinery, transport equipment, chemicals, food products
partners:
Japan, EC, China, Southeast Asia
External debt:
$4.2 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate 2.6% (FY90 est.); accounts for 10% of GDP
Electricity:
950,000 kW capacity; 2,900 million kWh produced, 70 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries:
agricultural processing; textiles and footwear; wood and wood products;
petroleum refining; mining of copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction
materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer
Agriculture:
accounts for 40% of GDP (including fish and forestry); self-sufficient in
food; principal crops - paddy rice, corn, oilseed, sugarcane, pulses;
world's largest stand of hardwood trees; rice and teak account for 55% of
export revenues; fish catch of 740,000 metric tons (FY90)
Illicit drugs:
world's largest illicit producer of opium poppy and minor producer of
cannabis for the international drug trade; opium production is on the
increase as growers respond to the collapse of Rangoon's antinarcotic
programs
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $158 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.9 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $424 million
:Burma Economy