Railroads:
620 km total; 520 km Ouagadougou to Cote d'Ivoire border and 100 km
Ouagadougou to Kaya; all 1.00-meter gauge and single track
Highways:
total:
16,500 km
paved:
1,300 km
unpaved:
improved earth 7,400 km; unimproved earth 7,800 km (1985)
Airports:
total:
48
usable:
38
with permanent-surface runways:
2
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
8
Telecommunications:
all services only fair; microwave radio relay, wire, and radio
communication stations in use; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 FM, 2 TV;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
@Burkina, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police, People's
Militia
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 2,013,763; fit for military service 1,029,960
Defense expenditures:
$NA, NA% of GDP
@Burma, Geography
Location:
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and
Thailand
Map references:
Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
678,500 sq km
land area:
657,740 sq km
comparative area:
slightly smaller than Texas
Land boundaries:
total 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:
200 nm or to the edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International 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:
petroleum, 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%
Irrigated land:
10,180 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues:
deforestation
natural hazards:
subject to destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and
landslides common during rainy season (June to September)
international agreements:
party to - Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Law of the Sea
Note:
strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes
@Burma, People
Population:
44,277,014 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.86% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
28.45 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
9.84 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
63.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
59.98 years
male:
57.94 years
female:
62.15 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.64 children born/woman (1994 est.)
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:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
81%
male:
89%
female:
72%
Labor force:
16.007 million (1992)
by occupation:
agriculture 65.2%, industry 14.3%, trade 10.1%, government 6.3%, other
4.1% (FY89 est.)
@Burma, Government
Names:
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
Digraph:
BM
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)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 January (1948)
Constitution:
3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); National
Convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft chapter headings for a
new constitution
Legal system:
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
Chairman of the State Law and Order Restoration Council Gen. THAN SHWE
(since 23 April 1992)
State Law and Order Restoration Council:
military junta which assumed power 18 September 1988
Legislative branch:
People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw):
last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened; results - NLD 80%;
seats - (485 total) NLD 396, the regime-favored NUP 10, other 79; was
dissolved after the coup of 18 September 1988
Judicial branch:
none; Council of People's Justices was abolished after the coup of 18
September 1988
Political parties and leaders:
Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), leader NA;
National Unity Party (NUP; proregime), THA KYAW; National League for
Democracy (NLD), U AUNG SHWE
Other political or pressure groups:
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), headed by
the elected prime minister SEIN WIN (consists of individuals
legitimately elected to Parliament 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; Kachin Independence Army
(KIA); United Wa State Army (UWSA); Karen National Union (KNU);
several Shan factions, including the Mong Tai Army (MTA); All Burma
Student Democratic Front (ABSDF)
Member of:
AsDB, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU,
LORCS, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador U THAUNG
chancery:
2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 332-9044 or 9045
consulate(s) general:
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
(vacant); Deputy Chief of Mission, Charge d'Affaires Franklin P.
HUDDLE, Jr.
embassy:
581 Merchant Street, Rangoon
mailing address:
American Embassy, 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