Country name:
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
note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the
name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision
was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US
Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the
Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw
Government type:
military junta
Capital:
name: Rangoon (Yangon)
geographic coordinates: 16 47 N, 96 10 E
time difference: UTC+6.5 (11.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
note: Nay Pyi Taw is administrative capital
Administrative divisions:
7 divisions (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi
ne-myar, singular - pyi ne)
divisions: Ayeyarwady, Bago, Magway, Mandalay, Sagaing, Tanintharyi,
Yangon
states: Chin State, Kachin State, Kayah State, Kayin State, Mon
State, Rakhine State, Shan State
Independence:
4 January 1948 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 January (1948); Union Day, 12 February (1947)
Constitution:
3 January 1974; suspended since 18 September 1988; national
convention convened in 1993 to draft a new constitution but
collapsed in 1996; reconvened in 2004 but does not include
participation of democratic opposition
Legal system:
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
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, Gen SOE WIN (since 19 October
2004)
cabinet: Cabinet is overseen by SPDC; military junta, so named 15
November 1997, assumed power 18 September 1988 under name State Law
and Order Restoration Council (SLORC)
elections: none